Home Improvement

There are very few things about working at home that I would consider negatives. However, when an item makes that list, it REALLY makes the list! Large home improvement projects… cue the Tim Allen grunt!

I’ve had a large, thankfully outdoor, project underway for a few months. In that time, I’ve had great experiences, annoying experiences, and downright awful experiences. I can’t even imagine if I had a project of the same caliber going on inside my home while trying to work!

The Good: I had one contractor that would text me any time he had a question and ask me to pop out when I could. He respected my time. And he respected that barging in would set off a ripple of annoyances.

The Annoying: There are always people here and there is constant noise. It’s a distraction. It breaks concentration. It even made me feel like a fish in a glass bowl, with the outsiders looking in. I felt bad taking a lunch break and eating while they were just outside the window working. And I certainly didn’t want to work out in front of them! Plus, those moments that require quiet thought for concentration were few and far between.

The Bad: Oh, the bad… I had another contractor that asked to use the restroom his first day, as he had been ‘sick’ lately. I allowed it since I felt bad, and frankly felt I need to be nice to the people working on my project to ensure it got done. Then it happened the next day. And the next. And every day for over a month. And these were not friendly visits – my poor restroom, which is right by my office, was taking a beating. So was my nose! Worse yet, he’d ring the doorbell each time regardless of our conversations. This was an immediate interruption to everything. I would have to stop what I was doing, as well as listen to the doorbell ring and my dogs go crazy. (I have come to now hate my doorbell and asked my hubby to change the chime!) This same crew would knock on the window or door each time they had a question, again ticking off my dogs. And these are only a few of the irritations!

I felt like many of the workers thought I was just sitting around in the house somewhere watching TV, doing nothing, and would always jump any time they rang. Obviously the very opposite was true, as every interruption was truly stopping me from doing the work that was paying for them to do their work and get paid. If only they understood that leaving me alone was the key to their very survival!

Oh – And what would you chuckleheads do if I DIDN’T work from home?

I learned a lot from this experience. I learned that you should feel empowered to say “No” and not feel bad. I learned that you should set boundaries without feeling that you are mean. I learned that you shouldn’t assume people understand what “working at home” really means. I learned that if you don’t speak up, you invite trouble.

How can you survive if you find yourself at home during a large project? Below are a few tips:

• Talk to your crew and set boundaries early. Let them know not just that you work at home, but what that means. Many people don’t understand what you do and therefore don’t understand the inconvenience. Boundaries may include times to start/stop work, if and how they should enter your home, how they should contact you if there is a question, etc. 
• If there is a special circumstance, such as a very important call or meeting, where interruption would be very bad, let them know in advance and ask that they don’t make a ruckus at that time.
• Let your coworkers know that you are having work done if you believe the noise may come through on audio.
• Ask your contractors up front about how they handle “conveniences”, such as whether they will have a port-a-potty on site or where they will pull power from. If they don’t have a plan, insist that they make one, or you will have plenty of company.
•  Designate a time where you will check in with the crew on any questions, such as your lunch break. This will minimize the ad hoc requests and allow you to conduct routine progress checks.
• Consider alternative work locations. For the time the work is being performed, you may want to work from the office, a friend’s house, or a local coffee shop where your interruptions and noise levels will be less.

Working from home during a project has its advantages. You can keep an eye on the progress, sign for the legal things, and ensure your property is respected in every way necessary. I’m glad I was here. But I’m more proud that I didn’t kill anyone and didn’t lose my job during the craziness, and lived to help others avoid it in the future.

Working While Sick

You've heard it dozens of times before... Your employer and coworkers say that if you are sick, you should stay home. They don't want your funk! They don't want to be grossed out by seeing or hearing what you are dealing with, and they certainly don't want to catch it, so they want you as far away as possible.

Why do you still go to work when you're in these rough conditions? You need that paycheck! You also don't want to burn through your paid time off (PTO) being sick because you want those days for vacation. And you may have meetings and deadlines that you'd miss and set forth a chain reaction that would take days and weeks to recover from. Doesn't that make you feel important?

Despite all of your valid reasons, your office mates are still right. You shouldn't be in the office. And this is yet another reason that working from home is the cure for what ails you.

When you work from home, no one is there to catch your germs. No one has to listen to the sounds you make (coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose, or worse...) You are containing your germs to you!

There are creature comforts of working from home as well. If you need to sleep in a little longer, no one will notice if you didn't get dressed, fix your hair, put on makeup, or skip your morning workout. If you are having a fever or cold chills, you are able to adjust the thermostat appropriately and dress to match, including sporting that awesome Snuggie you try to deny you have. If you need to take medication throughout the day, you aren't raising any eyebrows. And you truly cannot articulate the value of having your own, private restroom. Even your lunch time becomes more valuable as you can catch a quick nap, run to the doctor, refill a prescription, fix a bowl of soup, or otherwise help yourself get well.

Here's the best part: You're able to do all of this AND work. BOOM!

All of this assumes that you have some cognitive ability to add value, of course. There are some illnesses that you can work through, and some you shouldn't. Sometimes 50% of you at work is better than 0%, but in other cases you should just focus on a complete mend so that you can come back to work strong sooner. Check out my prior blog about allowing yourself to actually call in sick.

In a time where HR measures corporate wellness by the number of "unhealthy days", companies are trying to maximize productivity, and employees are using their vacation time to actually take vacation, being able to NOT take a sick day has increasing value. And that drives up the already valuable nature of working at home.