Get the Hell Out of Mommy's Office! Or, Working from Home, Boundaries and You

Article first published as Get the Hell Out of Mommy's Office on Technorati.

For most of us, work is still that place you make a commute to each and every day in order to receive a paycheck. That's largely because working from home (or telecommuting) is a concept that has not wholly caught on here in the United States. While it is slowly gaining steam, it means there are- understandably- many unconquered issues and territories on the work from home frontier. One of the first and biggest obstacles a person faces when deciding to work from home? Setting up boundaries.

Many times, the issue of setting up boundaries isn't addressed or gets lost in the general excitement of no longer having to commute or deal with lousy coworkers. (Let's not forget not having to charge down to that subpar Chinese place at lunchtime and wolf down a bad batch of moo goo gai pan in 10 minutes or less either!) But bet your bottom dollar that excitement comes to a crashing halt when:

• Your daughter won't lay down for a nap when you need her to so you can work;
• Your mother-in-law calls to talk about what you had for dinner last night while you're trying to finish an assignment;
• You barely get 10 minutes of work in before your husband calls to ask if you can bring him lunch;

Or, because dads work from home too,

• Your wife calls to tell you to peel the potatoes and start the roast

It is indeed one of the most frustrating problems of working from home: the incorrect notion that because you're home, you're not really working. This is why setting up boundaries needs to be done not only for yourself but for those who live in the house as well. And it needs to happen before you ever begin your first day on the job.

The rule can vary (and often does) but in general, a work from home office is no different than any other workplace. Therefore, when mom (or dad) is working, she (or he) is NOT to be disturbed. If mom or dad were working at an onsite office, it would be ridiculous to call and ask one or the other to come home in the middle of a shift and make a sandwich or find someone's shoes. Respect for the workspace by all members of the household is a must in order for a work at home endeavor to succeed.

While this might be a hitch for those whose aim for working from home is to obliterate childcare costs, it is actually more realistic for those with younger children to cut back on this type of expense and hire part time help. In the end, those who work from home and faithfully apply this rule are found to be more productive, better paid and more satisfied in their work from home career.