v-Fluence Blog

Why I won't trade work-at-home flexibility for suits and commutes

When I left my job as OSHA spokeswoman at the Department of Labor after the birth of my first child, my intention was to be an "at-home" mom. After 8 months, I was certifiably insane and in desperate need of some validation that I was more than just a blithering idiot singing "The Wheels on The Bus" and watching for my husband's car turn into the driveway. I took on a number of consulting projects that paid well, but still required commuting and child care.

After consulting for some years, I joined v-Fluence and am once again an at-home mom. This time, though, I think I got it right. My children may disagree with that, and I wince when I overhear my daughter, Perry, while playing house: "Pretend I'm the Mom and I have a conference call."

Still, I know that I have the best of both worlds.

While it is true that despite my physical presence, I am not always available to my children, I feel that at least I am here. My children have learned that there are 3 x 5 cards within reach of my two desks, and they know to write me a note when I am on the phone. When Perry complained the other day that I am always on the phone or at the computer, I had to remind her of the alternative, or more appropriately, alternatives. I pointed out the number of nannies that she knows who organize the play dates for her friends. I do that for my children. I am not an hour away (not counting any Boston-area traffic or subway dramas). I get my children up in the morning, make sure they get to school, pick them up afterward, have dinner with them, and put them to bed. All the running around may mean that I watch the baseball game on TV with my laptop, but I guess thatís where they got the name, right? And working a fulfilling job gives me

We at v-Fluence are proud of our family-friendly efforts. Sure, there are days when I feel like neither my children nor my job gets my best, but isnít that true of all of us, office or not? My client contacts do not seem to have any issues with the fact that I do not go to an office; in fact, many have expressed envy at my situation. And one thing that I have learned from motherhood is how to be more efficient with my time. I get more done in the seven hours my children are at school than I ever did working 12- to 16-hour days in an office with a bank of television sets.

I think that for most of us at v-Fluence, mothers and fathers alike, it will be a cold day in heck (sorry, the kids are reading over my shoulder) before we go back to the suit and the commute.

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