By Chloe DiVita
Last year at this time I was operating solely out of my home office, better known by our floor plans as the loft. I had employees – please don’t tell my HOA – and we happily worked out of my loft each day of the week. Granted, none of my employees worked full time at that time allowing me some work alone time, but none the less our loft was the business office.
Now I have an office about 15 minutes away where each employee has their own work space, not crammed into a 10 X 12 loft, and we can work away without worrying about what kind of mess we might leave that would drive my husband nuts. Use of our kitchen as the company break room, no matter how hard we tried to leave no trace, always left my husband feeling like he was picking up after us. Of course, OCD can do that to a person. Plus, it prevented him from feeling like he was truly arriving home, to his sanctuary, where he could clean in his boxer briefs without notice at 4 pm. I love him for that…the cleaning part, that is.
But, and this is a big but, even with the away from home office, I still work out of the loft office. Frequently, actually. And what I have found is that while it’s great to have a place to go to work, I still feel like work follows me home. Last year I would end up being in the loft office at least once each hour checking my email, or reviewing what needed to be done. Mostly because it was only a stair case away and part of me was always in that room. Now, I find I don’t frequent it as much, but I still feel its existence.
The catch 22 I find of having a home office is enjoying the flexibility of working in your pajamas while fighting the clock because when 5:00pm comes, it’s not so easy to just stop.
There is a part of me that wishes that I could work a normal 8 to 5 day, and leave it at that. Maybe sometimes working a bit more; it is expected. But, leaving work at the office when I walk out the office door. The other side of that equation is the fact that as a Mother having the flexibility to work from home when necessary – which in the summer is much more often than during the school year – is irreplaceable. I’ve been lucky enough to always be able to work around my daughter’s schedule. If she’s done with school, I’m home waiting her arrival. If her camp is done for the day, I can pick her up and bring her home. Granted this is followed by some time in the loft office, and her asking why I work so much, but it keeps her from needing any after school care, or a nanny, or some other form of watchful eye that I don’t want to pay for. And someday she’ll understand that me being home allowed her constant playtime with the neighbor kids. Something I know is creating everlasting memories for her.
Getting back to the subject, my home office has continued to be a thorn in my side when the office is supposed to be closed, and a great convenience when the office is open and my daughter is at home. I guess, or rather I know, the benefits outweigh the strives, at least for now.
But someday…someday when my daughter does not need someone to be home with her, when I can make my schedule a full day at the office, and I can shut down the part of me that is constantly pulled into that loft, someday I’ll leave work at the office.
Oh no you won't. I can tell you that from experience. Love you, Mom
Posted by: Yvonne DiVita | July 10, 2006 at 01:25 PM