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Taking Time Off When You Work at Home
Maternity Leaves for the Work-at-Home Mom
(Citadel Press, 1998), agrees. She encourages women to take advantage of the flexibility offered by working from home. You have to work eight hours a day, but that doesn't mean you have to work from 9 to 5," she says. "If you plan your day around your baby's schedule, you may even be able to go back to work a little bit earlier than you would in an office job."
But it's crucial that work-at-home moms don't try to do everything all at once. Taking care of a newborn is no easy task, and Hull warns women not to be misled by the fact that their office dress code may be a robe and slippers. "Most women who work from home underestimate the time they'll need for maternity leave," she says. "They think they can take two weeks off, then get back to their real schedule."
A more realistic approach, Hull says, is for work-at-home moms to establish how much leave they anticipate needing, and, she says, if you can, double it. "Start back just part time, and ease into a routine," she says.
In other words, if you're your own boss, treat yourself the way you would treat any other employee. Would you expect your secretary to return to the office two weeks after giving birth?
Hull and Demas agree that there is no magic formula for determining the proper amount of leave. Each woman needs to assess her own situation: her baby's needs, her family's financial needs and her own recovery and adjustment to her new role. But as a general rule of thumb, "I recommend moms wait at least six weeks," says Demas.
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Work-at-home Moms and Maternity Leave by Anne on 12/03/2009 10:23AM
Well, it is very much obvious that women really need to have maternity leave. Since giving birth is NOT EASY and they do need some rest to be able to gain strength. This is a great challenge for women working at home since they need to organize and manage their time everyday but if you have a great system working for you then you don't need to worry you can still earn.... I will teach you how see at http://www.AchieveThePossible.com