My Biggest WAH Problem... People Not Understanding

I have enjoyed working from home for quite a while now and I love every minute of it. When I think of the problems I've had or the issues I face, the same one keeps coming to mind first... people who don't understand.

Okay, for some reason, a lot of people (my sister is the biggest offender) don't really consider working at home to be a "real" job. It doesn't matter that I make more money than they do... if it's not fighting traffic, paying sitters or daycare, and having to kiss up to a nasty boss, it's not a "real job" in their eyes. (Which is silly since I run an entire business from my home office and CEO a second and she knows this!)

So how does this problem manifest most? She (again, my sister, biggest offender) thinks that because she has Fridays off that I should just be able to "pick up and go and take Friday off" also. And I've told her each time that she has Fridays off... *I* don't!

But still it keeps coming up... "let's do this or that on Friday"... or "let's do lunch" which I know would be a lot longer than the 30 minutes I allow myself for a lunch break. I *did* solve one of the problems a few years ago... people also thought that personal phone calls because I was "home all day" would be fine and dandy. They weren't. I cancelled our land line and keep the cell off during work hours. I'm learning!

Yes. This, exactly. I can relate to this SO WELL!

I do freelance writing and editing, and I'm starting to try to get into food blogging and running my own online gift boutique with LaBella. So, I've got a lot on my plate. But that doesn't stop anyone and everyone (my husband and children included) from thinking they can just come in and talk to me whenever - and I HATE, HATE, HATE turning them away because they're the most important people in the world to me. But if I don't have time during the day without distractions (which is nearly impossible, anyway, because I have cats), it seems like I can't get anything done.

Even when the kids are at school, I'm over at my mom's house almost all the time, and she doesn't always get why I need her to not talk to me. Plus, she's always after me to go out and "get a real job" that'll pay more money. It's so hard to try to get her to see that if I had more time to actually work the way I need to, I'd be making a decent income.

Oh, it's so hard!

A couple of my friends who are in the same boat have vented to me about this very issue! They've had issues with people just dropping by, to people expecting to leave their kids with them for 'free daycare' because they don't see working at home as a real job. It certainly would be tough and frustrating - one of my friends who works from home says she has just taken to not answering the door if she's not expecting someone -- because more often than not it's someone or something that she doesn't want to be dealing with during her work day!

What a lot of people do not understand is, working from home is more time consuming and tasking than working for an organization in an office 9-5. I just realized this when I quit my job to work from home and I miss the office. The reason is, you have to be both a housekeeper and a career person at the same time and 24 hours seems like 6 hours most times. There is always so much to do before the kids and the husband return for the day.
People need to understand working from home is more strenuous; if they tried it, they would know but many are scared to.

Amelia88 said:
A couple of my friends who are in the same boat have vented to me about this very issue! They've had issues with people just dropping by, to people expecting to leave their kids with them for 'free daycare' because they don't see working at home as a real job. It certainly would be tough and frustrating - one of my friends who works from home says she has just taken to not answering the door if she's not expecting someone -- because more often than not it's someone or something that she doesn't want to be dealing with during her work day!

Are you kidding? People actually want your friends to watch their kids for free? Oh my goodness, I would be livid! Now, if they wanted to pay for that time, your friend could make that a part of her work from home. But no, not for free!

Yikes, people just really don't get the concept of working from home...unless they're the ones trying to do it.

mawitty said:
everyone (my husband and children included) from thinking they can just come in and talk to me whenever - and I HATE, HATE, HATE turning them away because they're the most important people in the world to me. But if I don't have time during the day without distractions (which is nearly impossible, anyway, because I have cats), it seems like I can't get anything done.

Oh yes, mawitty... you absolutely *do* "get it!" Oh, and you know what's even worse than all that? (I should say the thing that grates on me even more)... that is people who say things like "I wish I could work at home. I'd have so much more time to go places and have fun. But I can't afford to do that." Well, grrrrrr to them. How much more annoying could they be?!

I'd love to know what goes through their minds... like what do they think working at home is exactly? Making a client phone call when soap opera commercials come on? Entering a few numbers on a spreadsheet between bonbons? My, my!

I just realized a secondary issue for this, after reading your answers... something someone said reminded me. After I started working from a home office, my work got a lot more difficult and my workday a lot longer.

Why? Frankly because as my own boss, I'm a relentless taskmaster. I don't *do* 9 to 5 like an outside office position would entail. My days are more like 5 to 7. 4:30 to 8, etc.

And I generally don't take weekends off either. I'm a lousy boss to work for, bottom line. Maybe I should start guilt-tripping my sister back... "You're so lucky that you don't have to work 12 or 14 hours a day like I do including most weekend days... I get soooo tired!"

Any chance it would work?!

I think that this is many people's attitude because this is such a new phenomena. Society has us so brainwashed that we view a "REAL" job as clocking in and out. This is such a shame and really there is no way to combat this myth...just know it will get better with time. Soon enough people will be more accepting of work from home sites and start gravitating to them more.

mawitty said:

Amelia88 said:
A couple of my friends who are in the same boat have vented to me about this very issue! They've had issues with people just dropping by, to people expecting to leave their kids with them for 'free daycare' because they don't see working at home as a real job. It certainly would be tough and frustrating - one of my friends who works from home says she has just taken to not answering the door if she's not expecting someone -- because more often than not it's someone or something that she doesn't want to be dealing with during her work day!

Are you kidding? People actually want your friends to watch their kids for free? Oh my goodness, I would be livid! Now, if they wanted to pay for that time, your friend could make that a part of her work from home. But no, not for free!

Yikes, people just really don't get the concept of working from home...unless they're the ones trying to do it.

I know! I was shocked too when she had to get it off her chest and complain to me about it. I think sometimes "so called friends" can try and push the boundaries and will just ask things from people...she was needless to say very very upset that someone would assume that it was cool to just leave two little ones with them during school break because they had to go to their OFFICE job and my friend that worked from home could apparently just watch them for her...

My friend tried to explain it to her in the context of "if you can't take them to work in your office, and have them sit there, what makes you think that I can keep them here?!" and I think that might have registered...slightly! But I was shocked at just how rude and inconsiderate some people can be!

I'm seeing that I have a lot cut out for me. I have recently decided that I am going to start working from home, mainly because my baby is still so young. Now I don't have a job that I so far can call my JOB, but I'm in the process of getting there. I do little tasks etc online. I would however like to find something that I can call my job. Do any of you have some ideas for me? Because I'm still in the searching phase of it all, my husband tends to think that I sit at home all day and do nothing, and he won't say anything to me straight, but I can see that by his actions and statements he thinks I'm not busy.

I can really relate to all these. I always wanted to tell others, though I am staying at home, that doesn't mean I am FREE all the time. Or, I am actually very busy all the time.

Besides working online, I also work on my freelance projects (software development) and I homeschool my children too. So, whenever others pay me a visit, I have to stop everything I am busy with. I don't mind if my parents, siblings or neighbors visit me once in a while, but not too often, as I need to work and homeschool.

Sometimes, my neighbor kids just come to my house and play with my children as well. Though I don't really need to babysit them as they are quite old already, I still need to watch them out and take care of them. I don't mind spending time with children, as I like to be with other kids as well, but I also need time to do my own work. But, sometimes I do give hints to my neighbors that I am busy with my work and homeschooling, glad that they understand.

I actually do not really care or mind if others understand, I really have to get my work done, so I'd just tell them frankly. This is the lifestyle I choose, and I like it this way. Moreover, I choose this because I can take care of my children.