Lee Siew Peng of The Star, Weekender Section (Published: October 5, 2002)

SOMETIMES, you just got to know when to quit. 

For Tiffany Tang, the epiphany came two months after giving birth, when she was pick-pocketed on her way home. Feeling that she had lost her street smarts — “I was just rushing everywhere for the sake of my child” — she decided to stay home and use her time more productively. 

Two years ago, the former chief editor of the Disney Mickey Mouse Magazine quit, and now works from home as the managing director of Asian-family.com — “Asia’s first and only family and community internet radio station”. It helped that the station sought exclusively to employ people to work from home (hey, it’s a family site!).  

Tiffany Tang is happy being with her son Joshua than the "office".

Tang, 34, enjoyed being an editor, but it meant a 12-hour gap between seeing son Joshua, and of course, living in Kuala Lumpur, there was the commuting to contend with. Tang’s decision is not the norm in Malaysia, though many may wish they could do the same. Working at home may not have reached endemic proportions here, but in this post-feminist, politically correct age, neither is it the alien concept it used to be. 

Those who stay home don’t necessarily just do, well, housework either. (That’s a goldmine, though: the Centre for Economics and Business Research, UK, calculated that housework is worth £7,421 or some RM43,000 annually.) No, today’s “housewives” are more likely to be high-flying ex-accountants, engineers and managers. The only difference is that the office is now home. 

Nor do you have to be married or a mother, judging from the response at the latest “Working At Home” conference organised by the Mothers 4 Mothers (M4M) support group. More people are thinking of opting out of the rat race in favour of less stress and more quality time. Double incomes have also prompted parents to evaluate career ambitions and look at (possibly) less lucrative jobs which let one stay home. Flexibility is another attraction: full-time, part-time or contractual employment offers the freedom of individual work schedules.

Out of office 

One may choose to work from home for myriad reasons, but kids, obviously, are a major consideration — the opportunity to combine parenthood and a career is tempting. 

When her three-year-old daughter Siti Sufiza began speaking with an Indonesian accent and seeking the maid for comfort, Reeza Abdullah, 33, knew she had to change her “part-time to no-time mother” lifestyle.  

Reeza Abdullah and daughter have closer bond now that she works from home.

“My mother led a very active social life, and as a child I lied to a friend that Mummy and I baked cookies over the weekend, and that we had afternoon teas,” laughs the former senior manager turned webmistress.  I realised that I was missing out on my daughter’s growing up. I didn’t want her to have to lie to friends about imaginary tea with Mummy.” She got her current job thanks to her husband.  

“He bought me Working @ Home, a guidebook, then wrote in to M4M, and before I knew it, I went for the interview and got the job!” 

Like Reeza, Dayang Lili Abang Muas, 31, an ex-systems engineer, felt that she should be at home bringing up Hakeem and Hannah, now five and three. She had approached her former employers, together with a group of mothers, to discuss the possibility of flexi-hours and teleworking, but looked into other options when talks fell through.  

“The kids were the reason, but I still wanted to have something to do at home,” says Dayang Lili. 

Kids aside, remaining a professional is also important. As Tang explains of her choice: “I wanted a job I would enjoy; where I could learn new things; get good pay; and related to my passion for family and children.”  

The maternal instinct isn’t always the impetus. Patricia Tan, 43, diagnosed with liver cancer five years ago, decided to stop working after her operation to recover. 

R. Adam, 29, also proves the work-at-home female stereotype wrong. The single, 29-year-old male chose to work from home because it was the only option. “My car ‘died’, and there was no public transportation within 5km of my house. It was a Catch-22 situation: I needed money for a car and expenses, but I couldn’t get to a job.” 

The decision to work from home elicited various responses. While husbands are usually supportive; friends proved a different matter. “Some thought I was crazy, to have worked so hard to get to where I was, and throw it all away on a ‘whim’. Some even said that my parents had wasted money giving me a good education!” moans Reeza. 

Pity was worse than dissuasion. Tan says her friends probably thought, “Poor thing, she’s got cancer and has to stop working”. Tang, on the other hand, had problems when she tried to pursue working from the home.  

Companies, Tang reveals, were just plain unhelpful. “I spent about nine months before and after Joshua was born approaching companies. I told them, ‘I can do this, this and this . . . from home’ — the last two words scared them off. Some were sceptical; others said, ‘Oh, just work in the office for three months, then we’ll see.’ What was the point? I wanted to work at home?!” 

Now What 

Then there was looking at work options, how to do it, and whether those plans would succeed. 

Some stuck to fields they knew or excelled in. Reeza had been with a solutions provider company, so managing a website was “what I know best”; Tan, a former accountant appropriated her number-crunching and tax-planning prowess to become a stay-home financial planner and unit trust consultant — her large network of friends and ex-colleagues meant a ready market for her product. 

Sometimes, opportunities just presented themselves. Adam, an ex-teacher, turned writer and web developer because “a friend of a friend of a friend owned a wholesale company and needed help. I was told of the opening and things went from there!” To make things easier, his new “boss” was kind enough to pay for a new RM4,100 computer. 

Dayang set up UmmikuSayang.com, an online bookstore selling Islamic children’s books, after identifying a niche market for them. Her experience in IT also helped.  

“I saw the potential to grow this into something bigger without incurring the expenses normally associated with running a physical store; ultimately, I want it to become a one-stop centre for Muslim mothers on the Internet, and later, develop a shop, play group and education centre.” 

Her confident plans belie the initial worry and doubt that plague new work-at-homers. Though some, like Tan, knew exactly what to do next — she took the unit trust exam to get a license — many do wonder if they’re in over their heads.  

“When I resigned, I thought, ‘Oh God! I’m finally a lady of leisure!’” Reeza mock-swoons. “But I was scared out of my mind. Changes are very scary, unknown change is paralysing. I didn’t know what to expect.” 

Tang alleviated her fears by reading lots of literature on working at home. “They were very inspiring, and gave me confidence.” She needed that assurance; the shadow of finances looms large when working at home, and she was considering a family at the time. 

It goes without saying that a budget is mandatory. Because Dayang took time off to read for a master’s degree, her family had an inadvertent “test run” of living on a single income before UmmikuSayang.com materialised. Having an understanding (and rich!) spouse helps — but this being real-life, six to nine months’ worth of funds is recommended. 

“You also need technology,” Tang advises. “I’ve upgraded my PC three times already” — but adds that it’s not always prudent to go buy the latest, spec-laden model. Two telephone lines (one for surfing and the other for incoming calls), a fax and a large designated work area also come in handy. 

Still, a computer and Internet access are optional; working from home doesn’t necessarily entail e-commerce. Other business options include giving tuition, making quilts, baking . . . you’re your own boss. You decide what you want to do! 

New Job, New Challenges 

The three D’s of working at home are discipline, dedication and getting drawn in. “The hardest part,” sighs Tang, “is disciplining yourself. It’s not what people think, like, ‘Oh, you mean when you pass the bedroom, you have to control yourself from going back to sleep?’ Sometimes it’s just knowing when to stop.” 

Tang felt driven to work harder to prove to her boss and subordinates that she could meet deadlines.  

“In the beginning, I was tempted to just work and work, but then I thought: wait, this just defeats the purpose of why I decided to work at home in the first place,” she confesses. “I had to stop and review my priorities, like, if I had stopped at such-and-such a time, I could have spent more time with Joshua, or cleaned up, etc.” 

“The structure of a normal job is not there at all,” Adam harrumphs. At times, he feels that he’s never off work. “My house seems closer to an office than a home. I miss the physical sensation of leaving the office.” 

Communication and coordination also demand greater attention. Reeza’s “colleagues” are scattered all over Malaysia, with one in Australia. E-mails can be misinterpreted, she says, “so what you can settle in five minutes at the office can take up to two hours when working with a virtual team.” She underlines the importance of a proper communication system and work guidelines to ensure work is done effectively. 

A commonly asked question, Tang says, is: how do you know they’re working if you can’t see them? “You can check on virtual work (i.e. it has to be sent to you via e-mail), but when the work’s on paper, you have to arrange for meetings” — which is why she stresses face-to-face meetings at least once a week, and on meeting colleagues outside the office on a regular basis. 

This strategy also omits the lack of human interaction (no matter how cute your gurgling baby is, you need some intellectual stimulation!). Adam goes out for lunch or a snack at a café for a couple of hours daily, just to talk to people and get out of the house; he also schedules at least a day a week to “have a life”. For Tan, who meets customers and agents all the time, it’s never even been a problem — she also has two grown-up kids at home. 

Oh, another “D” to consider is diet; Reeza laments that it’s a losing battle, what with the office just next to the kitchen! 

Ironically, the very reason which made these women choose “homework” posed problems too. Dayang’s kids found it difficult to understand that Mummy was “working”, because they associated work with leaving the house.  

“I couldn’t seem to get any work done because they were always tagging along, asking me to play with them all the time. It took time for them to understand and adjust to my working at home,” she explains. These days, they understand what Mummy means when she closes the “office” door. 

Clients who call Tang at odd hours may hear Joshua making funny sounds in the background. “They usually ask, ‘What’s that?’ I tell them, ‘Oh, it’s my ‘colleague’ disturbing me!’” Tang quips. 

She warns of the dangers of the “Superwoman” complex too: “Remember, you are working from home and aren’t expected to do everything. If the house gets a bit dirty, don’t get too upset.” 

Work can be hard to separate from home life too. Tang calls the time between 5pm and 6pm her “piranha” hour, “because that’s when everything and everyone seems to want a piece of you. My son is waiting for me, there’s a load of laundry, dinner has to be cooked, the floor needs a mop, and proposals need to be sent!” she sighs, sounding almost tired. 

Adam tries to work when his housemates are asleep, or not at home, to avoid constant interruptions. Others set a daily schedule. “Working from home is similar to working nine-to-five,” Reeza quotes sagely. “The only difference is that you’re at home and surrounded by people you love and care for.” 

The Upside (Was There Any Doubt?) 

Working at home is not entirely stress-free, but the huge amount of flexibility, balance and quality time offered is more than adequate compensation. The change of lifestyle prompted ex-corporate climbers Tan and Reeza to remark that in retrospect, they would have quit sooner. 

With the exception of Adam (presumably because he’s still single and a man!), all the women felt infinitely more fulfilled, as individuals, professionals, wives and mothers. And despite Adam’s misgivings, they felt more men should get involved.  

“The benefits are enormous!” enthuses Reeza. “I can’t even begin to count how much our relationships have improved.” 

Top of the list is, of course, the parent-child relationship, as the women attest. The flexi-hours mean Dayang now walks Hakeem to kindergarten; Tan can cook meals for her family; Reeza gets a cuddle from Siti Sufiza in the middle of the day; Tang even shares her work with Joshua. 

“I think we’re raising happier children, because they know we’re there for them,” Tang observes. “I tell Joshua what I do, and he catches on fast. These days, when I send e-mails or make phone calls, he asks, ‘Who are you calling? Uncle Bobby? Auntie Mimi?’” 

Her self-confidence has also increased. “I can see that I am capable of seeing this through. People may say, ‘Oh, you can do editing and writing at home, but not marketing’, and I’m proving them wrong.” 

And no matter what your professional skills, you’re always learning new ones. “Discipline, planning, time management — sometimes you don’t figure these things out in the office,” Tang notes. “When you’re on your own, you are forced to think, be creative. How are you going to achieve this? What do you have to juggle?” 

Dayang is a good example of new skills in action. As an engineer in a well-known multinational company, she didn’t have to do much marketing. “But I’m running my own business now. I have to force myself to be bold and start marketing it. It’s made me more confident and given me the opportunity to learn hands-on business administration.” 

It can be a lucrative business, but more importantly, there’s great job satisfaction. UmmikuSayang.com, for example, generates some RM4,000 a month, but Dayang feels far more rewarded from knowing she’s helped others. “When people come back and tell me how much they, or their kids, loved the books, it makes me so happy,” she smiles.  

Impacting people on the job is another plus. Tang feels we don’t network enough, “because we’re so conscious of work in the office!” 

You don’t even need a power suit to feel professional — as Tan says, “It’s all inside you.” Nobody’s going to bother what you look like as long as you get the job done. Our interviewees confessed to only dressing up when they had to meet clients, but afterwards, chortles Tang, “It’s like Superman in reverse, Cinderella coming back from the ball!” 

“Of course I don’t work in my pyjamas!” Dayang giggles. “But I try to dress nicely; that makes me feel good about myself.”  

Tang roars with laughter when she recalls the number of business deals she’s made in a bathrobe — or while sitting on the toilet! All this, without the office politics, no boss stress, and (yay!) no traffic jams!