Do you work from home? Are you thinking about it? I’ve been home-based since 2007 and I love it – I relish the autonomy, the flexibility and simply being able to look out of my window and see the red kites soaring over the garden.
Like all good things though, it doesn’t come without a few disadvantages. The fact that I am also self-employed means that my income is variable and not guaranteed, domestic responsibilities often compete with my work and one thing I learnt early on is that you definitely can’t work and look after kids at the same time – childcare is still a must.
My husband has recently started a home-based job and as home-working becomes evermore popular, more couples will find themselves in the same boat and it will be interesting to see the different attitudes that partners have to home-working. Here are some examples, not based on anyone in particular, of course!
| Her | Him | |
| “I’ll be able to spend more time with the kids.” | “Can we get a lock for this door?” | |
| “I’ll catch up with my email on the laptop and watch the children at the same time.” | “That laptop would make a great softphone.” | |
| “I never need to miss another school play.” | “I can play footie whenever I want.” | |
| “We can get to the play in plenty of time.” | “You drive, me conference.” | |
| “When the kids get sick, I’ll just have to juggle things the best I can.” | “I think I’ll go into the office for a few days, that looks nasty.” | |
Him |
Her |
|
| “So the kids are at nursery all day, you say?” | “Don’t even think about it!” |
What do you think? Do you and your partner work from home? Do you have different attitudes, different expectations and why is that? Are differences mostly down to gender or the type of work you do? Please do post your stories here – the good, the bad and the ugly!
Lunchtimes are more fun when you work from home...
Catherine Osborn 