Member Questions

You should definitely ask. I work two days a week from home and it is a tremendous help, and it always surprises me to find out how many other moms are also working from home and continuing their careers through this arrangement. The only thing you will need to consider, however, is that once your child gets a little bit older (over 1 years old), you will need a babysitter to watch/play with him/her even while you are at home. This becomes more and more necessary as they get older, otherwise, it's almost impossible to work from home and it can be stressful for you and your child. But if you can find a sitter or helper, then working from home is a great solution-- you can still be involved with your child's day-to-day life and activities, nurse for an extended period of time (if you want to), and save precious time avoiding a commute. One way to approach your boss is to ask if you can start on a trial basis, and then reassess the arrangement in a couple months to see if it is working out. This way they are not locked in, and you can also have a chance to show them that you can be truly productive at home.

I currently have the option to work from home if I need to so I can offer a little advice. I approached it from the perspective of needing to work from home to complete projects in the evening or weekends. I requested a company laptop and VPN (Virtual Private Network) access. Before this I consistently delivered excellent work and developed a good working relationship with my boss. Whatever he needed I did happily and quickly. In essence I made him look good in front of his bosses. Now I am able to call in when I want to work from home (and as long as there is no audit or other pressing project). It is a process, but with your years of service you should have no problem. It's all about the work initially and wanting to do a great job as well as deliver quality work. The best to you!

I always say it doesn't hurt to ask. I would not focus on the fact that you are having a dillema over your childcare and just say that you want to maximize your work time and family time and feel like working from home would allow that.
I would also present to your boss clear cut indicators of your productivity and how you would maintain that at home. You may also want to start out by asking for 2-3 days/week at home and see how that goes and then proceed with a full time schedule at home if you both feel like it is a good fit. I have not worked from home, but it seems as if when kids become mobile it becomes more difficult. I know I have a very hard time getting anything done for work at home with a 2 1/2 year old running around. Although by the time your little one is walking you may feel more comfortable with them being in a group daycare. I know there are great daycares out there, but I have not found one that I wanted my babies to go to either. They were always at an in home daycare or a friend's house until they went to preschool. Good luck and I hope you can find a good solution.