<< Going back to work

Working part-time from home

Louise, a website community manager, has two children, Jennifer, seven and Jason, two. Her partner Kevin works full-time in the railway industry.

"I feel very lucky to be able to work part-time from home. It fits in well with having two children: Jennifer is at school but Jason stays home with me.

"I tend to work in the evenings or while my son takes his daily nap. I focus hard and never get distracted by things like the TV – there just isn’t time. But space constraints mean that my office is in my bedroom, which isn’t all that practical. I see my desk when I go to bed and it’s there again when I wake up.

"Unfortunately, the only true breaks I get are when I actually go away from the flat for a week or two. I never ever completely switch off from my work while I’m in my own home, which is sometimes a bit soul-destroying for my family. If I’m ever ‘missing’ you can always be sure I’m at my desk. My son has even learned to say, ‘mummy work on ‘puter’.

"Working for a company from home does tend to make you feel quite left out of general day-to-day office life and the social ‘buzz’. You don’t always find out about new projects or gossip until it’s too late and things that are discussed in the office are never passed on to you unless you ask. Developing good lines of communication with people who work in-house is extremely important, so I make sure I attend a weekly meeting, which helps.

"That said, I wouldn’t change how I do my job at all, I have the freedom to work when I choose as long as I do the hours that I’m contracted to do. I am able to spend time with my children and don’t have to think about the cost of childcare."

Pros of part-time from home:

• You can avoid childcare costs altogether
• You can work around your children
• You can continue your career, although not everyone can do so at the same level or in the same job.

Cons of part-time from home:

• You can never switch off completely as you’re always juggling work with looking after your kids.
• You tend to feel isolated from office life.
• Since you’re not literally 'seen' to be working, promotion opportunities can be limited.
• High-pressure careers don’t translate easily into part-time jobs; you may have to down-size or move into a different area of work.
• Part-time work means a reduced income.

Read first-hand experiences of other options of going back to work after becoming a mum:

• working full-time
• working part-time in the office
• working freelance

Where to next?

• Read babyworld's pages on returning to work after having a baby, including how to prepare yourself and how to prepare your baby for your return to work
• Read about the various childcare options available to you and how to decide which is the best for you and your family
• If you're thinking of a change in direction, read about how to set up as a freelance or how to go about working from home. Or, if you prefer to work in an office environment read about how to go part-time
• Visit icircle careers for more on different working options, how to balance work and home life, tips on getting the job you want, details of your rights at work and more
• Share your own experiences of going back to work on our working mums discussion forum
• Read other babyworld features