FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
March 31, 2006
The Home Office from Hell Sounds Homey to Me
If you've ever worked out of a home office, you know how absurd a contest to find the Home Office From Hell is. Because there is no contest. Pretty much everyone I know who relies on a bedroom/dining room/breakfast room-turned-office arrangement confronts the same stuff -- disruptive pets, kids, confused FedEx deliverymen, the temptation of really bad TV after lunch. Masking the collision of home life and work is one of the job requirements.
Of course, when you're the one trying to interview a CEO and quiet a howling hungry cat at the same time, you can't help but feel you're starring in a slapstick called, yes, The Home Office from Hell. I've played every part at one time or another. Growing up, I was the impatient and noisy pre-school office-mate when my mom was freelancing on a typewriter at our breakfast table. Twenty-five years later, I was the one freelancing, trying to sound professional while making calls in a t-shirt and flipflops.
These days, I'm on the other end. I hear a dog or a baby (this week's cameo was a newborn named Ella), and I immediately picture somebody's home office. Instead of seeming unprofessional -- these interruptions tend to prompt an apology -- I find these moments refreshing, humanizing. You learn more about people than you do when they're in a buttoned-up corporate office. And the odds of connecting with them are that much greater.
Posted by Chuck Salter at March 31, 2006 2:47 PM | Category: |
13 Comments
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Just today after hearing a loud deep long whistle every so often I asked a client if she had a bird or was her husband at home...it was an African Grey Parrot. It gave us a connection once I told her how my mother has a parrot and put her at ease thus making it a lot easier to talk to her about her concerns.
Having 5 kids and a dog oh and a husband who works full time, all my friends are so jealous that I get to stay home, make good money, and work for a living. HA! Ha I say, there are moments when I would LOVE to have just more than nap time to be able to really get into my work. By the top of the last hour of nap I am really getting in to the swing of it when a baby cries then another and I am again tossed into life again. Ready to be on diaper patrol feeling important, but just in a diffrent way. I mean I guess, so what if I have a box of wipes, a bottle from earlier, homework late slips to sign, and at least I can stop and hug a baby whenever I want. But there are days I want an office and a pair of cute heels more than anything in the world.
Assuming the office at home is for a guy, and assuming he earns the larger share of break,it is crazy to assume, he does it belly deep in kids, door buzzers and mail people. Off and on over the last decade and a half, I've done it in a separate den or spare bedroom. SILENCE please, door shut, ear phones on, musice and/or ear/phone for telephone firmly on the skull. Computer/WP, Internet, whatever forever at the ready, that's the way I made..made a living.
Otherwise I would be just kidding myself. Temptation too great to Dr. Phil the afternoon away. No TV in the den/workroom, just a quiet stereo, window overlooking lake/lawn/restful scene. It works.
I know women working at home that still have their kids in day care. I know men that are home and don't. For me, even on the most hellish day in my home office I am so happy to be there.
My "office" is a desk in my bedroom, next to my bed which usually has two sleeping dogs on it (when they're not barking in on my conference calls). I have mastered the "mute" button. I also have three kids (12-15) and they know to stay out of the way when I'm on calls. BUT... I get to see them more than I ever did in an office. I also get to have more time to myself. For the most part, I get to work at the times that make sense for me (and I still work with large corporate clients on high profile strategic initiatives). And - oddly -- I get more work done in my home office than I ever did in a traditional office. I wouldn't trade this for the world, but it's not for everyone.
Yes, but ain't it great? I've 'home-officed' in England, Ireland, Bahrain, Dubai, and don't really want to swop it. I've toyed with the idea of working in the big city (now it's Vancouver), then saw the queues of traffic, the parking problems, and the cost of office space, no thank you.
In Bristol England, as a talent agent, it was a regular thing to have people standing around from the front door through to the kitchen, waiting to be seen by a director for his new commercial. Kids were the best (and worst), little angels at first, sitting quietly on the stairs, that is until one of them ventures upstairs and is discovered snooping around bedrooms...
And working in Dubai, thanks to the time-difference, I could take the dog to the beach for an hour and be back in my office, telling people in the UK what a wonderful day it was while they were miserable in the cold and the rain - so many stories, so little time...
Hubby and I each have a home office - real rooms, not a piece of the bedroom or kitchen. No kids but we do have cats - who occasionally want pets and otherwise sleep.
Yes, the doorbell occasionally rings or the dog next door barkbarkbarkbarks but any day at home is more quiet, more relaxed, more productive than a day "on site" with co-workers' phones, conversations, overloud headphones, typing sounds, break room near the cubicle, hallway meetings, bad lighting, poor air conditioning, and worse.
I'm with Ann Michael on this. I work from home any chance I can get.
I've been working out of a home office since 1990, both as a contractor and now as a telecommuter. I learned early on the importance (for me, anyway) of having an office space that's completely separate from my living space, which is why I work in a tiny office we built in part of our garage. It helps cut down on the domestic noises--except for the dogs, who are always tagging me--and helps to keep me from working when I shouldn't be (this, surprisingly, is a much bigger problem for most work-from-home people I know than goofing off is).
I love working from home, and can't imagine going back to a "real" office at this point. I just hope I never have to.
The most incredible experience. Changing baby boy, messy diaper, several grape-size balls (what was it he ate?)
Phone rings, a call-back, this ring is ka-ching-ka-ching. Money.
I run through two rooms, answer out of breath and the respondent questions my breathyness! I answer, this time, with the truth. Changing a baby in my home office. I'm a guy, respondent was a woman. I figured I should explain the breathiness and the truth would give me cred.
She was touched, we talked for almost 20 minutes, just tidying up the interview when changed baby dumps the diaper on my head.
The respondent sensed my shock, asked what was happening and when I told her (we had really bonded) she laughed for almost exactly one minute.
Big belly laughs.
Then she said it was the best phone interview she had done
Passion and discipline are the key words...
I am passionate about my work as well as understanding what environment I work best in. Without a doubt, my home office is the place to be for me.
Although I understand the bedroom or kitchen table scenario (been there), I have worked hard to create a professional office settting in my den at home where I can entertain clients when needed. Being a single dad of a polite eleven year old daughter helps a lot, too!
I try very, very hard to keep the door closed when I'm out of the office for the day with a sign, which reads: CLOSED: OFFICE HOURS (I list the hours). This helps remind me that I do not work 24/7!
Self-discipline is the key for balance and to retain my sanity. As much as I like the option to go to work whenever I please, keeping disiplined hours at home has been a healthy remedy to keep things in perspective and maintain balance.
We actually run our business from virtual offices. One word to the wise: it does take some extra effort to a) recruit the right people, b) stay connected with those people. But all in all, the pro's totally outweigh the cons. Ch
I never wanted an 'office' but being a college student living with four of his fraternity brothers, my room BECAME my home-office. When your starting your own business there's now startup to pay for such things as an "office."
Try calling a client twice your age only to be interrupted, not by an associate, but by my roomates who want me to take a picture of Dave right before he chugs 5 beers in 60 seconds.
Discipline is key. Most importantly knowing when the people in your home will be away. I get my most important work done from the hours of 8:00 AM - 2:30 AM (the roomates are either sleeping or at class). Then I keep all easy tasks (reading, email, site updates) for the afternoon/night.
I am Jeff Landers, Founder & President of Offices2share.com. We are the company that recently ran the Home Office From Hell contest.
According to the latest SBA figures, there are more than 13 million home-based businesses in the U.S.
As evidenced by the numerous comments, many of you have decided to work out of your home as a life-style choice and absolutely love it. Without doubt you are the envy of many others who wish that they too can have a 60 second commute and be close to their spouse and kids all day. And that is absolutely terrific if that is what you what.
But a home-based business is not for everyone. There are millions of entrepreneurs who work out of their homes not because of a life-style choice, but because it is the logical first step in growing their business. They want to minimize their costs until they can hire people and expand. They are looking to build a big business and want to quickly move beyond the constraints of a home office.
These people want to follow in the footsteps of Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Steve Jobs of Apple, Bill Gates of Microsoft, Richard Branson of Virgin, all of whom started as a home-based business, but knew that eventually they would need to move out to a “real” office in order to grow their business.
There are also those that worked out of their homes only to discover that it was not the panacea that they thought it would be - too many distractions, isolation, having to meet clients at Starbucks or in a hotel lobby, etc.
There is obviously no right or wrong answer - it just depends what your goals are at a given point in time.
Did you see this CD with office sounds on it: www.ThrivingOffice.com? Home businesses play it in the background when they're on the phone to mask screaming kids, barking dogs, etc. And some are using it when they're not on the phone, too. Increases their concentration and productivity.