I Work From Home: My Family wants me to Get a Real Job

Working from home is something which many people aspire to; and if you've already taken the plunge and started your own business, you already know how great it can be. You can have more control over your schedule, enjoy the comfort of taking care of your own business from your own home and a generally higher quality of life – so why does your family secretly (or maybe not so secretly) wish you'd go back to working a 9 to 5 job and get out of the house?

If you've recently made a transition from a conventional job to running your own home-based business, it's only natural that your family may need some time to adjust to the change. After all, it's something which they're not used to and we human beings are to a large extent creatures of habit. You may have a little bit of trouble yourself settling into your new workplace – while your home is certainly familiar territory to you, having your home and your workplace be one and the same is certainly a little different and will require some readjustment both for you and for the rest of your family.

If your family is a little out of sorts as a result of your having come home to work, it may be due to more than simply getting used to the fact that you're working from home. If you’re new to working from home, chances are that you’re still finding it easy to become distracted and as a result, you may be spending a little too much time interacting with family members instead of working. It's understandable to do this as you first try to settle into your new routine – you're not used to seeing your family during the day and it's nice to see them a little more. However, you should keep in mind that the reverse is also true; and your family has more than likely gotten used to using the daytime hours when you used to be away at work to get some things done themselves.

To put it as nicely as possible, you may be intruding on their day – and it's all too easy to get distracted when you’re working from home. In order to prevent this, you need to set aside a dedicated work space within the home. If possible, use a home office where you can close the door and stay out of everyone's way and vice versa while you're working. When you're able to shut out distractions, you'll be far more productive and everyone will be happier (your business' bottom line will benefit from this too).

Be patient with your family and if you can manage to draw a line between your work hours and your leisure time, the transition to your new career as a home based business owner will be a much smoother one for your entire household. Your family will adjust too – and once you've gotten your new business off the ground and growing, they'll be impressed with all you've been able to do while working at home. The important thing is to make this change go smoothly and you'll be able to concentrate on building your business; and your family will soon stop hoping you'll go back to that daily commute.