Eighty-three percent of Americans believe that telecommuting is increasing in popularity. With the rise of smart phones, tablets and other mobile technologies working from home has never been easier. And never before have we been willing to give up more to have jobs working from home.
Achieving a Work Life Balance Telecommuting
I, myself have worked from home for 2 1/2 years since leaving the corporate folds in November of 2009. At my last corporate job, I struggled with work life balance and the responsibilities of working from an office as a first time mother to a new adorable baby girl. My boss was less than thrilled with my request for flexibility and the ability to work from home. So I hid my telecommuting from him by forwarding my calls from my office phone straight to my cell phone. He had not a clue until some corporate tattletale let the cat out of the bag. It was downhill from there.
Don’t get me wrong, we always had at least one member of my team at the office to answer questions, interview candidates, or attend in person meetings, but truth be told most of my job could be done working from home. The comforts of working from home jobs: taking calls in your yoga pants, ability to work from any room, and the scheduling flexibility are so important, it might surprise you what your employees are willing to give up.
Harris Interactive and Team Viewer surveyed more than 2,500 adults age 18 and older in January who were so desperate to be working from home, they’d give up the following to do so:
- Social media – 34%
- Texting – 30%
- Chocolate – 29%
- Smartphone – 25%
- Shopping – 20%
- A salary increase – 17%
- Half of vacation days – 15%
- Showering — 12%
- Even their spouse — 5%
Moms Working from Home
I can attest that working from home has its benefits. Let me say that both showering and spouses are important and according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs I like to think that showering trumps spouses (in most cases). The showering thing I’m not so sure. It may be a perk for you but not your family. My work from home schedule is dictated by my family’s schedule along with meetings of clients whether in person, online, or on the phone. In fact, my best work is done between the hours of 8:00 PM and 3:00 AM at night. My daughter’s alseep and I can focus and relax on the task at hand. Women, especially moms, needs this flexibility if their job allows. Being a mom is a 24/7 job and mommy office hours are not an option.
What would you give up if your company let you work from home? Does technology make work life balance and working from home easier? Or does it make it more convenient to work more and enjoy your time off less?
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