Advertisement
The window by her desk overlooks the seventh hole on the Bridges golf course. Two laptops, a large monitor, a phone, a printer and John’s playpen make up her office next to the kitchen.
 |
Alissa Gibson, 27, a graphic designer for Merchants Bank in Winona, works in her home office Tuesday as son, John, 5 months, entertains himself in his bouncer. Gibson works at the office two days a week and from home three days, which allows her to spend more time with her son and continue to work full time.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/WInona Daily News) |
“I get a lot done because he is pretty well-behaved,” Gibson said Tuesday, while John smiled and stretched in a bounce chair at her feet. “He doesn’t get my undivided attention, but I’m there if he fusses or coos.”
The 27-year-old has been a marketing assistant and graphic designer at Merchants Bank for the past four years but started working at home three days a week in January.
Gibson is part of a percentage of the national workforce — 15 percent or 20.7 million — who work from home at least once a week, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Unlike those whose out-of-office work spills over into personal time, Gibson is also part of a smaller segment — 3.3 million — who actually get paid for their at-home work.
The number of home workers has remained the same since 2001 with equal numbers of males and females, said Karen Kosanovich, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Mike Haney, regional manager for the Minnesota Workforce Center in Winona, said many younger workers in Winona are looking for employers who say, “Here’s the work, now get it done.”
Much like independent contractors, he said, they don’t want to be told how and when to do it.
For Gibson, working from home was an opportunity to spend more time with John and a compromise to keep her career in graphic design.
Technology made it possible for Gibson to work from home, but also pre-planning on how it would work and how often Gibson needed to be in the office, said Mary Gordon, Merchants vice president and marketing manager.
“We miss her at the office, but we know that was one of the main things to keep a good employee,” Gordon said. “Alissa is very motivated, and in her job, you can measure output.”
Gibson was furnished a laptop loaded with design programs and given secured access to the company’s server and e-mail. Her work extension rings in her home office. In the past two months, Gibson helped complete the company’s annual report and launch a new Web site.
She maintains office hours at home, but she said there have been a couple days where John’s fussy and she waited for her husband to get home to finish work.
“It’s been so busy at work, there’s not really time to be distracted,” Gibson said. “So far so good, but I know it’ll be different once my son starts crawling.”
