Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I am considering a switch from a full time work out of home position to full time at home. While I think I would appreciate the flexibility this position would allow me, I am worried about feeling lonely and isolated without human interaction every day. I am someone who loves making friends at work and enjoys the daily chatting and happy hours, etc. BUT - this move would allow for more time with my kids, which is really important.

Any advice?

Question for anyone who works AT home full time

It does get a bit lonely. I interact with internal teams during the day so that helps. I also try to get out t lunch and walk or hit a store to have outside life.

Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I used to solely work from home. I did love not having to commute or get super dressed up everyday, but it did get boring a lot.

I missed talking to people and having lunch with my coworkers.

Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I do think it depends on the specifics of the job - like are you required to be logged in for a set number of hours? Or like another poster said, can you take an hour lunch and get some fresh air? I did work from home 1 day a week when my son was like 5-9 months old, and I actually felt very restricted. It was a constant battle of me either not giving him enough attention or work enough attention. I would often ask my MIL to stop over for an hour or so if I needed to catch up on work for that particular day. When it was nice out, I felt trapped inside the house and felt bad for my son just playing in a playpen. I would have rather been at work and him have been at daycare enjoying himself in the fresh air to be honest with you. Sorry if that is harsh but just my own experience.

ETA: I want to add that it probably depends on your children's ages as well - this was my experience with a child under 1 who really needed me for stimulation, bottles, etc. If your kids are older then its probably a diff story.

Message edited 6/8/2017 12:39:57 PM.

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I used to work from home 3 days/week. I loved it. I still did Skype and FaceTime meetings with the team as well as conference calls. I loved being able to bring my son to school and being able to wear what I wanted instead of dressing up all the time. I loved being able to get laundry done while working and running out to the supermarket on my lunch hour if needed. It helped tremendously in our overall work/life balance. I still had childcare for my son while I was working otherwise I wouldn't be able to get any work done at all.

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I work from home one day a week and that's enough for me. I like being able to do laundry or wait for home appts on that day, but by the end of the day I generally wish I had someone else to talk to.

I have a friend who used to work from home 5 days/week. Now she's doing 3/week. She LOVES working from home, but...1) she lives near the Hamptons and has a ridiculously long commute; 2) her husband works from home a lot; 3) her mom lives with them; 4) her children are older and can come home from school and take care of themselves.

For me, I don't think I could do 5 days/week from home.

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I work from home full time and love it. I have many meetings/calls and lots of interaction throughout the day so I never feel restricted/lonely etc. My DH is a different personality and I think he might not do so well without physical interactions-popping in on someones office, etc.

My kids are either in school full time or daycare, to me work at home means work at home and I can't do that with three kids home full time.

I do have flexibility which is he biggest plus-I get them on/off the bus, they have a snack and do home work or play until I am done for the afternoon but I do interact with them (help with homework, settle arguments-ugh) and those interactions remind me why I can't have my kids home all day and work. If a kid is sick, I'm able to keep them home and they rest quietly in my office or in the family room.

The best and worst thing about working from home are the same-the flexibility. I can take time to go up to my kid's school, or appointments, etc but the work still has to get done so I am up working after everyone goes to bed sometimes.

I'm really grateful that I get to do this. It really makes our work/life balance gel. I've been doing this for 5 years and I hope I always can.

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

Yes it does get lonely, especially in the beginning. When my husband would come home I would start chit chatting none stop and all he wanted to do was decompress by himself.

The benefits do outweigh the negatives. It's especially great not having to commute in disgusting weather and the additional family time is priceless.

Keep in mind, you'll always have that coworker that thinks you do nothing because you work from home.

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

Not to hijack but what type of job allows you to work FT at home? Would love something like this because I need to be able to put my son on the bus to school come the fall and he has extensive needs, so I can't just hire a babysitter. I'm going to ask my boss if I can come in a half hour to an hour late but I don't think she is going to be flexible because our office is in a state of uncertainty right now.

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

My husband works from home most days. We have a full time nanny for the kids, while I work out side of the house. It has been great. He gets to see the kids, the dog and the nanny during the day. He can run out to pick up groceries quickly, dinner is almost done by the time I get home. I REALLY wish I could work one or days from home. It kills me because I see how productive he is while I work late some days because of constant needless interruption. Anyone who gets to work from home are really lucky.
He does get out at night To go to the gym just to get out and be active.

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I work for an insurance company as staff counsel and we are now allowed to WFH 1 day a week (although we can WFH if our court appearances run late and we finish too late to head back to the office). Some claim reps get as much as 3 days a week. This is new only as our technology allows us to do everything we do in the office in our home (laptops, skype IM, etc). Our office is completely paperless, I only print out court documents if a judge prefers it.

WFH can be a little isolating but I dont miss the commute at all. I sometimes leave the TV on as background noise if its too quiet. I really love the day I WFH, I wish it could be all week,

Question for anyone who works AT home full time

sometimes when you work from home you employer will not allow you to have the kids in the home or not allow direct care during working hours. I liked it, when I did it time to time, not sure I would like it all the time

Many times working from home forces people to actually work longer hours, that's one draw back

Message edited 6/11/2017 8:55:44 PM.

Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I loved it because the commute was killing me but it is lonely and I worked more then when I was in the office but the ability to leave for an hour or two was nice when needed.

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

Message edited 6/12/2017 9:27:00 AM.

Re: Question for anyone who works AT home full time

Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I would work from home in a heartbeat.

Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I used to work from home 3 days a week, sometimes more. It was amazing and I regret leaving every day. I used to get so much done around the house, could keep DD home from daycare if she was sick, pick her up early if needed. I never missed interacting with anyone, I still saw them 2 days a week and had conference calls when I was home.

The only downside is if you eventually go back to being in the office. I've had such a hard time adjusting. I was so spoiled because now I HATE being in the office every day.

Question for anyone who works AT home full time

I WFH full time. Another aspect that people don't realize is I get absolutely no break or down time until my DH gets home. In the morning I'm on baby duty until sitter comes at 830 she leaves at 530 and I'm back in duty. I actually miss my commute sometimes. It's nice to get some time a day to be alone with your thoughts lol. It does get lonely and I'm always on conference calls but it's just not the same as face to face. You end up working more too.