Work-flex or Flexible Working for Women

For years when I had been taking a break from work to raise my child, I had been plagued by the issue of why women can’t work for flexible hours. Struggling and juggling as we are with small children, demands from home, taking a full time work often complicates issues much more.

Men have it easy. For all they need to do is get up, get ready, eat breakfast and go for work. For women, mornings often mean get up, get children ready, make breakfast and pack lunches; make sure of domestic help is there on time, finish household chores, get ready and then go for work. In the evening while men come back and plonk themselves in front of the TV, waiting for dinner, women have to come back to a houseful of chores, make food, make sure children get their homework done, feed everyone and get everyone to bed. Oh yes, I am not saying men don’t help, of course they do. But often it is like a benefit extended to women rather than their responsibility. In most households, if a child falls sick, it’s the Mom who has to take a leave from her work.

It was then the idea of working from home struck me. What if I could work from home? It seemed to me then a number of my worries could be reduced. So did that work for me? Yes, it did. I have been working from home for last six years, writing is my profession and thankfully as a profession, it’s so adaptive to technological advancement that it was possible to be professionally employed through all my husband’s four transfers in these years.

In all these years women have come to me in droves asking me about how to go about in finding a flexible work environment. It’s not easy working from home. I am stuck in a friendless environment, sans any human contact, so in a way it’s a lonely life. But then again there is the world of Internet at your fingertips. I have my sturdy Internet connection to thank for my profession, without it I’d have not been any position to work with flexible timings. What strikes me is the fact that almost all people who have expressed curiosity about my work have also harboured this feeling that sitting at home and working is oh–so-easy. But seriously, I am always telling people, no, it’s not. I had to refuse visits from neighbours and friends because of work pressure, not to mention the constant ringing of doorbells from salesmen and maintenance staff. I had worked with my sick child in my lap, and attending five houseguests. In those days, leaving house for work seemed so tempting. With work from home, one need to stay focused, and motivated. Sometimes the daily pressure can bog one down too. And yet it worked for me.

At the end of my day, I have looked after my child’s education, dropped her to her hobby classes and sports lessons (and worked while waiting in the car), taken my in-laws shopping in between work, and in general, been there for my family. I have taken huge pay cuts, for a normal job with my experience would have been at least paying thrice, but have remained happy at my two cents contribution to the family.

For all my friends who are sitting on the fence thinking about flexible working options, or telecommuting, yes, it works, if you have the mental strength of working alone.