Hellobee Boards

Hmm... I WOH, so maybe I'm just not seeing what you are. To me, WAH is still working, but with some additional perks. Like you mentioned, no commute time, being there for the handyman, etc. I think it would be easier to do house-hold chores to if you WAH? Like doing a load of laundry (not folding it, but actually throwing it in and starting it), starting the dishwasher, etc. Plus not having a commute seems a huge perk to me! My commute is an extra hour+ that I don't see my family every day. But I imagine those that WAH still bring their kids to daycare and stuff. Plus you don't get the perk of hanging out with a bunch of other adults all day!

Being totally honest here, if I know that a poster is in a professional job and they just happen to be working at home instead of an office, then my assumption is that they have childcare. I don't think they're sitting around doing laundry all day, but a load here and there, sure, I've done it.

It's the jobs in the other category (I don't want to call them non-professional, but am struggling with the right term), where childcare isn't mandated by the employer, maybe they're self employed, etc that I think of as WAH. Transcription comes to mind, for example. Work when you want, if you can sort of things.

@petunia354: I think I would drive myself crazy trying to do it all if I WAH!

It really depends on what exactly WAH means. If you're "WAH" by shilling MLM on facbeook, then no I don't really consider it the same as WOH but maybe it's because I don't know anyone that actually makes a real income doing it. Also, if you WAH and don't have childcare, then yeah I kind of assume it's not a "real" job. I could never WAH in my job without childcare. It's usually a disaster when I attempt it on snow/sick days. Most telecommuting jobs I have seen require you have childcare.

DH WAH for many years since he's in sales and that is obviously a lot different and requires you to be available during work hours. I can WAH when needed, but I choose not to most of the time because I am more productive in the office. It's nice to be able to throw in laundry here and there, run to the bank and be available for a repair man, though!

Hmmm...I WAH full time and don't feel like I get less respect from anyone?
I do get to do a few things that WOH don't get to do, like attend daycare parties, pick him up an hour early on Fridays etc, but I don't think I'm disrespected because of it?

I think part of it depends on the industry and if you have to have childcare or not. M WAH because there is not an office here. He travels or is seeing customers about 1/2 the time.

I think people just assume there is more flexibility with WAH that WOH, which I think is true in many cases.

ETA in many cases having a home office can be harder since there is more of a blur when work ends and home life begins. I know plenty of WOH employees have a laptop and can work remotely. But with a home office everything is there and accessible if say you want to work for 3 hours on a Saturday.

@raspberries: Case in point: me, right now on HB, while at work.

@raspberries: @Adira: yeah I found the few times I worked from home before our new policy went into effect that I actually worked harder from home than in the office. I felt like I really had to show what I was doing and that I was making a difference. When I'm at work I feel like as long as my face is here, they are happy.

@winniebee: If I am comparing someone who does my job, but from home (the only real comparison I can make)? I'll be completely honest. No. There are so many things that I deal with during the day that someone who has my job and WAH does not (and that's not including the commute, etc., just pure work stuff). That's not to say that I don't respect them. That's not true at all. But I don't consider a colleague with a similar level of experience my peer if they WAH.

@raspberries: haha, yes, of course.

@pwnstar: If they are doing your exact job, just at home, what's the difference? I obviously have no idea what you do, of course, but assuming it's the type of job that can be done at home (i.e. a desk job), I'm not sure why you think someone at home couldn't do it?

@winniebee: Did you have to take vacation on the days that your nanny were sick? I WAH part-time for the first 6 months of my son's life and that was the difference I really think you might be being sensitive to (or people are alluding to). You have flexibility that other people who WOH feel they don't. I'm sure you work just as hard, if not harder, but you are able to have more balance because you don't have to be physically present from 8 AM to 5 PM. You can throw in a load of laundry during the day, load your dishwasher during your "lunch break" - by definition WAH means less dead time. I spend at least 2 hours a day between commute, day care drop off, getting dressed (if not more) that I would have back if I WAH. That is a serious amount of time. I don't think it's a question of ability to do job (at least certain jobs) and seriousness of work - I think it's more the assumption that you have more basic flexibility.

@pwnstar: I do feel like my job wouldn't be as enriched if I worked from home. While I'm not in a lot of meetings, I sit right by some really smart people and I get to overhear and be involved in a lot of great discussions that I would miss if I was at home.

@winniebee: I definitely think there are drawbacks to WAH too (like access to files, lack of a readily accessible professional "think tank" so to speak, and trying to get things served, etc.). I see that side of it too. But at the end of the day, I do more non-billable tasks than someone who WAH.

I definitely don't feel like people take my work less seriously bc I WAH, but most people I talk to understand that I work for a company and daycare is required.

Then sometimes, I realize people don't actually "get it". Like last week we had a snow day and daycare was closed, everyone worked from home who normally is in office, etc and I posted a picture of F in the snow, and someone commented "it is so great that you get to share in his firsts, with the job you have". I sort of freaked out when I saw that comment bc I have co-workers on FB and don't want them getting the impressive that F is home with me every day while I'm "working"

@winniebee: I am probably dumb but I think of PTA as like being room mom (my only experience). I am currently room mom for my son's school with my sister. I do most of the gift and financial stuff, but when it comes to needing to show up in the middle of the day to a luncheon, I don't really have the ability to change my hours like she does (and would have to take personal time). Like others, I see the irony in this as I am currently not being the best employee and they don't care.

I personally think it's more an allegory about the PTA than about working status. PTA used to be predominately for SAHM. I do agree that the better way people could have answered the question would be "because I work full-time," regardless of locale of work.

@Adira: I said that in that thread... I wasn't interested in joining PTA anyway (may change in the future), but I said it's not like I can anyway since I WOH. My assumption was that it's made up of SAHMs (since I assume again that meetings are during the day), but I can be totally wrong! Maybe there are PTAs comprised of mostly WOH parents that meet at night too!