The Stresses of Working from Home.
Good-Bye Commuting And Workplace Pressure. Hello Isolation, Lazy Habits And Confused Kids.
International Stress-Guru Carole Spiers Analyses The Freedom And Slavery Of The Home Working Life for the newsletter INSPIRED! Dedicated to the success of the 500,000 direct sellers in the UK www.directsales-inspiration.com
Many people who are involved in running and growing their own small business will almost certainly be faced with the prospect of working from home. This might be because they’ve started their business as a means of earning money in their spare time; don’t want or need the expense of a serviced or dedicated office; or simply because the nature of their business makes working from home the most logical and cost-effective solution.
Viewing Your Home as an Office - A Big Psychological Shift for You and Your Family Whatever the reason, what many people do not take into account are the stresses and strains that home working can impose. If you have a family, for example, it can be very difficult to make them accept that the area of your home that you have chosen to be your ‘office’ is now exclusively that. Then there is the other extreme where people become so involved in their work that they find it impossible to break away from it, and their work/life balance suffers as a result. And then there are the people who start off with the best of intentions, but find their motivation and commitment to their new business slipping away - making their home feel much less ‘homely’ as a result. In all these situations, the added tensions caused by working from home can very quickly turn into stress which, if left unchecked, can have far-reaching and extremely damaging results. If you are considering or already engaged in home working, it’s therefore important to bear in mind the following. Successful Home workers - the Categories, the Characteristics
Many people enjoy working from home, but for others it can pose problems. It’s been suggested that the ideal balance for home-based workers is to spend between half and one day per week away from their home, but if this is not possible, then it’s essential to keep regular hours and to meet people outside of the home office - hence the development of teleworking ‘communities’ and breakfast / lunch clubs. Those working from home can generally be divided as follows…
* Home workers on fixed contracts, e.g. self-employed sales representatives etc. * People who are building a business, often in direct sales, who may also have a full time job. * Employees who are employed by a company but work from home as opposed to from the firm’s premises. * Self-employed professionals who see clients or offer consultations from home, such as private doctors, counsellors and health therapists. * Freelancers who bring in their own work, such as journalists, graphic designers, authors, researchers etc. …and they tend to be affected by the same issues:
* Isolation and lack of daily peer group interaction - such as meeting around the photocopier or coffee machine for a chat. * A tendency to become de-motivated leading to lack of concentration, low productivity and missed deadlines. It’s been recognised that only individuals possessing a particular temperament may be best suited to home working. Particular strengths include flexibility, self-motivation, good time management, and being a self-starter who is able to work without supervision.
Compensating For The Solo Workstyle - Keep Networking And Socialising
A strong network of supportive friends is also thought to be beneficial, if not essential, in retaining good mental health. Where people miss the stimulus of interpersonal relationships, over time they may become depressed and withdrawn. Colleagues at work not only spend a substantial amount of time talking to each other about their work, but also such topics as their social lives, families, TV etc. This frequent interpersonal contact, sense of belonging and mutual concern is fundamental to human needs, but can very often be missing when an individual works from home. Company employees who use their home as an office should therefore be aware that this will require a change in outlook, including: * A clear understanding of the overall objectives of the (now virtual) team of which they are a member. * A clear definition of their responsibilities, role and place in the hierarchical order of the department or company. * Periodic face-to-face personal contact in order to minimise social isolation. Freelancers and the self-employed, on the other hand, will benefit from: * Joining professional organisations, e.g. a local Chamber of Commerce, professional society or business group. * Being proactive in initiating co-operative alliances and mutual ventures. * Arranging meetings to maintain contact with colleagues and clients, e.g. breakfast or lunch clubs. Overall, the temperament and skills required to be a good home worker should include the following characteristics: * Commitment to the job. * Not easily distracted. * Good time management. * Self-discipline. * Ability to communicate well by phone, email, fax and letter. * Ability to network. * Flexible attitude to working hours. * Willingness to be adaptable
What Home-Tutor Annie Found When She Made The Leap Awkward highs and lows. A sense of isolation. Friends taking liberties with her ‘freedom’. But she soon got things under control…
Annie returned to work after her divorce, when her children were in full-time education. She re-trained for a year, studied for a degree, and then worked from home as a self-employed home tutor. Initially she used the family sitting room but soon found the intrusion into living space to be difficult. Eventually she moved, and one of her requirements for the new home was a self-contained space situated near the front door that could be utilised as an office, in order that clients did not have to walk through the living area of the house. After the stimulus of university, Annie found it difficult to accept that on many days the only people she communicated with were her clients. She missed the interaction of university life. She also found it difficult to motivate herself sufficiently to keep records up-to-date, block out lessons, read new material and market herself by phoning potential clients. Another irritant was that friends and neighbours tended to take advantage of her and appeared not to take her work seriously - e.g. by asking her to pick their children up from school if arrangements fell through, or to let in building contractors etc. On days when there was no work for her to do, it could be difficult for Annie to motivate herself to get out of bed, whereas at other times of the year, especially close to exams, the workload could be extreme. As a self-employed worker, it was difficult to turn down work and therefore very easy for Annie to over-extend herself. By contrast, other periods were unbearably quiet and it could be difficult to cope with the lack of control over her workload. Annie eventually joined a gym to ensure that she went out regularly and because she enjoyed the sociability of the class. She could go during the day, rather than being restricted to weekends when the gym was busier, and so she benefited from a cheaper off-peak rate. Annie found it important to keep in contact with friends regularly, although this resulted in higher expenditure on meals, cinema, etc. On the whole Annie enjoyed her new lifestyle and the freedom to plan each day. Initially she found it difficult to cope with the highs and lows of work but this became easier as a pattern began to emerge. As a home worker, it was important for her not to become isolated and to accept that she had to make an effort to go out and meet people. She joined a professional association and often travelled to London to attend lectures. This helped her to network on both a professional and private basis, as well as keeping her up-to-date with the new information that was essential to her work and professional discipline.
Carole Spiers MIHE MISMA Business Stress Consultant
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Patty McCarthy. She beams common sense directly to my core to set me straight. Caring souls are always there . She made a good point, and I thank her for it.