Although I've been retired for seven years, a job came along recently that I couldn't say no to. It is something that I can do from home, plus I don't have any deadlines so this is Nirvana for me. However, for most of the time I work alone and sometimes I miss the getting to work, having a coffee, catching up with workmates news gossip etc. Do you work from home and do the advantages outweigh the social isolation.
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What do you do Jimmy?
I know I would think I was sitting indoors wanking all day. It might not be the case but I I could appreciate how someone who probably thinks I'm a wanker anyway would think I would be doing nothing other than throwing myself all round the house unless I was tied to being at work where I need to be a bit more surreptitious about that behaviour
I've seen people lose their work/life boundaries from home working. My neighbour worked from home for BT. It drove his wife nuts and I think him (literally) too. He took early retirement a couple of years ago. He used to start work at 8.30 when his wife left for work. He'd finish for a bit when she got home at 5.30. They'd go out in the evening and he'd then log on at 11 to pick up emails from India. In the end his wife said he became obsessed about work and started to suffer from stress. I noticed his behaviour became very odd and even since retirement he's not the same bloke.
I try to switch off from work when I'm at home (and vice versa), although it can be difficult as I work part-time for myself and have to do a lot of my own work at weekends and evenings.
That said, I can also have a really lazy day once in a while and get by just reviewing emails on the blackberry and taking calls as they come in. As work get long days out of me (I have a number of US clients, so tend to work later into the evening) and the occasional weekends, I have no guilt complex at all
The above point regarding general mistrust from management is so true. I'm lucky that my boss is up for it but there are plenty of managers that assume it's a negative. The 'presentee-ism' thing bugs me. Having people at desks does not equate to work being done to a high standard.
Have been working from home once a week for the last few months to help out more with childcare / cover appointments while one twin is one place and the other isn't. Been a godsend tbh as not sure what we would do a lot of time.
If you have an empty house and you are motivated, it can be brilliant. If you've kids then you are simply not going to be as productive as if you are in an office (particularly using a laptop) compared to PC, but I do my best to make it work as I simply can't afford to lose it.
My boss hates it, but he's a control freak who clearly doesn't trust anyone and I'm going to end up laying him out one day soon (hopefully just metaphorically speaking - but you never know)
I set my own targets, pursue my own goals, I see my 10 year old daughter all the time - picking her up from school.
I look at what I do as helping people save money and pursue their dreams. In work terms I have never been happier.
Never seemed to have these important issues when I was in the office.
Also remember during the bad snow about 3-4 years ago and there were no trains for about 4 days getting a sarky email from him on Day 2 enquiring whether 'Kent was going to be open tomorrow'