‘Hell no’. If you're an employer reading this and you have an employee negotiating full time pay on a four day or less week, with her protesting she is capable of doing her job from home whilst her two year old or under is present, then a) she is yet to try it or b) she's simply lying to you.
As regularly readers know, I'm self employed and work from home; however I work from home minus the presence of my 10 month 'boss lady'. Unfortunately for me and my older sister, but fortunately for my parents, they have run off to relax in Nigeria for two whole months! Do I have a problem with this? ‘Hell yeah’. Ok, well not a problem per say as it is their time to take long breaks, after working so hard for so many years, but from Monday - Friday, 9am - 6.30 (or whenever I'm ready), our parents normally look after boss lady and my nephew of 20 months. Worries of dropping off the baby late? ‘No, I’m my own boss and my parents don’t have a time where boss lady has to be dropped off in the morning. Any worries about being late to pick her up? ‘No. She’s with her grandparents, so they relish in any time they have with her.’ Worries about being charged a late fee because I missed my train home from work? ‘No, because 1) I work at home which is literally 10 minutes by car from my parents and 2) because if they ever charged me a late fee, I'd just laugh in their face.’J
It’s been two weeks since they've gone and I can honestly say I've probably done an hour or two's work in these two weeks, whilst having boss lady present. Admittedly, I've been off sick with a bad viral infection for three weeks, however even if I wanted to, I wouldn't and couldn't have got a few solid hours of work completed each day. Between the coughing up of my guts and mini naps the 'princess' has, by the time I get into the rhythms of work, I have to stop, due to madam wanting a feed or to be changed... Or even just wanting a bit of attention... (Sounds like I'm dealing with her father?! Just joking babe!).
So taking this all into consideration, how the hell is a working mum of a baby or toddler suppose to work, ensuring she achieves the same level of productivity she would have achieved back in the office? Answer? It’s not possible. For work to be productive at home I would hope you would all be realistic. The child should be looked after by others, whether it be the grandparents (if you’re lucky like me to have them around, living near) or with a childminder (sorry, I fell your pain re the cost of a second mortgage – cos’ it might as well be the case, the amount they charge now a days!). Either way, when you plan to become pregnant, these are one of the many things you and your partner NEED to consider. Will you become a housewife/stay at home Mum? Will you go back to work and send your newborn to a childminder/nursery? Or will your man be the one to change the nappies during the day whilst you go out to earn the cheddar? Either way, it’s something which needs to be discussed as soon as you’ve finished peeing on the stick.
As regularly readers know, I'm self employed and work from home; however I work from home minus the presence of my 10 month 'boss lady'. Unfortunately for me and my older sister, but fortunately for my parents, they have run off to relax in Nigeria for two whole months! Do I have a problem with this? ‘Hell yeah’. Ok, well not a problem per say as it is their time to take long breaks, after working so hard for so many years, but from Monday - Friday, 9am - 6.30 (or whenever I'm ready), our parents normally look after boss lady and my nephew of 20 months. Worries of dropping off the baby late? ‘No, I’m my own boss and my parents don’t have a time where boss lady has to be dropped off in the morning. Any worries about being late to pick her up? ‘No. She’s with her grandparents, so they relish in any time they have with her.’ Worries about being charged a late fee because I missed my train home from work? ‘No, because 1) I work at home which is literally 10 minutes by car from my parents and 2) because if they ever charged me a late fee, I'd just laugh in their face.’J
It’s been two weeks since they've gone and I can honestly say I've probably done an hour or two's work in these two weeks, whilst having boss lady present. Admittedly, I've been off sick with a bad viral infection for three weeks, however even if I wanted to, I wouldn't and couldn't have got a few solid hours of work completed each day. Between the coughing up of my guts and mini naps the 'princess' has, by the time I get into the rhythms of work, I have to stop, due to madam wanting a feed or to be changed... Or even just wanting a bit of attention... (Sounds like I'm dealing with her father?! Just joking babe!).
So taking this all into consideration, how the hell is a working mum of a baby or toddler suppose to work, ensuring she achieves the same level of productivity she would have achieved back in the office? Answer? It’s not possible. For work to be productive at home I would hope you would all be realistic. The child should be looked after by others, whether it be the grandparents (if you’re lucky like me to have them around, living near) or with a childminder (sorry, I fell your pain re the cost of a second mortgage – cos’ it might as well be the case, the amount they charge now a days!). Either way, when you plan to become pregnant, these are one of the many things you and your partner NEED to consider. Will you become a housewife/stay at home Mum? Will you go back to work and send your newborn to a childminder/nursery? Or will your man be the one to change the nappies during the day whilst you go out to earn the cheddar? Either way, it’s something which needs to be discussed as soon as you’ve finished peeing on the stick.
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