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Would You Want to Work from Home?

Norma_Budden by Norma_Budden

It Can Be A Win-Win Situation

A great advantage for the entire family is when one parent is able to work from home.

The parent working outside the home can have peace of mind knowing their children are being looked after in their absence. The parent working at home gets to spend a greater quantity of time with their children than would be the case if working outside the home.

As long as the income generated from this job - in addition to the income from the other parent working outside the home - is able to comfortably sustain the family, it's a win-win situation.
You Don't Have to Go Home from Work Exhausted!: A Program to Bring Joy, Energy, and Balance to Your Life

You Don't Have to Go Home from Work Exhausted!: A Program to Bring Joy, Energy, and Balance to Your Life

by: Anne McGee-Cooper

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Parental Obligations

Life is hectic when both parents work outside the home or when a single parent must work. Too often, there isn't much energy and time remaining after a work day to spend time with children/spouses.

For single parents, it becomes even more difficult since children must be tended to, meals must be prepared, and housework needs to be done.

Photo credit: Flickr

Saving Childcare Expenses

When the opportunity arises to allow a parent to work from home, it's a blessing. There is little need for child care services, unless a parent is on a tight schedule and must, occasionally, place children with a sitter for a day or two.

In the event that a parent needs to have undivided attention to do the job or is a single parent, childcare arrangements can be made for half a day, as opposed to all day.

This saves a significant amount of money each month which can go towards future dreams the family has, whether to take a vacation, purchase a bigger home, and so on.

Limiting Negative Stimuli

From external sources

Being able to stay at home while children are young also helps shape their characters in a way pleasing to the family.

When children are, primarily, raised in childcare centers, a variety of influences surround them each day, and the influences are not always of a positive nature.

The ability to stay home with children, while working from home, allows a parent to keep an eye on them and reduces the number of times a child is upset by something which happened or was said during the day.

Stability and peace of mind

When a parent works from home, the sense of stability and security provided to older children is incredible.

Even when they don't arrive home to the smell of cookies baking in the oven, they enjoy peace of mind knowing that Mom or Dad is in the other room and will greet them, immediately asking about their day at school.

No price tag can be attached to this. Children of every age need their parents, even if they are not willing to readily admit it to their friends.

Getting ahead during break periods

Life is so much easier

Another great benefit when working from home is that a person always needs to take a break at some point.

It only takes a few minutes to put a roast in the oven. When a break is required later in the day, peeling a few potatoes to go along with the roast is convenient. Dinner gets prepared with little effort.

The little breaks used throughout the day have gone towards washing an occasional load of clothes, sweeping the floor, vacuuming, and so on. Housework doesn't pile up as it seems to do when both parents are working outside the home, and joints don't get stressed as they would if continually remaining in a sitting position most of the day.

Photo credit: Crunkish

Working your own schedule

Whatever works is most important

It is a joyful experience when work hours can be set according to an individual's preference. As long as the deadlines can be met, many employers are flexible about when their employees work.

Perhaps a parent can opt to work in the morning, take a few hours off in the afternoon, and spend a couple of hours working after the children go to bed, providing the spouse is in agreement.

When working from home, you can take a photograph whenever inspiration strikes! 

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No commute!

Hooray!

Not having to commute to and from work saves money spent on gas, saves wear and tear on a vehicle, saves the frustration of dealing with traffic, helps in protecting the environment, and saves much time, especially when working in large cities or living outside the town or city of employment.

The time normally spent in commuting can be used as work time, causing the work day to end much sooner, allowing a person to spend more time with family members and friends.

When the repairman is scheduled to arrive

It's great to be able to let the repairman in to perform a job during a regular work day, as opposed to interrupting personal week-end time.

It also saves on paying call-out fees to companies who generally operate only during regular week days.

I'm not sure that you'd trust this little repairman, though; he might not get the job performed adequately. :)

Dealing with a family emergency...or not

Working from home allows people the luxury of dealing with family emergencies immediately, often without having to explain their absence in advance.

However, sometimes, people are needed by their children, spouses, or friends for reasons which are not emergency-related. The same conditions still apply - generally, people who work from home can be more readily available when needed.

What is your reaction when someone interrupts you when you're working at home?

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Leave me alone, please! I'm busy!

Just give me a minute or two and I'll see what I can do!

Kelsey-Budden-16 says:

Might as well help while I'm getting work done.

 

Providing your own Entertainment

Being able to work from home allows people to listen to radio/television programs they enjoy, or they may opt to listen to their favorite singer/music group - at whatever volume they prefer - with no one making complaints.

Conversely, as opposed to being forced to put up with the noise surrounding an external workplace, when people are in the mood to work in a quiet environment, it's their prerogative. They can be surrounded by total silence.

Working from home spells RELIEF!

Working at home provides mental and financial relief for a parent while providing a sense of security and peace of mind for children. It is beneficial for all concerned as is the best way to live, providing it meets financial obligations.

Photo credit: SC Family Life

Are you interested in working from home?

Consider checking out these books to determine whether or not working from home is in your best interest.
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Working from Home Guestbook

Share your thoughts with me! I would love to hear your impressions about my lens. Do you work from home? Are there some benefits I did not cover here? If so, feel free to let me know.

  • 55molly Feb 8, 2012 @ 11:17 am | delete
    working from home can also be a bit lonely so u need to ensure you balance work and play
  • annlorraine0128 Nov 24, 2011 @ 10:44 pm | delete
    Agreed on all points. Working from home is indeed one great opportunity to look after your child while earning. I must say because currently I am working from home with Remote Staff, an Australia-based company. And it's really a great help for me and my husband.
  • adhd-bipolar-depression Feb 3, 2011 @ 12:51 am | delete
    I hope that I can continue to do so.
  • RedSportNiac Sep 10, 2010 @ 8:20 pm | delete
    I do and it is the best 'job' in the world.
  • Kelsey-Budden-16 Apr 6, 2010 @ 2:45 am | delete
    Reminds me of 7th Heaven. :-)
  • Jewelsofawe Oct 22, 2009 @ 2:43 pm | delete
    Very nice lens. I wrote one about making money online that is about working at home.. ChaCha is a cool place to earn extra money...
  • jembay64 Sep 25, 2008 @ 10:21 am | delete
    superb lens with tons of good info. love it. hoping soon to write about making money online myself very soon. watch this space......john
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This UpMarket page written by

Norma_Budden

I think it would be absolutely ideal to work from home. As such, I am doing everything I can to make sure that becomes a reality before too many additional... more »

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