everyday public relations

Recently a co-worker of mine batted around the idea of working from home one day a week. The idea was great in theory. Our work is done primarily on a computer or on the phone (gotta love the communications industry) and so we are lucky enough to be capable to complete many of our tasks without actually coming in to the office.

The most obvious benefit that jumps to mind of course is saving money. Even one day of not driving means less gas to buy, which is a big one since most of us here around the office drive big gas guzzlers even though we of all people should respect our natural resources…but I digress.

Less driving also means less cars on the road, less pollution, less dependency on oil, etc which is obviously good from an environmental standpoint.

Another selling point is the obvious convenience of rolling out of bed and working without the need for removing your pj’s or brushing your hair. I get very little sleep as it is since I can’t seem to convince either the baby or the toddler that their beds are much better than mine. Trying to look impressive for the office is often given a much lower priority than five extra minutes of semi-sleep.

Lastly, well who wouldn’t prefer to work on their own schedule without worrying that the boss is going to poke her head into your office at 3:30 to discover you took a late lunch…right when she needs you of course. At home as long as you have the Internet and a phone you are always accessible and can eat your PB & J whenever you feel like it.

Now the downside.

If you are single and or married with no children, or maybe married with children and a splendid nanny then you could probably stop reading as this will more than likely not apply to you. You want to work at home, more power to you. Save the planet, one gallon of gas at a time.

I on the other hand have three children. Two of them are not yet in school….thankfully only 60 more days till there will only be one crazy toddler roaming around the house! hooray for pre-k! It is also summertime now and the one child who I gratefully send off on the bus every morning during the school year is now moping around the house complaining of boredom and that his annoying little brother is trashing his video games again. (go outside already! I’m working! or as my father always told me..”I’m not your entertainment committee!”)

While that in itself may be reason enough for many working moms (or dads) to want to be out of the house, I actually do have more.

Working at home is nearly impossible for me. There are simply too many distractions. I am just one of those people that just can’t leave things undone. If I am at home then there is laundry to do, dishes to wash and little hineys to wipe unfortunately. (Lord I hope it is true that girls train easier than boys do..) I can never sit down long enough without noticing something else that must be taken care of. I tried having the whole home office environment thing, but somehow life still creeps in, even if you lock the door. How does a three year old learn how to unlock a door with a hot wheel anyways?

My kids also assume that me being home means it is either a weekend or a holiday.See how well I have them trained by my work schedule? Wish I could get them trained to pick up their rooms when they know I am on my way home (kind of like the cat in the hat story), now that would be impressive. Where can I get one of those picker-upper machines anyways?

So just being in the house virtually guarantees that no work of any substance will be accomplished unless I have a sitter, which kind of nullifies the whole saving money idea in the first place.

If I choose to work at home I also tend to work way more than the eight hours required. I know this kind of contradicts what I have been saying so let me explain. If I am running around fixing sandwiches, folding laundry and wiping noses and hineys then the few moments I have when they are napping, eating, or otherwise occupied means I dive in to work. Maybe it is only ten minutes here or an hour there, but when you get an email from your supervisor telling you to go to bed because you just sent your latest marketing plan to them at 1am (they finally went to sleep!) then you realize that you have really gone above and beyond, despite all the crazy distractions. While working at home I keep a log of my hours and it really does add up.

So maybe rather than try to save fuel or the environment by working at home, I will just get a bike. It’s only 33 miles right?