I work at home. There's a lot of upside to it - flexibility to be with the kids when they need me, a lot cheaper costs on commuting and office clothes, etc. There's some downside as well - it can get lonely working by yourself, and you have to set up routines that put you around people for conversation and comradery, even if that's the coffee shop or the YMCA. Like any other work environment, there are times when I strongly value the benefits, and times when I am unhappy with the limitations.
One of the things that comes from working out of your house is that some neighbors seem to think that since you're around, you're not doing anything, or much of importance, anyways. The importance part might be true, except this is how I make my living, so it's important to us.
True story from a few days ago - the doorbell rings, and I can see it's one of my neighbors as I come down the stairs. I answer the door.
"What are you doing?" he asks.
"Working," I answer.
"Do you have five minutes?" he asks.
This is a trick question. Interruptions are never for five minutes, and when I'm in the middle of a job, it's some work to come back after a lengthy break and figure out where I am on it.
"Not really, I'm kinda busy. What's up?" I replied.
And then I found out. Our neighborhood ordered a porta-potty for one of our neighborhood parks for the next six months, it makes it easier for neighbors to have events there with a bathroom facility. It was delivered yesterday, and apparently in the wrong place in the park. This neighbor wanted me to go help him move the porta-potty to the correct place. Like, now. Ha ha ha. It's not a big job, but it's not my job, and my job needs me to work at it at that time.
"C'mon, that's the company's job. Call them up and tell them to place it where we requested it, that was part of the deal. We don't need to do this, that's their job, that's what we're paying them for," I told him. He said okay, and went on his way.
Yeaaarrrgh. I don't know, it just struck me as funny, that somehow I'm the guy he thought of to move a porta-potty in the middle of a work day. I'm going to have to do some reputation building, I think.
The critical question was "Had the Port-a-Potty been used yet?"
You could have possibly undid years of hard work on my part by allowing the conversation get to "What's up?"
By the way, if you're not busy Monday, I need a swing set painted.
Meh. Just don't answer the door.
First, for decades, I was a classical musician and music teacher. The canonical conversation went like this:
Q: What are you up to?
A: I'm practicing for Friday's performance.
Q: Since you're home, come help me with...
A: I can't; I'm working.
Q: It'll only take a few minutes; can't you...
I could understand that people were completely unclear on the concept that "practicing" is "work" for a musician. What I never could understand is that they continued to be unclear, and even to be resentful, once I explained it to them.
Second, I am now a contract programmer whose clients are often happy for me to work from home in these days of the intertubes. Repeat same conversation, substituting "working for my client" ...