At Home or at the Office?
I had been so looking forward to writing yesterday, but yesterday got away from me as most days seem to do lately. Well, yesterday my husband started a new job with a very prominant national company. Starting a new job is always an adjustment and the first day is usually particularly difficult, because you don't do anything related to why you were hired in the first place unless you're in HR. We all go through that, but I did have more empathy for him than I would for most people because he is going from working downstairs at home to a gray cubicle in a busy office. Most of you probably wonder what would possess someone to give up the working at home gig. Well, a lot more money is always a factor... But, more than that, there really are draw backs to working from home. Yeah, I know...
My husband has been working from home for three years, and it has been really great; he has been able to do chores :), come and go mostly whenever (like having hair appointments and rehearsals at 1:00PM), be at the house for deliveries and home maintenance calls, watch movies and listen to music while working, etc. His dress code consisted of baseball hats, T-shirts and PJ bottoms and if he didn't feel like showering in the morning he didn't. There was no one to bug him except for the dogs and me on occasion and no inner-office politics. Yes, it was nice. However, most people are social beings who need meaningful and stimulating interaction with their contemporaries. At home, this just doesn't happen. It makes you appreciate even the mundane water cooler talk as very important. I think that three years alone was a little too long for him. There have been changes in attitude and behavior that I think are at least indirectly due to his isolation at home. Sure, he talked to people on the phone and via email, but it just wasn't the same. Also, it's hard to be motivated and feel like a contributing member of the company. He was like the red headed step-child of the company- unintentionally, of course. There was no opportunity for advancement (who was he supposed to manage, himself? Maybe the dogs.) and no real opportunities to shine and be the over-achiever so many of us hold near and dear to our hearts. After a while, that reality takes a toll on your feelings of worth and importance. Put that together with being alone all day in a semi-lit room and it's not a happy picture of mental health. It would take its toll on even the most well adjusted people. So, even though it's going to be a hard adjustment, I'm really happy that he is in an office again with people he can relate to, and I hope that he feels better about his life and the situation as he settles in. I will definitley miss having him at home. The flexibility was truly awesome. However, now he can go out and shine again as the star I know that he is and always has been. I think that it was the right choice.
Oh, yeah... HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!!!! I'm not Irish, but you can kiss me anyway! :)
My husband has been working from home for three years, and it has been really great; he has been able to do chores :), come and go mostly whenever (like having hair appointments and rehearsals at 1:00PM), be at the house for deliveries and home maintenance calls, watch movies and listen to music while working, etc. His dress code consisted of baseball hats, T-shirts and PJ bottoms and if he didn't feel like showering in the morning he didn't. There was no one to bug him except for the dogs and me on occasion and no inner-office politics. Yes, it was nice. However, most people are social beings who need meaningful and stimulating interaction with their contemporaries. At home, this just doesn't happen. It makes you appreciate even the mundane water cooler talk as very important. I think that three years alone was a little too long for him. There have been changes in attitude and behavior that I think are at least indirectly due to his isolation at home. Sure, he talked to people on the phone and via email, but it just wasn't the same. Also, it's hard to be motivated and feel like a contributing member of the company. He was like the red headed step-child of the company- unintentionally, of course. There was no opportunity for advancement (who was he supposed to manage, himself? Maybe the dogs.) and no real opportunities to shine and be the over-achiever so many of us hold near and dear to our hearts. After a while, that reality takes a toll on your feelings of worth and importance. Put that together with being alone all day in a semi-lit room and it's not a happy picture of mental health. It would take its toll on even the most well adjusted people. So, even though it's going to be a hard adjustment, I'm really happy that he is in an office again with people he can relate to, and I hope that he feels better about his life and the situation as he settles in. I will definitley miss having him at home. The flexibility was truly awesome. However, now he can go out and shine again as the star I know that he is and always has been. I think that it was the right choice.
Oh, yeah... HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!!!! I'm not Irish, but you can kiss me anyway! :)
posted by Unknown at 12:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home