Job Flexibility: Harder Than It Sounds
Work From Home Isn't Easy
As a freelance writer, I realize how lucky I am that I am able to work from home and can set my own schedule. But there’s a downside too.
For one, I never get to leave work behind at the office. For another, since I have no set schedule, I am often overwhelmed with options — do I return e-mails or play with the kids? All those options can stress a person out!
My kids often complain that I’m always working. I try to explain that by working at home, I get to see them more often. But then I fret that during the time we spend together at home, my attention is often divided. In particularly difficult moments, I wonder if we’d all be happier if I was working outside the home during set hours (but then I remember how good I’ve got it!).
LiveScience recently reported about new research that confirmed what I experience every day. “People who have more schedule control at work tend to report more blurring of the boundaries between work and the other parts of their lives, especially family-related roles,” according to LiveScience.
Researchers from the University of Toronto measured work flexibility and its impact on work-family balance by surveying more than 1,2000 American workers.
“Most people probably would identify schedule control as a good thing—an indicator of flexibility that helps them balance their work and home lives,” University of Toronto professor Scott Schieman, who authored the study, along with PhD student Marisa Young. “We wondered about the potential stress of schedule control for the work-family interface.”
The authors found that people who have more control over their work schedule are more likely to work at home and multi-task. People who blur the lines between work and family also tend to report higher levels of “work-family conflict,” which can be quite stressful (as I know!)
Their study examined people who have more flexible schedules in work-outside-the-home jobs, not work-at-home jobs like mine. I’m curious what they’d find if they studied the schedules of freelance writer/moms.
Do you have flexible hours at work? If so, does it reduce stress or cause you stress?
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Photo: iStockphoto.com/FotoShoot
No, I don’t but I do not have a problem leaving work at the office. However, I have a problem leaving my family at home.
I have a part-time job which entails a lot of paperwork that I could take home to do if I so choose, but I don’t unless I can help it. It generally means picking my son up from the sitter a couple hours later, but I can finish it in a third of the time without having my toddler underfoot vying for my attention so it gives me more time with him that I can actually play and interact with him. When I do have to work at home I feel like I’m being pulled in 2 directions at once and that I can’t do either job well. Usually what winds up happening is that my son gets plopped in front of the TV so that I can meet my deadline. I hate it but sometimes don’t have much choice. On the other hand he loves the babysitter he goes to and I feel a lot less guilty about working knowing that when I can’t give him the full attention he needs that someone else is. The work-at-home model seems more adaptable to some kids and families than others and I applaud any family who has managed to find a balancing system that works. However, for me personally I would work from home only as a last resort (at least until my son is a bit older) because it is so challenging to find balance.
This pic of the working mom gets used so often, I feel like someone’s trying to sell me the dress. Which I would love. Where can I get it?
Mistress_Scorpio, you made me laugh! You’re right – I’ve used this pic before. I love the dress, the whole ensemble! I almost felt I should add a disclaimer: This is not a picture of me. And I wish I knew where to buy the dress!
Oh, boy. I work from home, and I’m homeschooling my oldest. Some days it’s a nightmare trying to get everything done that needs to be done. Other days it’s easier. I used to have a separate space I could call my own – my office – but now? Now it’s a thoroughfare for kids and dogs, and I find myself stopping to tie on dress-up clothes in between projects. I do have to admit that I worry a lot about whether or not I’m doing the right thing, but they’re both things I want to do: work and homeschool my daughters. So, it’s tough striking a balance between everything we’ve got going on, but I really don’t think I would have it any other way. At least with my profession and my family’s life situation, I can set whatever hours I need and adjust my workload to work around the kids.
I keep on thinking that any minute that lady is going to tuck that kid into the giant purse…
I so appreciate this post. Also a freelance writer, I’m home with a 4- and 2-year-old. I turn the TV on too much so I can slip in some writing, and I sacrifice a lot of sleep so I can work late into the night. I wonder what my little ones think seeing my iPhone or laptop constantly within arms reach too. After countless conversations with girlfriends ranging from full-time career to full-time at home, the best scenario I’ve heard of is a 3-day-a-week job share. She seems fulfilled at work while happy to have more than half the week dedicated to her daughters. If ever I feel isolated or missing out, I try to remind myself that these few years are really just a moment in time. I’m driven enough to know that I’ll be back in the game soon enough. Until then, I never have to worry about asking for sick/vacation time. I must admit though, that while I love working on my own terms, I do miss dressing the part.
[...] Job Flexibility: Harder Than it Sounds [...]
I really appreciate the flexibility that I have from work. This flexibility allows me to be home or to be at home when kids need me, especially, when s/he is sick. I can always run home to take care of them, then make up the hours I missed from work via telework late in the evening when kids are asleep. This way I don’t have to use up my sick/vacation time, which I can save and use it to spend more time with the family later on. It just depends on how a person, e.g. a mother, controls her own schedule and makes time for her own kids and work. I’d rather use my dressing and commuting time with the kids or complete more work early.
I’m sure there is no perfect option, but the time saved in commuting alone makes me wish I had a more flexible job.