Home-Office Life and Its Discontents

New York Times:

Before they were married in September, Nicci Young and Richard Wiese first had to split up. The problem was not romantic, but spatial: Young, who organizes community development safaris to Africa, and Wiese, a writer and explorer, found that their Upper East Side one-bedroom was not big enough for the two of them after both decided to work from home.

“He kept talking to me about his work, which is very interesting, but it was really taking time out of my workday,” Young said. “And when I was alone there was a sense of loneliness and procrastination.”

Wiese, who is writing a how-to book about exploration for teenagers, acknowledged the problem. “Nicci tends to be a lot more intense,” he said. “Especially with lighter work, I can be watching a ballgame. If I saw a funny e-mail coming through I’d want to share it. I’d get these glances from her, like, ‘I’m working!’”

Young is one of many of the millions of Americans now working outside traditional workplaces who have found themselves surprised by how difficult home-office life can be. It requires strict self-discipline and an ability to tune out spouses, children and pets. For the more sociable or emotionally needy, it can feel like house arrest, especially if the phone hasn’t rung in a while.

Young’s solution was to rent space in a communal office, an increasingly popular option for those who can afford it. Those who can’t afford a separate space, or who find home too convenient or rewarding a workplace base to give up — learn to live with the challenges, coming up with smaller-scale solutions over time.

Read more.

Photo by Librado Romero.

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