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Telecommuting parents have little chance to escape the messy world of parenting, a new study suggests.
If you’re considering telecommuting to salve your stress from the constant juggling of work and family, think again.
A new study shows that “telework” takes a toll on the very employees who might desire this option most — those who feel especially torn between job responsibilities and family. For these people, the more hours spent working at home, the higher the risk of burnout, according to the report, published in the Journal of Business and Psychology.
That’s because when job and family are in the same place, some workers feel there is no chance for downtime —no respite or time to relax, said Timothy Golden, an associate professor of management at the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
“A teleworker may feel conflict more because you’re being constantly reminded of your home role: whether it’s what you need to do as a parent or household chores,” Golden said. “And that can make exhaustion worse."
Golden surveyed 316 employees from a large computer company that allows workers to telecommute and to work with a flexible time schedules.
To ferret out the level of job/family conflict, Golden asked employees to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how strongly they agreed with statements such as, “My work keeps me from my family activities more than I would like,” “Due to pressures at work, sometimes when I am at home I am too stressed to do the things I enjoy,” “The time I spend on family responsibilities often interferes with my work responsibilities,” and “ Because I am often stressed from family responsibilities, I have a hard time concentrating on my work.”
Golden also surveyed the employees about their level of exhaustion. Study volunteers were asked to rate on a scale of 1-5 how strongly they agreed with statements such as, “I feel emotionally drained by my work.”
Telecommuting was a boon to workers who felt little or no conflict between work and family. But those who were the most torn between home and work responsibilities showed increasing levels of exhaustion as hours spent teleworking rose.
Still, Golden said, even among those who feel strong conflict, telecommuting can be a good choice if it’s done right. That means having clear boundaries, both mental and physical — such as a door to one’s home office — between work and family.
“Telework, if it’s done well, can be very beneficial,” he added. “You save time commuting. You don’t have to deal with the stress of being delayed on your way to work because of traffic or weather. You have the comfort of working where you want to. But you have to think ahead of time about what might impact you if you’re working from home.”
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I'm retired now, but even without children at home, I always knew working at home was the wrong answer for me -- when I sit down at my home computer, I want to be thinking only of my personal e-mail and hobbies. When at work, I could block out personal concerns because they belonged in a different environment. It was worth the commuting time to be able to keep things separate.
Im a senior IT engineer with a grown family. I work out of my homes all the time. All I need is Internet access and Im good. In fact I live in Detroit most of the year, but work from my home in Florida in Dec. and Jan. Its relaxing to not have people hovering around your desk. People always blame the network for everything and want to tag me with its repair. This makes my life much easier.
I work from home 3 days a week, and would hate to have to go back to a 8-5+ schedule again. As a matter of fact, I'll stay at my current job as long as they'll have me because I appreciate the time I get back from not having to commute. That being said, you have to be self disciplined to stay on track while working from home. Make sure your family knows when you are on the clock, and set up a place in your home where you can work without disruption.
Maybe the researchers forgot to ask the key question: "Does working from home create more stress for you, or less?" I suspect that the people who reported feeling torn between work and home responsibilities either don't have the support they need (perhaps from their partner), haven't organized their home life in a way that allows for telecommuting, or their employer has unrealistic expectations of them. I've worked from home for over 12 years, and during that time have had a baby, moved twice, and taken in an aging parent. Working from home is critical to my sanity, and saves me countless hours of time wasted driving between work and home. That being said, anyone doing it must be self-disciplined and set up systems and expectations (from family and employer) that are realistic. Can you put in an 8-hour day with a two-year-old in the house? Not unless you have a babysitter. The times I've felt torn between family and work had nothing to do with the fact that I officed at home, and everything to do with my employer's expectation that I produce more than was reasonable.
Working at home DOES NOT MEAN you don't need daycare or other arrangements. The picture you show is not an accurate depiction of teleworking ...you can't do your work AND take care of a baby or children like you're not working. You must separate the work from family. Closing a door is one thing, leaving your children unattended while you do it is another. Like Laurie says, it's about working without interruption when you are on the clock.
I tell folks thinking of telecommuting that if they have kids at home, they are either neglecting their job, or neglecting their kids, or both.
Telecommuting is great, but no substitute for Day Care.
Well all know how it works, too. As soon as you get on the computer or the phone, the kids demand attention!
If you want to use a home office, you have to be serious about it and have a work mindset. You can't do that with playpens and fisher-price toys underfoot.
Maybe once in a while, it might work as a stop-gap. But not as a regular thing.
Day care. What a joke. Why would anybody let strangers raise their children?
Anyone who works outside the home.
Unless you home school, someone else is raising your children during the day from kindergarten through high school. At day care my son has music class, art class, Spanish, science, math, numbers, writing, reading, etc. -- it's just like a preschool. He loves it and has a lot of friends there.
Koza, are you demented?
Nobody will take care of your children like you...some pretty naive comments here. Better to have your financial life in order before adding to it the burden of raising a new life.
Day care is understood to be distinct from school...regardless, the early ages are crucial to a childs cognitive development...putting that in the hands of a day care is pretty poor.
Spanish? Well that was a revealing comment... French, German, or Chinese are vastly superior from an academic point of view, but Spanish? LOL? Unless the parents are Hispanic, a very poor parenting choice indeed.
Koza is doing such a good job raising her kids that she has time to blog in the middle of the day. One word comes to mind: Troll.
blog?? Do you know the difference between a blog and a comments section to a news article? LOL.
Reasonable22... you are correct, "Koza Dereza" is certainly an ignorant troll trying to get everyone's "goat". If you ignore them, they will usually go away.
@Tiacee -- How convenient to label those who do not agree with you as a troll. LOL.
However, it takes more than playing the "troll card"...try playing the "fact card"...assuming you have anything meaningful to contribute.
"Nobody will take care of your children like you..."
That's why, last week, I took out my son's tonsils and removed my daughter's molars.
cheetah -- A woefully ignorant comment.
My statement implies that, among other things, nobody will be examining your own childrens teeth (or insisting they form good brushing habits) like the you , and looking for such dental issues.
Nobody will be wondering if that first sign of a red throat is tonsilitis, strep, or something else...
Such ailments even being spotted cannot be trusted to day care.
LOL. Thanks for the ignorant remark. Day care is vastly inferior to a parents care. Please post some more...LOL!!
Topic fails to mention that telework and both parents being at work for 10-12 hours a day is destroying the American family life. Instead of figuring out how to get parents to work longer hours, work at home....why not figure out how to increase the single persons income so they can raise a family without both parents being at work (slave labor).
Those at the top of the company make enough to support 10 or more families each... while sitting on their arses sipping alcoholic beverages and snorting coke, shooting heroin, popping rx drugs, all day, leeching off the workers efforts, these greedy executives and owners can take a huge 'pay' cut and not suffer...
Remove the greed at the top, and one parent could support the family while the other parent is at home...
I work for a mid-sized company and telecommute when necessary (bad weather, sick kid home from school). My boss, forturnately doesn't do lines on the board room table or have cocktails for breakfast. I don't know where you get your information but I think you are a little off the mark there. I'm 44 and both of my parents worked when I was little. I always thought moms and dads both worked. My friends parents worked too. This is not new. If you want to have more "stuff" both of you have to work. My husband and I both work full-time and I personally feel that women who stay home with the kids, etc. and don't work for a living are missing out on having something for themselves beside being 'mommy'. Some women feel fulfilled by this but I think most would rather get back on the train and go into the city like they did in the old days.
My children are all well rounded people and never complained when I couldn't show up for a football or baseball game. They appreciated that I went out to work to help give them more than just dad going out to work. Sorry stay at home moms and dads, I'm not bashing you but there is more to life than staying at home and waiting for the kids to get on and off the bus.
Glad *you* weren't my mom.
Agreed...glad too.
The momof3 doth protest too much.
Suggesting that stay at home parents don't "work" is ridiculous. Both parents working just because you want more "stuff" sounds astoundingly greedy and selfish. Sorry I missed your first play little Billy, I wanted "stuff" more than I wanted to be part of your life today. There are parents that both work because they MUST because YOUR mother was greedy and selfish and all the other women like her raised the cost of living in this country. Maybe that sounds sexist, but I dare you to prove me wrong. Raising children IS a career and requires lots of time and attention. If you wanted "stuff" more than you wanted to take care of your kids, you should have saved your children the anguish of being ignored by you and not had any. It is pathetic and ignorant that you think that people who decide to stay home to properly raise their children are "missing something" when it is you who are missing all the little things that had you been there your child could have said, "Hey mommy, watch this!" Those only happen once. How many have you missed because you wanted more "stuff"?
"Raising children IS a career and requires lots of time and attention"
Right on.
A lot of loser mothers out there. They are forced to work because of money issues, which is unfortunate. Then they rationalize that as acceptable and just as good or better than being a fulll time stay at home mom... So sad.
Well, the study is wrong...which is not a shock since what passes for research and gets published these days is rather dismal.
But, it does make for nice tabloid journalism pieces like this one.
I have been telecommuting 80% and traveling 20% for about two years now. This article completely sums up my life. When I was in an office, I could ignore the leaves on the lawn, the dirty dishes in the sink and the 12 loads of laundry that needed to be done. Now I feel guilty when I see the things that need to be done around the house, and I feel guilty when I look at my work to-do list. I have also noticed that my children have gotten used to having me at home, so whenever there is a forgotten lunch box or homework assignment, I get the phone call. They really can't grasp that I am working and can't drop everything and bring it to them. I also get grief from my wife for working at night, but what she wasn't home to see was the two hours I spent in the afternoon folding laundry or grocery shopping. Telecommuting has simplified my life in many ways, but I completely agree that it has created new stress that I didn't anticipate.
You need help. Hire some. Either way you don't have or possibly can't make time for the laundry, dishes (dishwasher?) or watching children, which you can't do at an outside office. Turn off the phone!
Does your wife not do anything around the house? Next time she gives you grief stand up like an equal partner should and tell her how it is.
I have the same schedule. The problem is that people assume that you are available since you are home. NOT! I had to 'train' people to understand that I am not here for them. I actually had school employees say that they 'understand' I am home..........They did not do it twice!
My one challenge is that I have a child with a developmental disorder. He knows I am home and on the computer. I had to train him to not email me from his laptop at school whenever something bothers him (kids with developmental issues do not always have control of their emotions and need to vent frustrations or find ways to manage them). So the problem is not limited to adults, but also includes kids!
The funny thing is that my employer sometimes thinks that I am glued to the computer. That would mean I was working more hours than I am paid! I had to deal with that challenge in addition to the homelife challenges.
The convenience, of course, is that I do not have commuting time to subtract from my day and I do not have disruptions that occur in the office to disrupt me. Once I trained people to not call me, the phone now only rings with telemarketers, which can be ignored. It is amazing how I can resovle something that is puzzling much faster in the silence of my home!
BTW- Sensible (which you are not!) , could you be anymore rude? Sevenseat is experiencing what many of us have in the beginning of telecommuting. It is normal. No need to be nasty.
I have the same exact issue. I work from home, have a 5 month old and an 11 year old. I spend much of my time doing dishes, laundry, etc. plus taking care of the baby when I have to. My older son is in school most of the day so that usually is not an issue. But the arrangement was supposed to be that my boyfriend who is not working and home all the time is supposed to be the primary caretaker for the baby while I'm working - unfortunately that is not how it has happened. I probably will start going into the office a little more often to get a break and get some of my projects done. Luckily I am very efficient and things don't fall through the cracks work-wise.
However I wouldn't trade the exhaustion and the hard work (which is real for teleworking parents) for a commute and being away from my family all day. I know it is up to me to get the right balance so my family is taken care of and my work so I can stay employed!
Wow. What a classic example of an American male. What a complete tool
I've telecommuted for nine years now. When my kids were young, it was NEVER an option. You can't have your kids at home and expect to work and watch them at the same time. No wonder people get stressed. There's no dividing line between work and home.
When the youngest got into middle school, telecommuting worked perfectly for me, enabling me to be home when he got home and to make sure he stayed out of trouble.
Some companies are supportive of telecommuting and treat their employees with trust. Others are always suspicious when they can't see you actually typing at a keyboard, and treat employees like children. I've been both places...but love the telecommuting now!
How far out are they stressed? Why aren't they simply stressed? The language is going in the toilet.
Not so long ago in human history, most people worked from home. Somehow, humanity survived and thrived.
Deb W. Long ago, how far "from home" did most people work? The language is in the toilet.
My husband telecommuted 3 times per week and it was a great arrangement. We still put the children into daycare so that he was able to concentrate on his job. He also kept to his regular schedule and would wake up as if he had to commute (an hour long commute). During those extra hours, he was able to get chores done around the house and often spent lunch hours getting the yard work done. The time saved helped to alleviate the stress we both felt when we only had weekend time to do the housework.
He no longer telecommutes but I have been fortunate to find a job with flexible scheduling. I will often spend a few hours in the morning in the lab and then leave to get the children from their school. I can then spend the afternoon with them and will return to work again in the evening when my husband is home and can watch the kids. My boss is fine with my horus as long as I put in a 40 hour week (I can even work some on the weekends if I need to make-up some time for the week)
I think the key is finding what works for your individual family. I had to sacrifice pay/promotions to get my schedule (including extra time off for holdidays and my children's activities) but the time I spend with them is worth the trade-off.
I think you hit the nail on the head, you have to approach it as your would if you were driving to work! I find that the laundry is up to speed and I can cook dinner more often. I too sacrificed positions in large companies to be available, but like you said, you do what is necessary to provide a quality life for your family!
Telecommuting can lead to energy independence, lost time commuting to an office, and less health problems. Does anyone want someone leaning over their shoulder coughing from a common cold that can cost them lost wages? Not me.
I agree that business and family life should not interrupt each other, but this study was made to present work at home in a negative slant.
I'm a retired IT project manager and when I had the opportunity to telecommute 2 days a week. I loved it. The secret is keeping to a "work" schedule. I accomplished 3 times the amount of work than when I was sitting in my office. Plus, I got twice as much done at home on my "breaks." You do have to be disciplined though. The days in the office were for meeting with people, etc. The telecommute days were for completing reports, plans and follow-up. At one point I was managing over 60% of our companies projects with 3 other PM's on staff. It was a win/win for me and my company.
I have been teleworking for a month straight now and I HATE IT!! I want to go back to getting dressed and driving to work and seeing people, thank you very much. The house is no cleaner, I dont have anymore free time than anyone who goes to the office, and it is freaking out my dog who doesnt understand why I am here all the time.
I have days where I feel the same way. I have to go to the grocery store at lunch time to spend some time with three dimensional people. But, in January, when I don't have to go out in the cold and the snow, I love it. I love being able to put on music without headphones and wear shorts in the summer. And, there is noting that says you can't get dressed up to work from home.
I've telecommuted since the day my daughter was born nearly 6 years ago. It's definitely not for everyone, but it's a wonderful solution for me. I didn't have to spend the money on daycare, and I got quality time with my daughter every day. When she was an infant, I held her or put her in her baby papasan chair beside me, and got work done. When she was a toddler, I set up her pack and play in my room and she played while I worked and talked to her.
I know a lot of people are saying it's impossible to get work done AND give a young child attention, and it probably is for some, but it wasn't for me. I guess I just was lucky with her personality at that age - she was perfectly satisfied to hang out in her pack and play and play with her toys, color, watch tv and chatter away.
I can throw in a load of laundry, fold it while on a conference call, I watch my DVR'ed tv shows while I'm updating spreadsheets or doing data entry, I vacuum or mop as needed on a quick break (it's not a large house so it only takes about 10 minutes to mop) and my evenings are for relaxing with my daughter.
I wouldn't trade it for anything! It definitely wouldn't work for everyone, but for me, man... it made a huge difference in my life. I can't imagine actually having to get up, get dressed up in office-attire, driving to work, sitting in an office all day, commuting back home... ugh. The mere thought is enough to stress me out!
I work from home and it sometimes drives me crazy. There is such a thing as too much time with your spouse. Used to be that going to work was my time to socialize even when it was work-related. Now it's just the wife and I ... 24/7.
But at least I have a job.
Dude. Your doing it wrong.
Why are you socializing with your wife when you should be working?
Why isn't your wife working, even if she's a house wife and looking after the kids?
I think maybe you need to set some boundaries and work with your family to make sure you *can* work.
You people who complain about telecommuting from home should be ashamed of yourselves. Don't you realize the only thing that matters is that you aren't using your vehicle and contributing to global warming?
Telecommuting is awesome!