Perks of Working from Home

Working from home as its advantages

by Sarah Smiley 

Working from home has its perks.  Conducting an interview in your jammies is just one example.  But don’t be deceived—it also has its challenges, like when you have a tight deadline but the dog needs a walk.  Therein lies the biggest hurdle for stay-at-home moms: procrastination.  For all its privileges, working from home requires a heavy helping of discipline ... and that’s just the beginning.

Still, at-home careers remain an excellent option for military wives whose husbands change duty stations every couple of years, if only they can accept the challenges and responsibilities of not having a boss down the hall (and having a “boss” in Pampers instead).

So let’s take a candid look at what working from home really entails—the good, the bad and what no one ever told you before.

THE PERKS OF WORKING FROM HOME

My job as a freelance columnist goes anywhere the military sends us.  I don’t spend money on work clothes, and I set my own schedule.  When my children are sick, I am there.  When my husband forgets his cover, I can take it to him.  When the repairman says he will be at our house by 8 a.m. but doesn’t show up until noon, he hasn’t impeded me.

M.J., a Marine Corps wife who enjoys her work-at-home status because it affords her the opportunity to be a wife and career woman:  "In the evening, my husband comes home, the laundry is done, the dishes are put away, dinner is on the table and I've got a paycheck:  It's a win-win situation."

Jennifer, an Air Force wife who works full time from home for a publishing company, says that, for her, the biggest benefit of working from home is the way it complements her husband’s demanding job as a military training instructor.  “With [my husband’s] schedule, it would be virtually impossible for me to be a professional working woman and ‘mommy’ at the same time,” she says.  “In addition, I can take this career with me when we relocate.  I won’t have the stress of finding a new job in a new place.”

Admitting that she will probably offend a lot of out-of-home working moms, Jennifer added, “I love the fact that we have a dual income and my children never have to pay the price for it.  My 6-year-old knows that when he comes home from school I will be waiting with a hug and open ears to hear all about his day.  My 2-year-old and 3-year-old get to take naps in their own beds.”