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Reducing stress: Bringing the office home
(Tahlequah Daily Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 11--Tired of office infighting? What about the politics, space wars and general interruptions throughout the workday?
For some, the best solution is to work from home via the Internet and to establish a home office.
According to an article at StatePoint.net, over 24 million Americans now work from home, either full- or part-time. Denise Deason-Toyne, a local attorney, educator and Certified Financial Planner, is one such American.
"I have a home 'office' I use for convenience," said Deason-Toyne. "I live 25 miles out of town, so it's nice to be able to work at home sometime. Obviously, we have computers, a comb-fax, scanner, printer and copier. I do a lot of preparation for my classes -- research and exam preparation and grading. Sometimes, I'll do some legal research, etc."
Deason-Toyne said she enjoys being able to do some of her work at home, instead of staying at her office until 7 or 8 p.m., and then having to face "driving home dodging deer."
"I can multi-task, work on classroom work and do laundry all at the same time and make sure the child at home is doing his homework," she said.
"It's also nice to sit in my jammies and slippers and sip on coffee while I search the net and check e-mail at 6 of 7 a.m. on Saturday."
Dianne Barker-Harrold also works from home, when she's not on the road consulting.
"Two years ago, I had the opportunity to completely change how and where I worked," she said.
"I made a painful decision to leave a place that is very much home to me: the United Keetoowah Band. My emotional ties to the tribal members and the tribe is very strong, and so it was a tough decision for me to tell Chief [George] Wickliffe and Assistant Chief [Charles] Locust that I had this opportunity. However, I accepted a position with a company that works exclusively with tribes, including the UKB, providing training and technical assistance to tribal victims' programs."
Despite her decision, Wickliffe asked Barker-Harrold to maintain an office at the tribe's headquarters, and she complied.
"I still have an office there and breeze in and out, bringing in things I have worked on, come in for meetings and often come in at night to do various things," she said. "I'm grateful to still have that connection with the UKB."
Barker-Harrold's youngest daughter had left the nest, so she decided to use the space for her home office.
"Previously, we had a nook of a home office where we had a desk and computer," she said. "I bought a couple of file cabinets, two printers, many office gadgets to make my life easier and was ready to go! At the time I only had dial-up Internet, which was the only real hindrance I had."
Like Deason-Toyne, Barker-Harrold enjoys not having to conform to "office attire" when working at home.
"I have to say it has been wonderful," she said.
"I get up and log onto the Internet in our cyber-office and I am at work: no dressing up to go to work, having to do my hair, wear makeup, etc. There are days when I might just wear my PJ's all day, unless I know the FedEx or UPS guy might be coming!"
Both agree, the real beauty of working at home is being able to complete both professional and other work simultaneously.
"The real beauty of it is that I can take a break, throw clothes in the washer or dryer, or put dinner on, and not have to come home after a long day to do those things," she said.
Barker-Harrold believes telecommuting has become attractive for a number of companies. The company she works for has five employees who work this way, including the executive director.
"We have bi-weekly staff meetings by teleconference, and in between, the director gives us calls once a week just to touch base," she said. "We also have 'virtual' meetings occasionally, but two of our folks only have dial-up, so we can't all be involved unless they go off-site from their home office.
"Virtual meetings are going to become much more common as the technology continues to improve and upgrade. I was surprised by how efficient they really are; you can see everyone and it saves travel time and costs, lodging per diem, etc., which is a great advantage to businesses."
Since beginning her "homework" adventure, Barker-Harrold has seen her blood pressure decrease, as well as her stress level. She also enjoys being able to look out her windows and watch hummingbirds, deer and wild turkeys, as well as check the progress of her flower garden.
"I have to say that working at home is perfect for me," she said. "I also think that I will likely work longer before I retire because of where I am working. While there are days that get hectic, just like everyone else, I truly believe that I am a happier and more productive employee."
Barker-Harrold believes the perfect work-at-home candidate must be able to work without supervision, be a self-starter, self-motivator and not need a lot of daily human interaction.
Deason-Toyne agrees, saying sometimes working at home proves challenging.
"The down side of the home office is just that -- it's at home," she said. "There can be serious distractions which cause friction, so there need to be rules, such as don't bother me unless the house is on fire and you really can't find the fire extinguisher. It can also be lonely. I like interaction with colleagues, so when I work at home -- with no one there -- it can be boring. E-mail and instant messaging are helpful and the Web cam (which I don't have and don't know if I want anyone to see me at 6 or 7 a.m. on Saturdays) is a terrific technological advancement."
In addition to flexible working hours and dress code, working from home can often provide tax benefits.
According to Dr. John Yeutter, CPA and associate professor of accounting at NSU, there are several rules that must be met in order to take a tax deduction for a home office.
"It must be both regularly and exclusively used for a business purpose, either as a principal place of business, or as a place to meet or deal with patients, clients or customers in the normal course of business," he said. "The exclusive use requirement is absolute. Use of the home office for any other purpose disqualifies the deduction."
Yeutter said if the area is being used as an office by an employee, then an additional requirement is necessary.
"In that case, the home office must be 'for the convenience of the employer,'" he said.
"So just having a place where you work regularly after normal business hours will not qualify. This is usually met by salespersons that have no regular work location, and do their paperwork or store their inventory or samples at home. It can also be met when an employer encourages its employees to telecommute several days a week."
If an area is established as a qualifying home office, then all costs of that office are deductible. According to Yeutter, to determine these costs, for most expenses, you calculate the appropriate portion of home expenses, based on square footage.
"So, if someone has a 2,000-square foot home, and has a 10-foot by 12-foot office, then 6 percent of expenses are deductible," he said.
"These include the portion of not only interest and taxes, which would already be deductible, but also maintenance, insurance and utilities."
For renters, Yeutter said the appropriate portion of rent is deductible, as well as utilities.
"In addition, any direct costs associated with the office, such as a dedicated DSL line, are fully deductible," he said
"Depreciation of the office portion of the house is also a deduction. Some creative taxpayers have also tried to deduct some other expenses. One unique, but questionable cost I have heard of was the purchase and maintenance cost of a 'roving security system,' also known as a watchdog."
For a detailed listing and explanation of the IRS deduction for home offices, visit www.irs.gov.
To see more of the Tahlequah Daily Press or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/.
Copyright (c) 2009, Tahlequah Daily Press, Okla.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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