Friday, May 27, 2011

Why I Decided to Go Back to Work

If you know me, you know that I was laid off from a job I really enjoyed back at the end of January. We lost the client I was working on, and they could only keep some people around. Unfortunately, that meant splitting up myself and the other three people I had grown close to - two of us were laid off, and the other two stayed and moved over to a different client. I went to work at a different branch of the company for a month on a temporary assignment they needed my help on. When they couldn't afford to keep me around any longer, I was laid off once again.

Since then, I have actually been making a living working from home as a freelance writer and editor. I asked a couple of people for advice, and they were each incredibly helpful. I was happy to stay home and work in my new "home office" and make use of my English degree. I was happy to be in sweatpants. I was happy to do whatever I wanted and go to lunch when invited or have the freedom to attend a Brewers game on my husband's day off with him on a couple Wednesday afternoons.

Things were going pretty well last month. I had steady work, I was busy, and I made solid use of my time. Then, my boss from the first place I was laid off from e-mailed me to ask if I would be interested in coming back. I had a hunch it would be coming, as my old co-workers kept telling me about everyone who left working there or was promoted, and no one new ever came in. So, after careful thought and consideration, I decided I wanted to go back.

A lot of people probably think I'm a little crazy. Why would I give up being able to work from home? Well, for one thing, freelance work isn't always the most reliable. I may have been crazy busy last month, but this month slowed down to the point where we wouldn't be able to afford me working from home unless I started to send out more e-mails for new clients. A consistent paycheck will be helpful.

For another thing, I agreed to come back, but I asked if I could work 32 hours a week instead of 40. My boss and I came to the conclusion that I would work half days on Wednesdays and Fridays, and combining those with some weeknights or weekends, I should be able to juggle my workload between everything. I have heard that sometimes, freelance writing dies down during the summer anyway.

I think one of the biggest reasons I was ready to go back to work was probably because I missed it. I missed having a set schedule. I missed having daily interactions with people, as opposed to sitting home alone everyday and debating on whether or not to put on make-up or straighten my hair that day, since the only person to see me would be my husband, anyway. I also missed the friends I had made while I worked there, and I have felt sad that I couldn't be the one to determine when I left this job - they had decided that for me based on my date of hire.

Finally, I was bored and unmotivated at home. In the beginning, I had more work, so I had to be productive. But, as my workload died down, I started to become lazy, lethargic, and a huge procrastinator. I started waiting until the last minute to get everything done, I would put off writing articles as much as possible, and my main focus became checking Facebook and Twitter and clearing off the DVR instead of getting work done. I am hoping that having set times to focus on my freelance work will force me to get it done when I have the time to, because I can't just save it all for the next day anymore.

This past Tuesday, I officially went back to work. I have a new cubicle and don't sit by my friends anymore, but I also have a new computer with a flat screen monitor that I always hoped I would get the last time I was there. This time, I am working on a client where I schedule all of my own phone interviews and decide how many I can handle in a day. The positions are all different, so I won't necessarily be doing the same exact phone screen 16 times a day, which I like. It didn't take long to get back in the swing of things, and today, I decided I am happy to be back. Something about working there and being in such a positive environment puts me in a good mood. Hopefully this time, with such a small team left, I won't even have to worry about the possibility of a layoff again...but, if I do, at least I have my freelance work to fall back on. For now, this is a good balance for me. This is what I want to be doing.

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