I worked for 12 years as a public school teacher. I got to experience the best of both worlds being a Working Mom for part of the year and a Stay At Home mom in the summer. If you know My Story, I currently prefer to be a work from home parent.
If you are wondering whether Work At Home Mom Life is something that would work for you, let’s look at the Pros and Cons.
Pros of Work At Home Mom Life
You likely already have some PROS in mind if you are reading this blog post. Let’s see if they are the same as mine!
As a work from home mom you get the best of both worlds.
You get the financial stability and feeling of professional identity that you love about working out of the home.
You ALSO get control of your routine, the flexibility to say YES, and a comfortable, affordable wardrobe.
Cons of Work At Home Mom Life
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows as a Work At Home Mom. It’s important to think through these things and reflect about how you feel about them before trying out this lifestyle.
- Social scene. If your own social scene was a concern as a Stay At Home Mom, you need to realize that as a Work At Home Mom you don’t have playdates or playgroups or tiny humans to talk to so life can get lonely.
- Childcare. When you work out of the home it is obvious that you need childcare in the budget. When you are home and not working it is obvious that you do not need childcare. As a Work At Home mom, the lines are blurry. Can you sometimes do some tasks while your children are playing independently? Sure. Do you need coverage to string together uninterrupted thoughts or have a phone call? It is very likely. Suddenly none of the traditional childcare options are a fit and you need to get creative.
- Boundaries – your space. My office looks like a fun place to play to my kids. Work time is limited and when I do find the time I need my space to be where I left it. This is not easy to do when you work from home.
- Boundaries – your family. Your work hours need to be clearly communicated so that your flexibility isn’t taken advantage of. It will be hard to know when you are “on the clock” unless you communicate this clearly to your family so think about how you will do that.
- Boundaries – for yourself. It is SO EASY to just do one more thing, just check one more email, etc. when you work from home. You need hours that are WORK hours and SELF hours and SPOUSE hours and FAMILY hours. Time block and stick to the plan. You’ll be more productive if you can give each of these time blocks your undivided attention.
I have been through seasons of life as a Stay At Home Mom, A Working Mom, and a Work At Home Mom and there are pros and cons of all of these roles. NONE of them are easy and the right answer for you is a very personal decision. If you found this to be a helpful read, share it with a friend! You may also enjoy reading:
If you would like some help making the decision that is right for you, grab this FREE WORKBOOK. I have been at this crossroad and it is a HARD decision but once I found the perfect fit for me it was a game changer. I wake up each morning truly excited about what is on my Google Calendar and I know you can get there too.
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