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Working from Home: Is it All it’s Cracked Up to Be?

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Whilst I was on maternity leave I dreamt endlessly of being a working from home Mum. I envisaged catching up with emails while the baby napped peacefully next to me; drinking lots of coffee on the comfort of my sofa and having a really productive time whilst saving loads of money on childcare.

Unfortunately, the role I do at work meant I there was no chance I’d ever get to work from home and I spent months agonising and stressing over my return to the workplace. I couldn’t stop feeling jealous of those people who were returning to work part time with one day or more working from home. I felt like I was letting Dex down by not being at home more with him and I continued to worry and stress up until I actually went back. Once I was back I settled in so quickly that I forgot all about my fears and worries until this video from furniture-work.co.uk reminded me.

I decided to ask my fellow bloggers about the worst bits of working from home especially for those of you who may be feeling pretty gutted that working from home isn’t an option for them. 

Jemma hates the lack of time off:

Working constantly from home means it’s easy to fill the days with the laptop open and your phone going off constantly-even on days when you would usually not even open the laptop, let alone work on it.

Nikki feels that other people assume she’s not actually working:

The assumption that because I work from home that I don’t actually work – or that what I do isn’t important. I find that people expect me to do all the jobs they can’t, because they are ‘at work’, whereas I am ‘at home’ and therefore not doing anything.

Pete hates the distraction:

The worst part when I work from home is being distracted. When at work, I can generally stay focussed as there’s little else for me to do. At home, I can find plenty of other things to get on with rather than work.

Jodie hates having an untidy workplace:

There’s nothing worse than home after the school run and walking into a room full of chaos: breakfast dishes, toys right in the middle of my ‘office’! I give myself ten mins of tidying up before I start work.

Star feels like she can’t relax due to her workplace being her home:

I feel like my home is my work place. When I have time off I dont want to be at home because I cant relax. It does mean I book a lot of holidays and spend Christmas away from home though so its not all bad!

Vicky hates the guilt that comes with working from home:

I feel guilty if I have to work when the children are around and never seem to find enough hours to do everything in the day as I’m trying to juggle working full time with little ones here, housework and mum duties.

So as you can see, despite many positives (flexible working, saving money and time on commuting) working from home isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. Despite dreading it, I’ve actually loved my return to the office for so many reasons. It has been hard when I’ve had to leave because of Dex being ill (which has happened way more times than I care to think of!) but I’ve loved having an hour to myself for lunch, the adult conversation and the feeling of having a routine: something I really lost while I was on maternity leave.

However you’ll be returning to work, I am sure it will all work out for you. There are good bits and bad bits to both ways of being a working Mum, as long as you find a method that works for you, that’s all that matters.

Is working from home all it's cracked up to be? What are the pros and cons of working from home when you're a Mum? Here are the benefits and pitfalls of being a work at home Mom.

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Devon Mama

Wednesday 29th of November 2017

I love being in the office, it's nice to have the adult interaction and the time to be me again, not just mum. I don't think I'd get that working from home. As lovely as the idea is, the reality is I'd end up stressed, in my pyjamas and on the internet all day before stressing like crazy that I haven't done any work in the evenings!! I'm just not cut out for it!