to think that people don't take you seriously if you work from home?

[redwineformethanks]

I previously worked in an office. I now do similar work, but from home. Everyone seems to think I am available at all times to do household chores, prepare dinner etc, because I am at home all day. I am finding this frustrating. When I worked in an office, I felt people had more respect for the fact I was "at work." Now, I feel people take my work less seriously. Any top tips?

You are not BU! I get this too, it's very frustrating. Apparently, I should be available to take in parcels, pick up prescriptions and walk dogs at a moments notice.

I have to leave my phone on to keep in touch with clients but I admit I do filter the calls, if I don't my mum will phone me everyday for a loooong chat because I'm "not doing anything that can't be put off till later".

They don't call it "shirking from home" for nothing [ducks]

I think some people are not suited to home working (me included) but some people work more efficiently. People who don't take it seriously are probably like me and assume everyone else has as poor self-discipline as themselves.

I never answer the house phone or door when I'm working and I can see who's calling my mobile so tend not to answer personal calls (unless from nursery/childminder). Other mums know I am working so no longer bother asking me if I'm free for coffee - we meet up when I'm not working and am looking after DD. No one asks me to run errands because I've always said no. But I do offer sometimes to run errands for DH if the errand gets me out of the house as I like the walking break. I also don't mind putting on the laundry or evening meal as it's a nice break. I wasted far more time in an office in small talk and pointless meetings.

My SIL went crazy at me a year or so ago going on about how I don't work and how lazy I am . . . I do bloody work! I just work from home.

Seriously! Some people haven't a clue.

YANBU. My mum and MIl think that because I work from home they can ring up for a chat at anytime and then if i say I am working they say "Oh well it's only babysitting" . No it's not it's childminding!

"to think that people don't take you seriously if you work from home."

Absolutely. I have the same issues. YANBU. I'm hoping for some good advice as well.

i dont work from home but i can imagine it can be frustrating with the assumptions. its the same for alot of working areas IMO. i work in a call centre but my job is really technical and mentally draining but the amount of people who sneer and make comments like "all you do is sit on your arse answering the phone all day" is ridiculous! (DH has been known to be one of those making these comments) people assume that im obviously stupid, lazy, cant get another job etc its similar from what i can see to how people perceive working from home (lazy/all the time in the world etc)

if you dont mind me asking, if you work from home, what job are you doing? i have been looking for a WFH job as i get made redundant in april and i havent had much luck as yet...

YANBU. My husband and kids think I'm mean because I don't allow other people's kids who call for mine (weekends, holidays, after school) to come in and play when I'm trying to work and supervise my own two.

NoMoreMarbles I'm a type of artist/designer.

NoMoreMarbles

Architect

Chartered acccountant.

Computery things

thanks its hard to filter the "work from home" scams from the actual jobs i might post in employment and see what happens

Spot on.

'Oh, it's lovely you're doing X because it makes it so easy for you to just to XXX for us. F-OFF. F-OFF ALL.

Go for it

YANBU - I told my cousin that I was going to miss my work whilst I was on maternity leave and he replied with, 'What work? You don't work!'. I laughed it off but I was very angry and deeply insulted.

Nomoremarbles - I'm a blogger.

Thank God Im not alone!!!I know its not the same but Im studying a degree course full time and work 16 hours a week and everyone thinks I just sit about all day ! I have to use the internet at my mums house as we live in the middle of nowhere :o But if I was attending college or uni would people respect the work that goes into it then ?me thinks so YANBU

nomoremarbles - no help to you, I am afraid, as I don't "work from home" as such - I am offically designated a "mobile worker" which means that I have no fixed office base - I work from wherever makes sense, be that office, customer site or home - which averages out to about 2 days a week @ home (IT industry)

Hmmm, not going to say YABU because you clearly are experiencing this but I worked from home for 8 years and never really felt I wasn't taken seriously - probably because everyone in the organisation worked from home.

I am back in an office again now but about to start doing my current work more from home, perhaps I'll get this when most of my colleagues are office based? Hope not though!

I did absolutely embrace the parcel delivery/dinner making/laundry opportunities. And listening to the radio!

YANBU! I'm a part-time university teacher, I don't have a designated office space on campus (although there are spaces I can use when I need to) so most of my lesson planning, marking and my own research (which is what will get me a full-time job at some point) are done at home. OH often works from home but because he is in full-time employment he has to go out a whole lot more than me - this means that my research days sometimes get eaten by getting the washing out of the machine, weather-watching if I put it outside, answering the house phone or the door, listening out for deliveries, you get the idea. And for some reason OH thinks I have more time to tidy and so on than he does. (We've just moved house so there's a lot of random uncategorised stuff in the living room that needs to be distributed to the four corners of the building) Mind you, when I worked in a shared office as a grad student at least one of the others in there thought my and the other inmates' purpose in life was to keep him entertained and listen to stories about his sex life and various crushes (mostly on married guys at work - now as I'm concerned people with partners are out of bounds unless you know for sure they have open relationships, and I do not want to hear about how someone wants to get my boss naked...), so being at home is probably more peaceful than that.

DH is virtually totally homebased and goes into the office about once a month. His employers get far too much free time out of him as its easy to work earlier/later when the commute is upstairs.
I find I get more work done in my 4 hrs a week at home than when I'm in the office as people tend to forget I'm working (including my manager at times!!)

I suppose what I'm complaining about is family who expect me to whip up a quick lasagne in the afternoon, or ask what's for tea, when I haven't left the house all day, as I've been working.

I get what you mean, his mum rings up because he is at home. Er no, he's at work!