在家办公所受到的误会，你中招了吗?_大学英语阅读

在家办公所受到的误会，你中招了吗?

People who work from home tend to work a LOT more than those in offices, as there’s no real delineation between work time/home time, so work hours spill over into what many would consider to be “personal” time. Distractions such as TV, dirty dishes and such really don’t come into play, as home-based workers realize that their income depends on one thing and one thing alone: how productive they are. As such, they’re not exactly sitting around in PJs all day, especially if there are regular video Skype meetings happening. (Of course, they might just be in PJs from the waist down, but it’s impolite to ask.)

Although you may be tempted to tell people how lucky they are that they get to stay home all day, keep in mind that they’re probably working 12+ hours a day. Sure, self-employed folks may not have to commute for an hour either way, but they’re likely using those extra hours for work. Most self-employed people (including freelancers who telecommute), don’t have things like medical/dental coverage, paid sick leave, or other types of health/personal insurance that’s often covered by full-time employers, so a couple of hours’ worth of extra work may mean that some savings can actually be squirrelled away.

“Since you’re at home anyway, I figured I’d just stop by …”

It’s very bad form to just “drop in” on someone who works from home, as they are WORKING. We wouldn’t just show up at someone’s office for a chat, and the same goes for the self-employed. While you may be tempted to stop by to see a friend/relative because you miss them and you figure that they can make time for you if you just show up, ask yourself if you would do that sort of thing if they worked in a standard office setting—if the answer is “no”, don’t do it.