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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think there are no real, enjoyable ‘work from home’ jobs?

280 replies

AnneTwackie · 14/01/2020 21:47

I’d like to reduce my hours and do something different working from home. Everything I see looks like a scam.
Tell me your happy/horror stories.

OP posts:
TheClitterati · 15/01/2020 07:19

I work from home but my job is my previously office based job that I've done for many years - now I do it from home.

I think Id have a very hard time finding similar should I need to find a new job.

AltheaVestr1t · 15/01/2020 07:22

I WFH full time at a real job on an above average salary, managing a team of remote workers for a large publishing company. Lots of Skype interaction, flexible hours and if I ever get bored, I can visit the office. I love it.

stripeypillowcase · 15/01/2020 07:25

absolutely - working from home with small children under foot is definitely not ideal or even possible.
plus, if you do computer based work you need a good set up which can be expensive.

PineappleDanish · 15/01/2020 07:35

Wanting to work from home because you don't like the office environment or because you have a hellish commute is totally understandable.

Lots of people though post that they've just had a baby, and want to be at home with the kids so can they get a work at home job? Working at home and providing childcare at the same time is impossible. Easier at the newborn stage than the rampaging toddler stage. When my youngest was a toddler I had the three hours a day when he was at nursery, and the evenings when he was in bed. Now they're all older and at school it's much easier.

Hello to all the fellow freelance writers, lots of us around! Completely identify with going from "nothing to do, panic stations" mindset to "how am I going to get all of this done?" in the space of a day or two. I only do around 12 hours a week, could do a lot more but choose not to.

chumbawum · 15/01/2020 07:36

I'm a social worker.

We have limited office space so I go on visits and wfh most of the week.

Very flexible.

CryHavoc · 15/01/2020 07:38

I've worked from home for 11 years now, as a freelance proofreader and editor. Like others on the thread, it's possible because of skills and contacts I had from time spent in-house at an academic publishing house.

I enjoy what I do, and have been lucky enough to have had a steady stream of work. You need to be very disciplined to work at home, and I certainly wouldn't recommend freelancing to anyone prone to panic. I veer between having too much work to worrying that I won't have enough next month.

NewName73 · 15/01/2020 07:45

I'm a consultant who set up my own business 6 years ago and have been working from home.

Works very well for me - my experience and skills are in a fairly niche sector and I focus on clients who are SMEs.

missyoumuch · 15/01/2020 07:47

I work from home 2 days a week but I negotiated it when I joined.

Most people I know who have work from home are either in my situation - a regular company with an office that allows staff to work flexibly - or are sole contractors/consultants/freelancers essentially, which only works for certain types of jobs. I had a manager who worked at home in a different country because he has specialised skills and was unwilling to relocate, so they company gave it to him on condition of travelling to head office once per month.

BookWitch · 15/01/2020 07:48

I teach English online, and I do some Audio transcription to top up when it goes quiet.

speakout · 15/01/2020 07:51

Those who say that working from home with small children is impossible- well yes and no.
While it is pretty impossible to do any job while actively caring for your ones tearing around , a work at home job will often give great flixibility.
While I hav=d tiny ones I could work while they napped, after they went to bed, while grandma took them to the park, while my OH took them swimming or to the supermarket.

I still work like this, fitting work in with family life.
I don't mind getting up early, so I can do three hours work on a Sunday morning for instance before anyone gets up.
Depends on the job of course, but I have no client facing and no job that can't be dropped to give someone a lift or some of my time with no notice.
Tjhat has been the real upside for me- the flexibility.

Weaverspin · 15/01/2020 07:55

I’m an independent funeral celebrant, and I work from home. I’m out and about a lot, meeting families and taking funeral services, and I don’t miss office life at all. There’s a lot of driving, but I live in a rural area, so I just enjoy the view!

Mencho · 15/01/2020 07:58

I worked from home for a year after my DS was born doing translation, writing practice questions for English language tests for educational publishers and helping my DH with his business. I’m back doing my normal day job now but I still keep those jobs on the side (when DCs are in bed/lunch break at work). The aim is to eventually quit my job and do all that full time as a freelancer. The exam question work is quite lucrative - about £800 (equivalent) for a full set of exam questions. I could probably bash out a full set in two days but they always come back with bits to edit and change. The speed I can do it in depends on the type of exam.

I love wfh. Much better than wasting two hours a day on packed commuter trains in one of the world’s largest and most crowded cities.

speakout · 15/01/2020 08:03

I love wfh. Much better than wasting two hours a day on packed commuter trains in one of the world’s largest and most crowded cities

That's a part I love too.
It's great to be able to get ready in the morning, go downstairs and start work.
Especially on bad weather days. dark and cold, I can start work in a cosy place.

I don't travel much at all. I rarely use a bus or train, I have a car, I drive on average 4000 miles a year, that's just to the supermarket/post office/ gym.
So great for the environment too.

missyoumuch · 15/01/2020 08:10

I love wfh. Much better than wasting two hours a day on packed commuter trains in one of the world’s largest and most crowded cities

I think as governments begin to take sustainability more seriously, there will be a bigger push for working from home. Why do we force so many vehicles onto the road and overstretch infrastructure by having everyone use them from 7-9 and 5-7 PM every day? Work at home is greener.

EssentialHummus · 15/01/2020 08:13

I do a niche HR/writing job from home. Pros: quiet environment (I really suffered in the office, and with commuting), flexibility ito hours. Cons: work seeps into every corner of your life if you're not careful, pay lower than it'd be otherwise.

Inherdefence · 15/01/2020 08:16

When D.C. were little I had a great WFH job analysing and coding the comments on market research questionnaires. It was interesting, I could use a lot of initiative and paid well. I really missed it when the company moved out of my area.

Bisforbert · 15/01/2020 08:16

I am home based. Local Authority, job involves lots of local meetings but apart from that I am at home. I go to the office a few times a month for team meetings, photocopying etc Organisation "hot desks" so not guaranteed a work station if you do go in. As long as you are producing outcomes, meeting targets and communicating you are trusted to work flexibly.

Gemi33 · 15/01/2020 08:21

I'd love to work from home so great to hear from lots of people who do! Particularly those doing creative jobs, I'd love to find something that I love like that.

xx

GetTheSprinkles · 15/01/2020 08:23

I adore WFH because it means I can be there for DS and don't have to worry about (and pay for) child care.
I'm a professional who writes articles. Some weeks I'm inundated with requests and others it's very quiet, which can be frustrating.

MsTSwift · 15/01/2020 08:24

Especially when the weather hideous! Actually when it’s nice too I can sit in garden or go for a swim. I think I would struggle now with being stuck in an office and told how many days holiday I am allowed etc

toomanyleggings · 15/01/2020 08:31

@Mencho which publishers would you recommend?

TitchyP · 15/01/2020 08:43

DH is a software engineer and works from home, as do all his team. Good salary, comparable to commuting in to London once you remove travel costs and so on.
I now also work from home as a private tutor, comparable salary to when I was part-time teaching in school.

hazell42 · 15/01/2020 08:49

I'm a writer. I work from home and love it
You have to have skills you can sell
You need to sit down and work out what they are.
Also why do you want to work from home?
If its so you can also look after the kids, or the house, that's not really working, and you aren't likely to get someone to pay you for that.

elliejjtiny · 15/01/2020 08:49

My dh works from home in a job he enjoys. He is a freelance writer/photographer/artist. Mainly for a magazine but with some commission work and exhibitions. Money is rubbish though, less than minimum wage.

Sciurus83 · 15/01/2020 08:51

Civil service, I have the choice, many people I work are home based. Personally I like to go to the office as I like the routine, separation of work and home time and social aspect but it's not far for me to go. In the future I would like to move further into the countryside and I really appreciate that this would be fine for work as I could WFH and it will help when DD starts school. I've been in the civil service 8 years

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