Questions for moms who work at home

Right now my job is allowing me to work one day a week from home when I return from maternity leave, however they say that the baby still needs to be in daycare or a sitter present so she doesn't distract me from getting my work done.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. The reason I want to work from home is to be able to spend another day home with my DD.

For those that do work from home is your DC there? If so, do you find it difficult to get work done? What does DC do all day while you work? Do you feel like you are ignoring DC?

Do you get more work done in the office so your "at home" days are "lighter" work loads?

Thanks

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I work at home (supposed to do 30/hrs a week) and yes DD is here with me. It's not easy, I do what I can when she naps, she can also play by herself for a while... I also do some work after she goes to sleep.
I check my email often to see if anyone needs anything.
How would they even know if you DC was home with you or not? I don't think that's fair that they allow you to work from home but then tell you to hire a sitter...

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I don't work from home but that is ridiculous that they are requiring you to have a babysitter with you all day. There are people at my work who work from home and they just do more when the children go to bed. The whole reason most of them do this is to save $$$$ on childcare. They should not request that from you and you should not have to prove in anyway that you have a babysitter present.

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I work from home 4 days a week. My employer never stipulated that I send DD to daycare or have a sitter present while I was home with her. How would they know the difference???

The way I work things right now is, DD goes to daycare part time. I send her 4 days a week from 8-2 - Just so that I can get work done. It does get harder once they are walking to get stuff done, and conference calls can be challenging wh

Once this baby comes, I will consider getting a mother helper or a nanny. Or send both to daycare.. I'm not sure though....

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I try working from home & it is very, very hard- I have a very hard time getting ANYTING done.

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I work from home 2 days a week. Before I had DD, I thought my work was ridiculous that they asked me to have childcare when I worked from home. Now, I realize I could not get work done if I didn't have the nanny home with me. I guess it also depends on what kind of work you do, but mine involves lots of phone time and conference calls and there is no way I could schedule something if DD was awake. She needs my attention and I don't think it's 100% fair to her that I would have to leave her in her swing or exesaucer while I did work.

To be honest, no I don't get as much work done as I do from the office but it's my own fault. I like to do stuff with DD during the day and it is harder to concentrate. However, if something needs to get done, I will get it done. Let me know if you have any other questions! I'm happy to answer them.

Oh and if I sent DD to daycare, I would probably try to have her home on the days that I worked from home, with a babysitter, because I wouldn't want to not be able to see her whenever I wanted to.

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I have worked from home on occassion when DS was home and I found it pretty hard some days. I think when they are walking and more active it gets hard bc they expect you to interact with them. Depending on the type of job that you have, you may not be able to schedule meetings/conf calls during naps. I definitely think it's easier with a newborn or infant.

While you may think it is harsh for your employer to tell you to put your child in day care, I can see where they are coming from.

Message edited 2/21/2007 11:15:42 AM.

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I work from home 2 days a week. My DD is 2 years old and my DS is 5 months and it is very hard, but can be done. There are some days that my dad comes over in the a.m. to keep my DD occupied for a bit so I can get things done.

I do try to get a lot more done in the office so that my “at home” days are lighter. I am constantly check work emails and voicemails so that I don’t miss anything going on. I have to admit that my “at home” days can be very long days. If I have a project I am working on and too many interruptions, I have to work on it at night after DH is home and the kids are in bed – so the work day can be very long. It also makes me crazy that people think I am “off” on the days I work from home, I don’t think people realize how difficult it can be and that I work harder when I am working from home than I do when I have to go into the office.

Sometimes I do feel like I am ignoring DD when she wants me to sit and play with her and she doesn’t understand that Mommy is working. I do make a point to take a lunch break and sit and play with her during “lunch”, we even go out to lunch a lot, so that I am getting her out of the house for a bit and that seems to help.

But it is so worth it just to get a little extra time home with my kids.

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

They don't let me have a "set" day. Right now they say Friday, but that can change at any time and if they request I come in on a minute's notice I have to come in.

I have to pay for 5 days of daycare regardless, because my daycare is either FT, MWF or TTH. No exceptions. So its not the money, its the time spent with DD. I may just leave her home and see how it works out.

I'm working from home on my maternity leave and she's here. I feel like I ignore her sometimes which makes me feel bad, but I try to make up most of my hours at night when she's in bed.

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

what are you doing(work wise)
do you have to be on the phone??

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I have been working from home since DD was born in April. I work from home on tuesday and fridays. I am an engineer and alot of the work I do just requires the use of my company laptop and specific programs I use to run analysis, with that said I don't need to be on phone calls to often.

I find now that DD is crawling, standing up, it is much harder for me to get things done but I do find the time. I get up before she does to get some work done and then she is very good about playing by herself on the floor. I also usually work a couple hours when DH gets home and I'm waiting for dinner to cook. If I need to get something done I will also work when she goes to bed. Like someone said early, working from home can be long stressful days. I think it is worth it.
As for getting more work done, I think I get more done at home most days because I'm not getting constantly interrupted at work by others.

As for them requiring you to have a sitter, how would they know and I guess if you needed to go in you could drop her off at your daycare since you are paying for it five days a week right?

Thnk about the amount of distractions there are at the office, people chit-chatting, etc. I bet if you stop and think about it you probably only work about 6 1/2 to 7 hours out of an 8 hour day, so if you only got that amount in while working at home it would be the same!

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I don't think an employer having "at home" rules is ridulous. I think iit is fair to them to have your attention during the required hours.
I work from home but my employer did not have those rules. In the very beginning it was okay with Molly being so young but as she got older it was unfair to her and my employer to keep her home with me during work hours. You do get more time on those days since you can put her in daycare or have a sitter come a bit later in the morning or pick her up earlier from daycare. Maybe have someone 10-2 those days to help you. It is VERY hard when you are on a work call and the baby starts crying. I am not sure how your boss would react to that situation. So look on the bright side..you don't have to commute for one day a week and you do get extra hours with your baby.

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I agree 100% with michele31 - - I think those rules are pretty common and make sense for an employer.

When I went back to work - I worked from home 2 days a week. I didn't have a babysitter at those times. At first it was ok - but after a month or two when he was full force rolling and crawling - it was impossible to work. It stressed me out big time and I honestly almost asked to go parttime rather than work from home. I felt like neither was getting my 100% and felt very guilty and very stressed out. I wound up doing a lot of work after he went to bed at like 11pm and it was just crazy. If I had to take a call or an issue came up in day hours - it was stressful and very difficult. I had no one to watch my son and if I did I certainly would have someone when I worked from home even part of the day. Working from home is great because you can see what is going on and be partyly involved - also for me cuts out my 3 hours of commuting to the city a day - meaning more time home with my son. However, the stress of this arrangement with no child care - partly led me to my decision to become a SAHM (well I work one day a week in the city when I can and sometimes from home here and there to help out as a consultant to my old firm).

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I work from home with both kids with me. Jack goes to his toddler preschool program MWF from 9-11:30 so i get things done then and then while they nap. It is very hard, somedays beyond stressful, but I seem to manage. I work for a marketing agency with only 1 client and no on has caught on that I work from home with my kids!

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

Jodi can you get a young girl to come to your house instead of doing weekly daycare? Then at least Hannah will be home with you on the "work from home day".

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

Believe it or not, I get a lot done. I work from home, 20 hrs/week...I work when DS is napping and then when DH gets home-he watches Johnny while I spend an hour or two at the computer. I also go into my office saturday mornings to catch up..

It isn't always easy, especially when he refuses to nap or isn't feeling well...but its been great so far. I hope your company sees that it can be done! there is no point paying a sitter or daycare, totally defeats the purpose of you having the day at home!

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I also do some work from home and found that when my children were toddlers, it was almost impossible to do. I did wing it for a while (i.e. scheduling conference calls during nap times, etc.) but I found it was really stressful. Eventually, I found some help and when they became older increased or lengthened their days in nursery school.

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

Thanks ladies.

I think I will start with bringing her into daycare on my work from home days from 10 - 2 or keep her home if I know I'm not too busy or don't have any calls.

If it works out I'm going to ask for 2 permanent days - that way I don't have to pay for daycare for those days and can hire a mother's helper for a few hours a day on my work from home days (assuming I can ever get 2 permanent days!)

Re: Questions for moms who work at home

I work from home a few days a week and part of the deal was that my son goes to daycare. I don't think it is an unreasonable request. My son is 22 months and I would have a tough time getting stuff done with him home. Yes he naps 2 hours a day but that isn't enough time to get all my work done.

I still save money on commuting and the time alone is worth it.