One of the most common and constant questions that I get asked since I’ve been working a bit more “non-traditionally” is “Are you working today?” For some reason, people assume that because I do not have a typical, full-time plus job to go to from 8:00am to 5:00pm every work day, that I must be able to get away with NOT working. The reality is, of course, that I tend to work at least some, seven days a week. So, when people ask me if I’m “working today,” I try to calmly answer: “I work every day.”
I think it is difficult for people who haven’t run their own business or worked as a consultant, freelancer or even worked more than one job, to understand that flexible schedule doesn’t necessary mean that a person DOESN’T work. I believe we’ve chatted about that before here in the Home Business blog–how people assume that since we work from our home offices or our “home base” that we are not really working. Of course, we know that couldn’t be farther from the truth! For many of us, a better questions would be, “When are you NOT working?!”
Having set hours and letting everyone know what they are helps–but it’s not always possible. Sometimes things crop up or a child gets sick and we have to completely rearrange our work schedules to allow for life’s realities. Our ability to do this doesn’t necessarily help our cause in terms of training people to “get” that we are working. Additionally, I know that the e-mails I send at midnight don’t help my cause either–people assume that I can work a little at night and then be free to watch soap operas or tour the museums during the day (okay, there are those FEW days where I can carve out the time to tour the museum during a work day.) It’s really a catch 22–I’m quite thrilled and happy to share how much I appreciate having the flexibility to set my own schedule, but I don’t appreciate people assuming that I am NOT working today.
See Also: Do People Know Your Work Hours? and a Home Business Means Longer Hours