I'm one of the lucky ones.
I work for a company who stresses "family first"
It was a (seemingly) long road to get here.
Just 15 years.
My last few places of employment did not understand the need for flexibility, or work/life balance.
That was one of the main reasons I left my previous job. I was there for 8 long years. And in my industry (advertising), it's pretty rare.
It was a casual atmosphere, don't get me wrong. The people were amazing. I loved it there.
But after I had kids, the guilt I felt consumed me. The guilt of not being at work ALL THE TIME. The guilt of not picking my kids up early enough. The guilt. The guilt.
Towards the end of my time there, things got better. But never good enough. Certain privileges were given to some people and not others.
I was done.
I was offered a pretty great job and I'm so glad I took the risk. I explained all of my needs and wants and our weird, rotating schedule. Many tears were shed.
Everything I asked for was approved - and not only a "because you asked" but more like "because we extend this to all our employees" and
that's the part I liked.
Not only am I enjoying more flexibility, but I'm also now leading a department and have 5 direct reports. It would've taken me years to get there at my previous job.
I'm trusted to get my job done and done well.
I work from home maybe 2-4 times per month.
It all depends on the month.
Sometimes it's due to appointments that are out by our house and it just makes sense to stay out this way. My commute time can also be seen as time I'm not available (via laptop or cell).
Or when my kids had summer camp and the pick up times were weird. I was allowed to work from home so I could play taxi cab.
I'm so, so grateful. I can't even explain how grateful I am.
My kid was
sick for 5 solid days last week and had to
miss school for 5 solid days due to high fevers. They have to be fever-free for 24 hours without meds to be able to go back to school - pretty standard policy,
I haven't felt (that) guilty about having to work from home. And since she was legit sick, she was very quiet and rested pretty much the entire time and watched Netflix. I was able to get a lot of work done and take phone calls. None of my clients knew I was home ;)
Steve was able to stay home the first morning (Monday) while I went and attended a couple of client meetings that I had to attend/were too late to move. I then came home to relieve him so he could go in for a few hours. I was then able to work the next 2 days from home.
This is one time when Steve's schedule works in our favor. He worked his 3 days and then was able to stay home with her the rest of the week.
I'm so glad my company gets it and appreciates us and doesn't make us feel guilty for needing flexibility sometimes.
Happy people do good work!
(All of this is said knowing full well there are some peeps who can't handle the freedom of working from home and get too distracted).
Oh and in case anyone thinks I don't get shit from anyone: Ava makes sure to ask me/make a statement "why you not have your face on (makeup). You not go to work today" (this was when she was 3 and started preschool). Or the famous "why you not wear pants today, mommy? you not go to work?" and I find myself explaining myself to a small - tiny, actually, little person who thinks she's the boss of me.
Don't get me wrong. I need to be in the office a majority of the week to be effective. But one or two days here and there just to maintain sanity and work/life balance? Still fine.
