yasun Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 If any female gives you grief for this, leave her. That's the best advice. I don't know why you would change your occupation for a woman. 1
truth_seeker Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 She sounds like an idiot. Someone who is about meeting a man with an impressive job title., ie, Doctor, Lawyer, Business man, etc... There's nothing wrong working from home as long as it's a legit job. This is a negative connotation attached to "I work from home" as there are people who say that to cover up that they're unemployed or maybe ashamed of what they do for a living or they could be running some shady business. I have a friend who is a lawyer. He has a home office and does everything there unless he needs to be in court. He doesn't say to people: "I work from home." He tells him he's a lawyer. So, I guess its best just to tell people you work in IT. If they ask where, tell them you're self-employed and do contract work. If they keep prodding, you then bring up that you have a home office and only travel if you need to meet a client. It would be good if you had a business card to back up what you say, as most people nowadays will google your name to find out more about you.
MoreThanThat Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 Why do you advise that? What's the reason behind it? What's wrong with saying "I work from home"? Challenges with people working from home in an employment situation are very different than from the workplace. This is why we have orientation for new people who join my companies. The #1 issue for many transitioning is drawing the line with people in their personal lives regarding work/free time. If you work in an office, friends/family won't call and ask if you can go right now and pick them up because their car broke down. (Rarely anyway ) Work from home and it's an entirely different story. People think you can talk, go for long lunches, etc. There is a general lack of respect. Framing your work as being telecommuting versus working from home has helped people make it clearer to others. It's a job with fixed hours - it's just not in an office. Based on feedback from people working for us, they actually PREFER saying that. We routinely do job satisfaction surveys (quarterly) and the satisfaction level of people in general has risen since encouraging this positioning. 1
Ruby Slippers Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 He doesn't say to people: "I work from home." He tells him he's a lawyer. Exactly. If I describe what I do to people in one way, their reaction is polite and neutral. If I describe it in a slightly different way, they're intrigued. I'm describing the same thing, just using different words. A short summary of what you do is known in sales as The Elevator Pitch
SmileFace Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) I don't see how this info will make a difference to someone. Edited December 30, 2012 by SmileFace
Balzac Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 Exactly. Why waste brain power trying to understand small minded people? 1
Mrlonelyone Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 Challenges with people working from home in an employment situation are very different than from the workplace. This is why we have orientation for new people who join my companies. The #1 issue for many transitioning is drawing the line with people in their personal lives regarding work/free time. If you work in an office, friends/family won't call and ask if you can go right now and pick them up because their car broke down. (Rarely anyway ) Work from home and it's an entirely different story. People think you can talk, go for long lunches, etc. There is a general lack of respect. Framing your work as being telecommuting versus working from home has helped people make it clearer to others. It's a job with fixed hours - it's just not in an office. Based on feedback from people working for us, they actually PREFER saying that. We routinely do job satisfaction surveys (quarterly) and the satisfaction level of people in general has risen since encouraging this positioning. I have personally found this to be true. When I would stay home and work on my thesis. My family would say things like "well you aren't doing anything".
snowflakes88 Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 She sounds like an idiot. Someone who is about meeting a man with an impressive job title., ie, Doctor, Lawyer, Business man, etc... There's nothing wrong working from home as long as it's a legit job. This is a negative connotation attached to "I work from home" as there are people who say that to cover up that they're unemployed or maybe ashamed of what they do for a living or they could be running some shady business. I have a friend who is a lawyer. He has a home office and does everything there unless he needs to be in court. He doesn't say to people: "I work from home." He tells him he's a lawyer. So, I guess its best just to tell people you work in IT. If they ask where, tell them you're self-employed and do contract work. If they keep prodding, you then bring up that you have a home office and only travel if you need to meet a client. It would be good if you had a business card to back up what you say, as most people nowadays will google your name to find out more about you. This is exactly what I was going to say. I'm an attorney, and I frequently work from home. In my office, the more senior you are, the less important "face time" becomes, and the less time you spend in the office. I report to plenty of partners I hardly ever see face-to-face in the office.
Mrlonelyone Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 I thought about this thread and here is what I think is going on. Queer theorist call it "othering". This is a phenomena that applies beyond sexuality. If you work from home you are outside the idealized norms of our society. A 9-5 Job five days a week with a wage or salary in someone else's employ. If you don't have that then people will pass judgements about you and your character many of which are total rubbish. Think about it. Even people who work nights or the graveyard shift have certain difficulties in socializing and dating. Beyond just a sechdueling conflict...there are people who will not want to socialize with somoene who works those shifts when they are free. Now if you work from home that's even worse. That's an even smaller more other than the norm group of people. It's a sad fact about humans that we tend to discriminate against anyone who for any reason what so ever differs from ourselves. 2
KungFuJoe Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 I recall being out on a date with a woman, and she found out what I do for work. I said I work from home doing I.T. related stuff. Apparently, some people are under the impression, that a "work at home" job isn't a REAL job, though they are aware that some kind of income may be derived from it....they don't consider any job where you wake up at 6 am, get dressed, showered (not in that order), have breakfast, and join the morning rat race. During our date, she couldn't wrap her mind around it and asked, "You don't plan on doing that the rest of your life, do you?" (By the way, she was a nanny) Anyhow, women, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you find out a guy you started seeing works from home? I'd say your date was an anomaly and to not spend another moment worrying about it.
Radu Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 I thought about this thread and here is what I think is going on. Queer theorist call it "othering". This is a phenomena that applies beyond sexuality. If you work from home you are outside the idealized norms of our society. A 9-5 Job five days a week with a wage or salary in someone else's employ. If you don't have that then people will pass judgements about you and your character many of which are total rubbish. Think about it. Even people who work nights or the graveyard shift have certain difficulties in socializing and dating. Beyond just a sechdueling conflict...there are people who will not want to socialize with somoene who works those shifts when they are free. Now if you work from home that's even worse. That's an even smaller more other than the norm group of people. It's a sad fact about humans that we tend to discriminate against anyone who for any reason what so ever differs from ourselves. Well said, ppl fear what is different ... there's nothing noble about it, just primal fear that shows itself in a more complex form, by the use of rationalizations to explain. That and the desire to look in the mirror and not be disgusted, the desire to mate, and the desire to get food is what drives ppl. When you start to see this in ppl, to see things through this prism ... humanity somehow appears less noble. 2
Mrlonelyone Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 Well said, ppl fear what is different ... there's nothing noble about it, just primal fear that shows itself in a more complex form, by the use of rationalizations to explain. That and the desire to look in the mirror and not be disgusted, the desire to mate, and the desire to get food is what drives ppl. When you start to see this in ppl, to see things through this prism ... humanity somehow appears less noble. It's like this....being the first person to see the benefit of a pointed stick vs a rock.
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