Virtual workers have come a long way in the past decade when it comes to social acceptance. Unfortunately, it’s still far from a mainstream notion and it may not always be simple to get your spouse on board with your desire to work from home. There are a few things you can do, however, that will make acceptance a little easier over time.
Show Him the Dollars and Cents
Men are generally practical people. If you can put the numbers in writing of all the benefits verses expenses of working from home compared to working outside the home, he'll be surprised by the significance of the savings.
Keep in mind that you won’t be conducting two costly commutes, you won’t have to maintain a professional wardrobe, you’ll be home during the day and better able to plan and prepare healthy meals for the family, and you won’t be doing the corporate lunches that really take a bite out of the family budget. (Among other expenses in both money and time!)
The deal breaker for many families, however, is the potential elimination of full-time child care expenses, which frees up a great deal of money from the family budget.
Set and Keep Office Hours
The biggest complaint spouses have when their partner begins working from home is the long hours put in building the business. but it’s not so much the building part that upsets them. It’s the fact that the schedule never return to normal office hours.
It’s too easy to slip back into the office after dinner for one more email, which turns into one more hour of data entry or transcription, and then into one more order form to fill out. If you want to keep him on board, keep the hours you designate as office hours for business. Don't forget to designate family or couple time for the people who really matter most in all of this.
Don’t Let Your Work Take Over Your Home
It’s easy to drag files, computers, tablets, and notepads all over the house and have one in every room. It may even be tempting as you attempt to provide your clients with greater access to you. However, it can become problematic when your work and family spaces intertwine.
Work tasks and home tasks need to be separate to keep everyone in the household (most of all you) sane. There are too many opportunities for accidents, mishaps, and kid disasters that not only jeopardize your client’s project, but also your future in the business world.
These thing may not seem like a big deal in the heat of the moment, but they can make for a much happier state of affairs at home -- at least until the high-value checks begin to roll in. Once he sees that you’re not only saving big money, but also making big money, he’ll be much easier to convince.
