Telecommuting Should Be An Option for Everyone
Last year, I was listening to a special NPR podcast, “For Prospective Moms, Biology and Culture Clash,” where they were discussing how women are having babies at an older age. They indicated that one of the reasons that this is happening is that more women are putting having a child on hold to go to school and/or have a successful career. However, the age when women are having children is starting to decrease due to technology and telecommuting. Technology is making it possible for women to have “it all” because more and more women are telecommuting or starting their own businesses.
“We’re seeing more and more women working at home with the computer. We’re seeing the rise of women in small businesses where they can control their time,” Fisher says. “I think even the established business community is beginning to realize men and women were built to work together, so women can have their children when they’re young and also sustain their career.”
When I learned that I was pregnant with Cebastian, I knew that I needed to find a career that would allow enough flexibility to be there for him (and Isabelle when she arrived) whenever I could. For awhile, I had a job where they were a stickler for the 9-5 schedule and would make you work overtime. I had to always stress as to which family member could watch him. After leaving that job, I vowed never again. My kids were more important.
My childhood was another reason. When I was a child, my mother was going to school and working, so we barely saw her. I remember how much I envied my friends, whose mothers could attend plays, field trips, and other activities, because my mother couldn’t. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have any resentment because during my mother’s era, there wasn’t an option to telecommute.
It is something that is also important to me because I am a single mother and don’t have anyone who helps me with the kids. My ex is practically absentee, and my mother has never been the type to watch my children (unless I beg).Since 2004, I’ve had flexibility and the option to work from home. It’s one of the things that a job needs to have before I accept it .
Yesterday I went on an interview. One of the first questions I always ask is “Does your company have a healthy work/life balance?”
The manager said that they put in eight hours a day, and then head home. However, there are occasions where they would have to work overtime. I followed up.
“During those times, do you give the option to telecommute?”
She shook her head.
“Unfortunately no. We do not allow telecommuting.”
I should have stopped the interview right there because I knew that it wouldn’t work. She said the Department of State (DoS), who they support, didn’t allow them to have that option. I wanted to interrupt her and tell her that I worked with the guys who ran the networks for DoS, and that I used to work from home all the time.
In this time and age, when everyone is heading to cloud computing, portability, and virtual offices, how can a company not offer telecommuting? I asked this question on FriendFeed and got some interesting comments. Rochelle brought up a good point. Not all professions, like health professionals, can have this option. This is true, but for the majority of the professions, there isn’t much of a reason to go into the office, unless it’s to go to a meeting (even that is debatable) or talk to a client.
Companies need to keep up with the advancements in technology, and realize that there are tons of pros for allowing their employees to work from home . They need to realize that they can save money if they allow their employees to work from home. Additionally, they would have happier employees if they allowed this.
For me, I am diligently trying to re-launch my freelance writing business, so I don’t have to deal with this dilemma again.
