Access to family is major perk of working from home | May 27th 2006
by Jacqueline Dooley
Sometimes life seems like a constant game of tag and I’m often chasing after something frustratingly out of reach. In fact, the old idiom “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” seems to have caught hold of me over the past couple of months.
My recent columns have focused on juggling too much — too much work, too much stress and way too much distraction. It’s easy to get caught up in this mindset.
It’s far more difficult to assess the situation you’re in, take a step back and say, “Hey, I’ve got a pretty sweet setup here.”
A good friend of mine recently pointed out the way I’ve structured my professional life — the working from home part of it, in particular, has many positives, not the least of which is the effect it has on my family.
Being home all the time really enhances my life, and my family’s. It’s more than the flexibility I have which allows me to schedule doctors’ ap-pointments and teachers’ conferences in the middle of the day. It’s about being present in the house so my husband isn’t completely alone all day with the kids. In a word: accessibility.
Accessibility means I can help out in ways that would be impossible if I had to leave each day for the office.
Here’s a recent example. My 2-year-old has a bad cold which makes her cough at night. Last night, she woke up at 2 a.m. and my husband got up with her for more than an hour. She has learned slowly to be a good sleeper, but her sleep is fragile and easily disrupted by standard toddler complaints such as teething, illness and growth spurts.
Division of labor
My husband and I have discussed her evening wake ups and agreed it is best for him to get up with her since I need sleep to function adequately at my job. She’s also very attached to me and tends to fight the prospect of sleep if I’m the one who gets her, so a late-night rendezvous will last twice as long when I’m the one who gets her.
How was I helpful? Well, I made the executive decision to let him sleep in the next morning. I made him coffee, got my older daughter ready for school and even managed to drop her off and arrive home before our youngest woke up. He got to sleep past eight, take a shower and have his first cup of coffee by the time I arrived home. The best part? I still made it to work by 9 a.m.
I’m not saying I’m a hero. Many parents drop their kids off at school or day care before they go to work, and I definitely feel lucky that this is a task my husband owns. But being able to support him when he’s super tired means he doesn’t get burned out, which means he’s happier when he’s with the kids.
This makes happier kids and happy kids — you guessed it — make for a very happy mommy, and much more productive worker.
This is only one of many examples of how being present in my home is good for my family’s health.
My older daughter, who loves having me close by, provides another example. Now that she has learned not to come into my office five times a day, I have found I love it, too.
Accessibility works both ways. I love having my family around me all the time. Knowing I can steal a hug whenever the moment strikes me is definitely a self-employment perk.
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This article was published in the Poughkeepsie Journal on Saturday, May 27th, 2006.