Meshing
Home Office
and Home Life

For a variety of reasons more and more businesses are home basing employees. Technology has dramatically changed the functionality of a corporate office, and has continually diminished the importance of it. In many businesses that center on phone and computer contact with their customer, the location of the person handling the inquiry is of no importance, thanks to the use of modern technology, mainly computers, and all the data now available at our fingertips.

The property management industry is well suited to home base many of their employees, especially property managers. All the characteristics of a good property manager are also key to a successful home office employee. Being proactive, organized, deadline sensitive and self motivated are essential qualities for anyone who is going to work from home. By implementing a system of reporting to supervisors on weekly activity and regularly scheduled home office inspections, quality control is no more an issue than with in-house employees.

While businesses benefit greatly from home basing of some personnel, and for the most part the employees love the set up, there are considerations to address after the initial "honeymoon" period, the length of which is variable depending on the personalities and life situations involved.

Initially the ability to easily handle day to day small chores that would otherwise cause undo stress, like being home for the cable man or deliveries, picking up the kids from school, running a few errands without the Saturday crowds, etc. is so wonderful that any negative aspects seem to be only passing thoughts. However, a few years later circumstances can begin to take a twist that may make the employee feel more stressed instead of less, unless they are aware of the possibilities right from the start and train those around them accordingly.

The family, friends, pets, and neighbors of the home office worker have to be trained right from the start that this is WORK and the same rules apply- no calls unless it's an emergency, breaks and lunch time are still specific time allotments, and the office itself is off limits to everyone but the worker. Children as well as other family, need to be trained to respect the "work hours". Especially with children it is imperative that they understand that even though the parent is in the house, during working hours they are just as unavailable as they would be in an office 20 miles away. Boundaries must be set and adhered to, with exceptions being made only when the employee decides so. For example, if the husband calls his wife, a home based property manager, to say that he's unexpectedly brining his boss home for dinner that night, the wife can revel in the fact that she can take a few minutes to tidy up the house and run out for some special groceries or such-if she so chooses. The husband should not assume that because his wife works from home he can always rely on her to drop what she's doing and make his impromptu dinner a gourmet delight. The work obligations remain the same, with a little flexibility added.

The worker must also train themselves. Most important is to adhere to reasonable work hours. Just because the office is right there in the home does not mean that work should go on after dinner while the kids are doing homework, or on Saturday while hubby is playing golf, or every night into the wee hours of the morning. While any employer appreciates the dedication of such an employee, it is well known that such employees run a great risk of burn-out if they do not adequately renew themselves, by recognizing hours the office is closed. Home basing of property managers is designed primarily to reduce stress and burn out, not promote it. Being a business that inherently does not have defined beginnings and ends, but rather a continuous cycle, it is essential that the home office employee is not intimidated into working continuously because there is always more work to do and the office is always "open".

The home based employee must also actively seek our interaction with others to a greater extent than before. The employee should be encouraged in this regard right from the start. While the quiet focused atmosphere may be welcome at the onset, many home office workers experience unexpected loneliness fairly soon. Weekly visits to the main corporate office help this somewhat, but it is normal for a void to be experienced due to the lack of continuous face to face contact with other adults.. I encourage home office workers to set lunch dates with co-workers, friends, and family, at least a couple times a week. Another method for avoiding the void is to make a point to go out for your morning coffee if there is a nearby coffee shop. This offers a little human interaction to start the day and for some, signals the "official start time". For workers who cannot seem to stop, I usually recommend that they use something like the arrival home of their spouse, (or the midnight news!), as the signal to stop work and start the renewal process by spending quality family time.

Most families of home based office workers that I have spoken to, enjoy and appreciate the fact that their wife, mother, or significant other, can work from home and are willing to modify their expectations as needed in order to make the situation work out well for all. Especially when there are children involved, just knowing that a parent is preset, though not available on demand, is very reassuring and comforting to them. Children adapt to the rules better than any other group involved and adapt quite quickly. Adults sometimes present more of a challenge, but with continuous communication about what the parameters are, with time, they too adapt.

Despite the training / adapting that is sometimes required, home basing has proven to be a success in both a business sense as well as on a relationship level. Perception is always paramount and the perception of the home office employee is that they have more control of their time. Those around them share the perception that the availability, flexibility, and freedom to make different choices, is the new culture of the office.