Career and Family

There are several steps that small business owners can take to help employees manage their obligations both in the office and at home. "A number of external, structural innovations help people immeasurably in balancing work and family," stated Deborah Lee in Having It All/Having Enough: How to Create a Career/Family Balance that Works for You. These include "flexible work schedule, the availability of part-time work that is taken seriously and is respected by employers, the option of working at home or bringing a child to work. However, these options won't help much unless people also adjust their attitudes about work and unless employers adjust their expectations about what people can produce. A part-time schedule doesn't help if it contains a full-time equivalent workload or penalties such as loss of health benefits or loss of advancement opportunities." Of course, some small business owners contend that a person who takes on a part-time schedule does not warrant the same consideration for advancement as does a full-time employee, and that providing health benefits to all part-time employees puts the business at an unacceptable competitive disadvantage. Each individual business faces challenges and considerations that are unique; thus, each business owner has to decide for himself or herself what family-friendly policies (and attitudes) can be put in place.

BALANCING WORK AND FAMILY IN HOME-BASED BUSINESSES

Owners of home-based businesses face unique challenges in the realm of achieving a desired work/family balance. Whereas small business owners who commute to their place of business every day are usually freed from child-rearing responsibilities for the duration of their time there, entrepreneurs who work out of their home often have to devise methods in which they can both attend to the needs of their business and provide adequate attention to their children. Researchers and home-based business owners tout several steps that can be taken to assist entrepreneurs in meeting these twin challenges.

• Establish a family-friendly business—This sounds simple, but in reality all home-based businesses are not created equal. Some may provide a parent with significant freedom in structuring business around his or her children's schedule, while others may not provide nearly the same level of flexibility.
• Communicate with spouse and/or others—Establishing and maintaining a home-based business requires changes in the routines of all family members, not just the entrepreneur. Changes in travel schedules, household chore allocation, and other areas of family life may all need to be made. The key to making sure that such changes are made with a minimum of disruption and/or resentment is open, honest communication.
• Make maximum use of free time—Home-based entrepreneurs can dramatically increase their productivity—and keep a lid on feelings of frustration—by scheduling demanding and/or important work obligations for times when child supervision obligations are minimal. Nap times, pre-school sessions, extracurricular programs, etc. can all provide parents with valuable windows of opportunity to attend to vital work-related matters.
• Prioritize and establish a daily schedule—Business owners who work out of their home should avoid falling into a routine in which tasks—both family- and work-related—are addressed in a haphazard, "as they come up" fashion. Instead, they should try to establish a daily or weekly schedule. Work discipline can be difficult to maintain at home even without children; their presence further compounds the challenge.
• Establish an office area that is physically removed from the rest of the house—People who attempt to take care of work while situated in the heart of a child's play area are apt to experience high levels of frustration. Instead, home-based entrepreneurs should consider establishing an office in a separate area that includes all necessary equipment to conduct business. Moreover, children should be taught to respect the importance of that area. Another option which may be more popular with parents of toddlers and young children is to create a "child-friendly" office with a corner that is set aside for their needs.
• Communicate the importance of your work to children—In How to Raise a Family and a Career Under One Roof, Lisa Roberts noted that home-based entrepreneurs should make a special effort to educate their children about the importance of the work they are doing. She counseled parents to "share your victories, challenges and rewards as often as possible. If your children feel like they're a part of what you're doing, they'll be much more supportive than if they see your business as something that's just taking you away from them."
• Enjoy your family—Many home-based business owners may create a situation for themselves for the express purpose of spending greater time with their mates or children, yet find themselves feeling frustrated with the demands on time and energy that those people inevitably make during the course of every day. Counselors urge home-based entrepreneurs not to lose sight of why they made the decision to operate out of the home in the first place.

Overall, experts stress that owning a business is not something to take lightly. It requires planning to achieve an appropriate balance between work and family that all interested parties can live with. "Make time for family," Michelle Prather wrote in Entrepreneur. "Acknowledge you're taking them on the wildest ride of their lives. Find a mentor to help you through the tough times. Know your limits. Know that unhealthy relationships will worsen, and solid ones could waver."

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