Working from home?

[poptart]

I just graduated from college last month, which of course means that I am looking for jobs at the moment. As I was writing my umpteenth cover letter, I thought about the possibility of working from home. I don''t personally know anyone that does this, but was curious if any of you do and what your experience has been with it. I don''t need to work from home or anything, but just figured it was another option I could possibly explore. Thanks in advance for your help!

*M*

 

[TravelingGal]

It's the BEST THING EVER!!!

However...

I would not recommend it so early after coming out of college. There is a lot to learn when you come into the workforce and hopefully you could land at a good company where you have mentors and great coworkers. I worked from home for my first job and felt pretty darn lost and overwhelmed. I didn't have solid work experience (minus the college retail job) and just didn't have the work ethic, to be honest. Within a year I quit and swore I never would work from home again.

I worked for the next 9 years in an office setting and it was great. Met wonderful friends and learned how to be the most efficient worker I can be. 2 years ago, I got an offer I couldn't refuse and took the job working from home. Now I am far more disciplined and savvy in my industry and I find working from home to be quite easy. I've gotten plenty sick of coworkers over the last decade (because believe me, there are some weird ones) and was ready for some solitude.

There are pros and cons...

PROS
- no rigid schedules...you can take a bit of an extended lunch if you'd like.
- no irritating coworkers
- you can actually be more productive and crank out more work in less time
- you can make healthy meals at home
- if you're really not feeling well (like maybe from too much wine on Sunday night dinner) you can take it easy on Monday.
- you can browse Pricescope without anyone looking over your shoulder!

CONS
- Everyone assumes you don't work (even your boss) so you have to work extra hard to prove that you do. Be extra prompt with returning calls, emails, etc.
- no nice coworkers to hang out with
- out of sight, out of mind...you'd better perform if you want a good raise!
- no IT guy to holler at if something doesn't work.
- setting up a home office can be expensive (but tax deductible)
- Fashion sense goes out the window as you simply live in icky house clothes (at least the lazy ones like me do...)

I'm sure there's more Pros and Cons, but those are ones from the top of my head.

 

[poptart]

Thanks travelinggal! Is it too nosy for me to ask what type of work it is... if so, just ignore the question. Also, how does one even get offered an actual home based job, out of curiosity.

The point you make about being lost and overwhelmed is a very valid one, I think. I hadn''t even thought about that to be honest, but with the internship I just finished I was given a lot of help in some areas, but in many instances it was a "figure it out for yourself" type of situation. I guess the absence of co-workers could be a pro or con depending on how you look at it, lol. I am actually really efficient working from home because I know my surroundings and don''t get distracted as easily, so in that respect I might do better. The experience you get from working in an office is something that is kind of invaluable, I suppose. Thanks again for your help, more to think about (and cover letters to write).

*M*

 

[Mara]

i did this for a previous job...i did kind of a 1/2 in the office, 1/2 at home thing. i liked it for sure, but i definitely needed the office time or else i think i'd go crazy with just myself and portia in the house all day long hahaha. i definitely was more 'when are you coming home' to greg when i worked at home than i am now...now that i am working in the office all day long, we basically get home at the same time so there is more of a mental equal footing on time management. anyway i do miss it sometimes, aka just getting up, chilling out, making coffee and breakfast, working for a while then going for a walk, etc. but on the other hand i like being in the office where there's a lot of hustle and bustle and i feel really energized most of the time and 'involved' more than when i was at home more. also i think it depends on your type of job, aka what is going on in the office without you. with my company now, if i am gone for a day or two, i miss a lot of things that are going on in the office...even if i have access to email and calls and all that, it's still not the same as being in the office. for some jobs esp field sales or account management it may not be that big of a deal if you work mostly solo.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/13/2007 5:39:42 PM
Author: Mara
i definitely was more ''when are you coming home'' to greg when i worked at home than i am now...now that i am working in the office all day long, we basically get home at the same time so there is more of a mental equal footing on time management.

Haha...I call TGuy nearly every day at quitting time to see where he is in his day!

Poptart, the vast majority of work from home jobs are in sales, and you can include me in that number. Keep in mind there are different types of sales jobs...hard sell (cold calling) and soft sell (account management type stuff, which is more of what I do). To get a job from home early in the career, it will probably be a harder sales job where the company is large, needs regional salespeople and has a lot of turnover. Pharmecutical companines are a prime example of this.

I got very lucky in my career track. Started out working for a huge textbook company. While it wasn''t really a hardsell kind of company, until I made the relationships with the professors, I was pretty much going door to door during their office hours and introducing myself. It definitely felt like cold calling and I hated it. But that opened the door to where I am now for sure...and I deal with technology which is much more fun.

 

[Mara]

TG it started to drive poor Greg crazy!! he''d be like don''t you have enough work to do? i got really into cooking because i had the time to go out and shop and also could start dinner right away before he got home so i just had way more time on my hands to do things i wanted to do like garden or cook or similar. commuting is never really fun!! but i preferred the 1/2 time thing in the office or some sort of balance like that. but yeah i also needed that adult social interaction that an office gives me, and it is nice to not SOLELY rely on clients for that interaction!!

also one thought about doing it too early in your career, you might miss out on some valuable social skills about working in corporate or office type environments if you just start working from home. i have been in a corporate environment since i was about 17 so two years out of it was a nice break, but i missed it actually!!! plus i find that in many environments where you can work from him, things are so much more lax and less professional and that can be good and bad....in certain ways. i don''t think i''d want to work from home starting my career off because i''d like to be a sponge and that means being AROUND other people who can help teach me. now that i am more established in my career if i were to work or consult from home it wouldn''t be as big of a deal as i am not being mentored the same as i was when i was fresh in the workforce. just a thought.

 

[onedrop]

I have to agree with TG about cautioning you about pursuing work-from-home opportunities just out of college. I think it will be benficial to you to go into an office to learn the ropes and get some "mentoring" from the veterans. Currently I am working from home and have been for about three years and I love it!! It''s really the main thing keeping me at my job right now. Not having to make an hour or hour and a half commute everyday has significanly improved my quality of life. All that said, there would be no way to do my job effectively from home had I not had several years in the office under my belt.

And one other word of caution about working from home....weight gain!!

There are more than half the folks in my agency working from home and when I do see them I am always struck by the fact that they have gained weight (MYSELF included..LOL). So make sure you keep your regular work out routine. For some reason I seem to have become more sedentary since I started teleworking.

 

[poptart]

Thanks Mara! The 1/2 in the office and 1/2 at home work sounds just great. Cut down on commuting time (yay!), and be able to get the pros of both work environments. I really do need the office experience, but would like to be able to work at home and get stuff done around here, too. But I know starting out one usually has to make a couple extra sacrifices. I guess it''s still something I could think about doing later on though.

TGal: Cold selling absolutely terrifies me. Not that I can''t talk to people, but I know how I feel about getting sales calls like that and don''t want to be the person on the other end of that phone line. I honestly wasn''t sure what type of jobs you could do from home, so thanks for letting me know how that works. It''s just this idea that keeps rolling around in my head, so I figured getting some more info about it couldn''t hurt. Thanks again!

*M*

 

[monarch64]

DH works from home the majority of the time. He has an office at his company but it''s roughly an hour away and he goes in maybe once or twice a week, and on the first of the month to do pricing. TravelingGal''s comments as far as pros and cons were right on target, I''d say. Many of his friends are in the skilled labor trades, read: union, and they really give him a lot of crap sometimes about having a "cake" job, which is quite rude, if you ask me, but he deals with it well and doesn''t take any unnecessary crap. He travels a lot, and tells them that they have no idea what it''s like to be on a business trip away from home for days or a week at a time and be "on" 24/7. Working from home requires a huge amount of self-discipline, and again, with all the perks there comes a lot of time management and that is sometimes a hard balance to maintain. Also, when you''re working from home (don''t know if this has been mentioned yet), there is the impossibility of not "bringing work home with you." You can''t exactly leave an office and just forget about all the work-related things that are stressing you out after 5 p.m. because you never really leave your office, unless you have a huge house and you sequester yourself to one room or turret somewhere on another wing, lol!

 

[TravelingGal]

Monarch, believe me....I get the "cake job" thing from my own HUSBAND. People don't realize that you are always looking at work. Nights when you see me posting on Pricescope? Yeah, I have my email open and am responding to anything that comes in. You have to be disciplined to get AWAY from work sometimes. For me, easier said than done.

What Mara says about social interaction is VERY VERY true. I was socially retarded (in a business sense) when I first started working. I was shy, didn't understand office politics, etc. You really need the day in day out joys and frustrations to hone those skills. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but learning how to deal with business social interaction was the biggest key in helping me develop professionally and personally.

Mara, TGuy got miffed one time when I cooked up something pretty special and I called him to see where he was when he was running late. Well, traffic in LA can get bad and he was delayed in work. He's like, hello...I don't need this stress about being home on time for dinner! I could understand that, so I've backed off since then.

I don't know of too many real cold call sales jobs anymore, but in any sales job, you have to meet new people and try to develop rapport. Even after years in this business, I have to psych myself up to do it. I mean, sheesh, I had to psych myself up to meet Mara (for the second time) and Greg (first time) last week because on most days I am so shy. (Don't laugh Mara.)

 

[monarch64]

TG, yup, you definitely take a ton of flak from people who think a "real" job requires being in an office or other setting for a set amount of hours each day. And I have certainly been guilty of not being real happy with DH sometimes when he''s home all day and I''m not, and I return from work to find the kitchen/bedroom/bathroom a complete disaster...for some reason i assume since he is in the environment he should be expected to at least pick up after himself, but I''ve been wrong in that assumption so far and learned to let it go, after all, he IS working even if he greets me at the end of the day in gym shorts and a tee shirt, LOL!

I agree, Poptart, with TG when she says that (paraphrasing here) probably the best jobs to explore right out of college are not work-from-home. You really do need to get a taste of what the corporate world entails as far as politics, etiquette, day-to-day activities, etc. so you get a sense of the discipline it takes to get to work on time, develop projects and complete them, and interact with co-workers in that setting.

Also, I have to second the dress code thang...I worked in retail management for quite a few years post-college and had started even before college, so it was nice to be able to develop that professional wardrobe and keep the look up on an everyday basis. As I mentioned above, Dh many times greets me in almost pj''s, but then will go out on calls and wear a suit, or go golfing and wear that kind of attire...for him, he has to maintain a wardrobe on 3-4 levels, casual, (normal suburbanite attire), dress (suits and ties), and recreational wear that ties in with his line of work (golf shorts/pants, shirts, shoes). It can be very expensive to maintain all of this, and even though we have a great tax guy who finds ways to write this stuff off, still a lot of out of pocket expense just for clothing for him during the year. Most days, though, when he works from home, he doesn''t shave and looks like a total bum, which sorta bugs me when I come home from work even though my job doesn''t require anything more than casual wear for the most part. I dunno, it''s weird!

I think if I were you, Poptart, I would look into securing a position where you could grow and hone your newly acquired degree skills for a few years, and then venture into the world of working from home.

 

[sumbride]

There''s also sometimes the option of occasional telecommuting.

My office is 45 miles from my house and my commute bites the big one, so once a week, on Wednesdays, I get to work from home. It''s a nice way to break up the week and it gives me a chance to focus on things I just can''t deal with in the office. My job is in IT though, so full-time telecommuting would never work for me... there''s too many times when I have to stand over someone''s shoulder and help them, but I appreciate that my office gave me a chance to spend one day at home. I had to work there almost 2 years before they approved, and I have about 8 years of office experience.

Telecommuting isn''t always easy... I have to attend staff meetings via phone since they are always on Wednesdays... and today I missed a baby shower... but I get 4 hours a week back for me. Also my FI thinks I don''t do anything when I''m home. Sometimes, honestly, I slack... but only when I can afford to. Some weeks are just slow. And I think I would go crazy if I couldn''t go in the next day and talk to everyone... I definitely need socialization.

 

[gailrmv]

This thread is very timely for me as well b/c I am about to accept a job that is very flexible and will allow me to work from home. I''m pretty good about staying focused and have several years experience of the traditional office environment so I think it will be good for me. Also, I''ll have office space where I''ll go maybe 2 days a week. But I will be largely running/conducting a project on my own and won''t have as many close coworkers as I am used to, so I know I will be missing the social interaction!

Several of my friends work for big companies and have negotiated to work from home maybe 1-2 days a week, like Sumbride does. This seems to give them a good mix of office time plus home time to be extra productive and avoid commuting.

I was offered another job recently where most of the team was in another city and thus I would be telecommuting to meetings and such even if I was in the office in my city. They said it would be fine to telecommute from home sometimes as well. I think with technology getting better and better and with companies spread across the globe, telecommuting/working from home is becoming more and more widespread.

Good luck with your job search Poptart!

 

[mrs.ROC]

Poptart,

Ditto with Travelinggal. I work from home also, and it''s the absolute BEST ever!! I am also in sales, and never thought about jobs working from home. I lucked out and was introduced to my current company from a friend, who also worked from home. In my situation, the headquarters are out of state, and my home office is the regional office. It saves the company money and time into committing to a office space lease, and for me.. saves me time on commuting to work!!! But I definitely do not reccommend working from home fresh out of college. Only b/c working in an office/corporate environment definitely has it''s advantages as to building work experience and work relationships. My water cooler time, is now at the local coffee joint, instead of daily water cooler banter.... definitely don''t miss the office gossip, and listening to employees complain about their jobs, bosses... etc... Working from home has it''s challenges as well, such as discipline, and motivation. This is why I have time to be browsing through PS the last 4 months!!! Good luck!!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/14/2007 12:27:02 AM
Author: mrs.ROC
Poptart,

Ditto with Travelinggal. I work from home also, and it''s the absolute BEST ever!! I am also in sales, and never thought about jobs working from home. I lucked out and was introduced to my current company from a friend, who also worked from home. In my situation, the headquarters are out of state, and my home office is the regional office. It saves the company money and time into committing to a office space lease, and for me.. saves me time on commuting to work!!! But I definitely do not reccommend working from home fresh out of college. Only b/c working in an office/corporate environment definitely has it''s advantages as to building work experience and work relationships. My water cooler time, is now at the local coffee joint, instead of daily water cooler banter.... definitely don''t miss the office gossip, and listening to employees complain about their jobs, bosses... etc... Working from home has it''s challenges as well, such as discipline, and motivation. This is why I have time to be browsing through PS the last 4 months!!! Good luck!!

Yes, it is very important to NETWORK early on in your career. Kind of hard to do that when you only have you, you and you.

I once lamented to a colleague (who worked out of her home) that I was scared to work from home because I''d miss the office interaction. She said, "Think of it this way, you can get you work done twice as fast because you''re not interrupted every 5 minutes, and then you can spend time with the people you REALLY want to hang out with." (I have friends who don''t work, so it easier to see them.)

Just don''t turn on the TV....I don''t know how people work from home who love the TV...it can really distract you. In the two years I have worked from home, I have never once turned on the TV during the day...not including lunch break where I watch the Barefoot Contessa at noon for 30 minutes!

 

[Mara]

hah TG shy my left foot!!!! well you know the way to my heart, a bottle of moscato and you're in like flynn!!!

actually though i know what you mean and i agree. when i did sales, i really had to get into that mindset of meeting with clients and being ON before i met with them and i found that very tiring at times. greg says i am super social but overall i don't think of myself as a very social personality. also when i am 'done' aka very tired...i am done. meaning i just slowly shut down. greg is kind of the same way, i think he is super social but he also feels as though he can't sustain it for very long and sometimes he just flat out doesn't feel like being social or being ON but he can pull it out if he has to...i am always so impressed on even when he doesn't feel like being ON he can still manage to make it seem so easy. most of the time if i am not feeling social it is very hard for me to force that.

 

[mrs.ROC]

So true Travelinggal!!! You have to keep the tv turned off. So tempting to watch tv. Also, I try to catch "Everday Italian." So funny!! But now with tivo, I can tape shows!!