working from home?

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kat706

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I have been reading old posts from people who have had a baby and kept their horses. I noticed a lot of them work from home to allow them to take care of their babies and horses while earning a wage.
Are you in this situation? Do you work from home? What job do you do?
 
I work from home, running the admin etc for family company - I am supposed to be working now :rolleyes:

Have no children but love the flexibility esp in winter of sorting horse and dog walking in day light rather than the pitch black when I used to work in an office plus if its a quiet day I can sneak off, the luxurys of mobile phones if I get an enquiry I am out on site and will respond once back in the office ;)
 
I work from home in the mobile communications industry. It does not matter where I am as do not need to be based in one location.

Have worked from home for nearly 4 years now. Advantages:

No commuting costs (if I go anywhere for work I get paid 45ppm)
Don't need to worry about taking time off for deliveries etc
No childcare costs in holidays unless working away
No need to take time off work if my son is ill
Can go for a good walk with the dog at lunchtime

Disadvantages:
Can get really lonely
Isolated from assistance with IT etc
Stereotyping of homeworkers
See office every day including Christmas day
Have to really get away to feel not at work, eg go abroad
Work extra long hours without being paid
 
Hi there
I've worked at home for 5 years, have two children, 5 and 2 years, horse. Went back to work when no 2 was 5 months as working at home makes that a lot easier. I am a freelance web editor and also do social media moderation. The pay for this is low at between £8.50 and 13.50 an hour, but you get to fit it completely around kids/horses as you choose your own hours in one-2 hour slots over a 24 hour period. Being a freelance editor is better paid but I've been doing that for 10 years and have regular clients who pay well. Good luck. Have a look on money saving expert website for more work at home tips and workingmums.co.uk which often has work at home jobs.
 
Thanks for your replies everyone and thanks Como for the websites. I will have a look at them now. Seems like internet based/ mobile stuff is the way to go?
Maybe its just me, I am keen to work from home but I am also wary of some of these jobs advertised on work from home websites. You hear all these stories of scams. It makes me a bit wary of who to trust.
 
I worked from home as a Recruitment Manager for a global logistics company. I did it for 18 months but have literally just secured a job back working for a retail company that means working in the office at least 4 days a week which is fine by me :)

I found working from home really stressful but that's because I was basically being expected to do a full time job in 25 hours so all the things I used to do in a previous job when I worked from home 2 days a week didn't happen. My job involves a lot of time on the phone so sometimes I would not move from my chair for 4 hours and I would nearly always end up logging on in the evenings to catch up on admin.

I think it largely depends on the job. for example I couldn't have my son with me while I worked except when he was poorly when I could delegate some of the calls but I know someone who looks after his toddler whilst doing his job as a computer programmer because he never has to be on the phone.

It is handy for things like deliveries and letting the dogs out for a wee though :)
 
I would work largely from home but still would be out visiting my partners at least 3 times a week and 1 day in the office. The massive advantage for me was the reduction in travel time. 2 1/2 hours back a day is a lot when you are trying to fit in horses, dogs and gym. Travelling out to see partners would invariably be outside the rush hour so shorter time out..
 
Irishbabygirl.
I had thought about childminding. It seemed like an obvious choice but I dont yet have my own baby and as i dont have friends / family nearby with babies i havent had much experience.
 
I am a Sales Manager for a global offshore supplies manufacturing company. Originally job was office based but I have to travel a lot so when I'm not travelling I get the option to work at home (I requested this as it was getting impossible for me to manage the travel, house, horses and being office based). I can work 100% remotely as long as I have mobile phone and internet access. It's great because I can do some housework in my lunch time or ride, and I can be flexible with vets and farrier visits or if horse is on box rest etc but equally I end up working more hours as I might start early then get calls in the evening or at weekends. I couldn't do it with children running round though as I need to take calls, deal with quotes/ enquiries, participate in conference calls etc. it's amazing how much time you save not having to drive to and from work or get ready. Quite often I'm sitting working in my jods with big frizzy hair (wind swept) and was so embarrassed as a conference call turned in to a video conference call....mortified!!! ;) my point is sometimes if you prove yourself in a job they will be flexible towards your needs so you don't always need to set out specifically looking for a WFH job.
 
Thanks skipadeedooda, It is a good point. I would love to stay at my current job but couldnt do it from home, I work in retail. but it has made me think I could at least look into options there. perhaps I could take on a different role that could be more flexible or at least part homebased.
 
OP the job I had where I could work 2 days from home was in retail as firstly a Recruitment Officer, then a Trainer and finally an HR Business Advisor - these were all field based so I spent 3 days in stores and the rest at home. I did this for 7 years and loved the job it was only when the opportunity to work every day at home came up that I decided to move on.
 
Although retired now I worked from home for the last 5 yrs of my working life. It really revolutionised my life, absolutely loved it! I worked for a global IT company so much of my time was spent on conference calls with work colleagues or customers, a lot of them in the US.

Yes I often ended up working in the evenings, but my boss was flexible over this, so could do horses during the day, used to ride before work, there for vets/farrier, had my food shopping delivered, always in for parcel deliveries.

Saved me a fortune in fuel, as office was 60 miles away.

You do need to be a self motivated person though, as I know some of my colleagues couldn't do it, they would get distracted too much.
 
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