DEAR Jasminda,
We have a few family members who work from home and our mannerisms and work styles are getting on each other’s nerves. How do we improve our work-from-home balance?
Megan P.
Dear Megan,
Research by Roy Morgan (2025) stated that more than 6.7 million Australians work from home at least some of the time. There is a very strong chance, therefore, that almost half the population is experiencing some form of work from home distraction, whether it is several members working in the same home, people dropping in, a dog that barks every time a car drives past, and various other intrusions.
Add to that the quirks of individual family members and it is amazing any of us get any work done.
Right now, for example, my son is cleaning his car, which is a relatively innocuous activity when not accompanied by Kajagoogoo’s “Too Shy” blasting from a Boombox.
Prior to a hurriedly assembled family meeting, he was blasting death metal at 100 decibels, so I guess Kagagoogoo is a small win, though now we are into verse 3 of “Too Shy” I’m not sure which is worse.
Meanwhile, my husband is doing the pays. You would think this, at least, would be noiseless, but no.
His most recent expletive-laden outburst was something to do with needing a new iPad and the errors caused by fat fingers. The mind boggles.
Five minutes earlier, chaos ensured when the dog helped itself to a fish frame left over from the weekend’s fishing trip. My son’s girlfriend (who’s on a rostered day off) proceeded to run across the yard, retching and screaming, while the dog chased her, thinking it was a game.
Regardless, I have managed to organise a hire car, write a column, send several emails, do some invoicing and it’s not even morning tea time. Who knows what could be achieved without all the distractions.
Megan, the only way to work from home with several family members is to set some workplace boundaries.
If you have a designated work area, ensure that everyone knows that you are officially at work. If they want your attention, they can send an email or call you, and you can send an out-of-office response or ignore the phone, just like traditional office-based employees.
Carpe diem,
Jasminda.
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