More of a rant really, but I'm interested to get views. I'm self-employed and work from home. Already have to deal with multiple interruptions in my day, every day, because my elderly parents live with me and DH and have admitted they 'forget I work', and manage to forget this every single day. Which means I have to feel like the wicked witch of the west every time they ask for something and I remind them that it will need to wait until I'm not working unless it's urgent, and have to see their faces fall every time. (Just for a bit of clarity: neither of them has dementia or anything like that, some physical health and mobility issues which I help them with regardless of the time of day and don't mind doing, but it means that time I've carved out for work really does have to be spent working as I rarely get the opportunity to put in a full day. And I do have an office with a door I can close, but I have to leave it occasionally, to make drinks etc, and this is when I invariably get buttonholed. I am very grateful to have both parents still alive, I count my blessings every day, but I still need to earn a living!)
Also on committee of local theatre group and people there have made it clear they think my work is infinitely flexible and that it's fine to disturb me any time they feel like it with group-related business, or ask me to do things because 'they can't do it, they'll be at work', or physically turn up here during work hours, even if I've said I'm busy, and then expect to hang around talking when I've said I can't stop work. I do try to tactfully 're-educate' people but it falls on deaf ears. I was in a salaried office job for a year, and this all stopped while that was going on, and promptly started again when I went back to freelancing. AIBU to think it's inconsiderate/disrespectful/plain selfish, as well as being somewhat insulting because it implies that they don't think the work I do is real work simply because it's done from home?? Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. LOL