There’s no place like (an office at) home

As reported on Today/msnbc.com


Telephone agents are a company’s first line of defense in tackling calls. And employing people to work from home is a growing trend



By Jean Chatzky
"Today" Financial Editor
TODAY
updated 6:54 p.m. CT, Wed., Oct . 12, 2005


Long commute, noisy coworkers, little flexibility — there are some things that can make going into the office every day a real drag. For some, working in an office can be an impossibility, due to a disability or family situation. But increasingly, some companies are finding out that employees may not need to head to the office to get their work done. "Today" financial editor Jean Chatzky takes a look at interesting career opportunities that have some people saying there's no place like home.

Peter Catanese handles hundreds of calls each week for the Internal Revenue Service, and he does it all from his home in southern New Jersey.

"I have a cup of coffee and go to work. Just like anybody else does," said Catanese.
National Telecommuting Institute, a nonprofit organization that places disabled workers with at-home employment, uses Internet technology to enable call center work to be done at home.

"The federal government has out-sourced call center work overseas," said Michael Meyer of the National Telecommuting Institute. "And so we're saying to the federal buyers, if you're willing to do that, we have a workforce here that suffers a 75 percent unemployment rate that is ready to go to work."

For Catanese, who was hit by a car nearly 30 years ago, traditional employment is not an option.

"I have an awful lot of pain from my knees and from other parts of my body,” he said. “I can't work eight hours a day. I can work two, three, maybe four hours a day."

But those few hours mean more than just a paycheck.

"When you are disabled you don't have a work identity,” he said. “It's given me back my identity as someone that can walk around and be proud of himself."

How can a company know whether it should consider telecommuting as an option? According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the key is for each company to figure out whether the employee would be able to handle the job without telecommuting, and if the job would be conducive to a work-at-home environment. While these decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, the EEOC has issued a fact sheet, available on http://www.eeoc.gov/, describing situations where allowing disabled workers to work from home would be reasonable under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

However, there are concerns about this trend. Some disabled workers would have no trouble getting into the office, and you don't want to make the disabled feel shunted to the side, as if they’re not a part of the office environment. You also don't want to put the disabled in a position where they feel as if they aren't eligible for promotion or mentoring.

In addition, disabled people often receive Social Security benefits and are allowed to earn only a certain amount without losing those benefits. For example, a disabled person working full-time can earn up to $830 a month, and part-time up to $590 a month. A person earning more than that would lose their disability payments, though if their income once again fell below those thresholds, the disability payments would be reinstated.

Colorado-based Alpine Access has been placing employees with home-based employment for years. Big name businesses like 1-800-FLOWERS and Office Depot turn to their 4,000 employees to take calls.

“It's very hard to find work that you can do part-time, that’s good work, that has good pay, that you can do from home,” said Reg Forster of Alpine Access. “It results in happier employees.”

Laura Voigt-Jiminez knows all too well the difficulties of going in to an office every day.

“My little boy was 8 weeks old when we discovered that he had a brain tumor, and so with all of his medical issues it just became impossible to work outside of the house."

Now this stay-at-home mom finds time to be a stay-at-home employee for a credit finance company.

"I give them a schedule of my availability, and then they just schedule my hours in those time frames," she said.

Another benefit of working at home? Not having to deal with a commute.

Martha Libby's love of gardening made her the perfect match for 1-800-FLOWERS, as did the chance to avoid getting in the car to go to work.

“I still like associating outside of the home, and talking to people, and doing customer service,” said Libby.

Though she's not ready to stop working, her husband is retired and the flexible hours mean more time together.

Back in New Jersey, Cantanese has discovered an unexpected benefit of working.

"It's also a pleasure to pay my own taxes for a change," he said.

© 2009 MSNBC Interactive.

For these and nearly 1,000 more legitimate work from home companies, please visit The Ultimate Job Directory.

Zenzuu

Hmm...
This one is still new. I joined Zenzuu (which is FREE). Not sure where I found out about it or who referred me. ts another social networking type site. Seems to be more business related so far.
Their claim is "make friends, make money". So we will see. If you want to join me there https://join.zenzuu.com/ultimatejobdirectory

Will let you know how it works out.

New eBooks Added

We are always expanding. We are in the process of adding hundreds of ebooks with very valuable information.

The list of topics is endless. Business success tips, business ideas, self help, cookbooks, making money on the internet and so many more.

At this time, most of the books are being offered up to 50% discount. With the occasional freebie ;)

Newly added today: The Craigslist Cashcow, Mystery Shopping Secrets, Blogging for Profits, Achieving Self Serenity, Delicious Diabetic Recipes, The Fun of Getting Thin, Home Based Business Ideas, The Absolute Beginners Guide to Starting a Website. More to come.

As always you can find The Ultimate Job Directory there. The most comprehensive work from home company resource.

Keep checking for new listings :)

Update on Lasik

Well as some of you know I had bladeless custom lasik surgery back in April of 2007.

Here it is more than 2 years later and I am still seeing better than 20/20! I love being able to see without the aid of glasses or contacts. I am still able to see things that I hadnt been able to see in years. I can even see better than my husband now! No complications up to this point.

Do I recommend it for anyone out there that qualifies? You bet! It was the best money we have ever spent.

Doors open again :)

Response has been good. Quite a few people have been placing their farm animals that they can no long keep with us. I have had MANY contacts about people needing to place dogs. Unfrtunately at this time I can not take in any dogs due to not having the proper fencing established to keep them away from our small farm animals. I am not taking in any more horses at this time either. (Any one able to take in dogs, or horses, please contact me as the need for homes for those is great).

We are receiving 2 new little bunnies today. A lady in town is bringing them. They got the bunnies for their girls. However, the mom is the one that is taking care of the bunnies not the girls. And with 5 kids, she has alot on her plate. They just dont have time for them.

So, we have opened our doors up to them. I will know more about them this afternoon. All I know right now is that they are both male, and one is a lionhead. And they are both friendly.

Uplifting

I do not remember where I got this from. I believe it was forwarded in an email to me a long time go. I thought it was something uplifting and inspiring so I kept it. Pass it on and god bless ;)


For attractive lips, speak words of kindness...
For lovely eyes , seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure , share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair , let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone...
People, even more than things, have to be restored,
renewed, revived, reclaimed,and redeemed;
never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older,you will discover that you have two hands;
one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

Whats happening

I know its been a bit since I posted last. We have been very busy as usual. Seems like we are always running and going. Not to mention, when my husband is on his "off" week from work, I dont get to post much because we spend all of our time together.

Hmm what has this week brought? Well, getting closer to the paperback version of The Ultimate Job Directory to be completed this round. The CD and the downloadable version are still available though. I cant wait for the new version to get here! I have added some more work at home companies and information. I love the new publishing company we are going with this time.
Also getting ready to put a billboard up on I30. Cant wait for that either!

We switched from AT&T on our phones to Verizon...Im still up in the air on this one. We had good coverage most of the time. But our dadgum bill was almost $300 every month (for 4 lines). Cheese n rice! Anyways, we could get the same plans for 4 lines, for half the price with Verizon. Which Verizon and Alltel just merged. We didnt have "friends and family" type deal with AT&T, so that sucked. So Im thinkin...Verizon has the biggest "network". So well be good and they go the friends n family deal...for half the price...WOOHOO! yeah well coverage sucks with them. I have been round and round with them, the excuses I have been given is that the merger is still new and they are still switching over towers so the phones are still trying to find the towers which is why we hardly ever have a dang signal. Hmm...I might buy that, if my neighbor hadnt told me that a year ago, that was the excuse they gave her for not being able to get a signal..and that was BEFORE the merger...so I am thinkin this may not be worth half the price.
The customer service is a little lacking also. I know if I ever had a problem with AT&T, they fixed it immediately with no questions asked. My husband had a problem with his phone, and we had to go round and round with them to get the problem solved. Even had to take it to higher ups to get it fixed. They even implied that we were not telling the truth on what happened to the phone. If theres one thing in this world that I dont take lightly...thats being called a "liar"! Anyways, I told them they had 24 hours to fix our problem or I was taking my money back to AT&T. Needless to say they did fix the problem by the end of the day. So we will see what transpires with the future service.

The animals are great. We have been putting up more fence this week. Only a couple hundred more panels to go I think. We had the pasture baled, and trees cleared in the back 10. Of course they left a mess, so we offered the tops to the people who have land next to us. Free firewood if you come get it and clear it. So they have been here all week cleaning up the mess. I almost have 10 usuable acres back there. We have 57 total. The PLAN is to aquire the 50 next to us too. But that is in time. The big girls are getting so big. My lil boys are growing up so fast. The goats are absolutely loving the new pasture! Poor snowy has been spending more time outside now. I still bring her in when it rains or if its too hot. But I am trying to get her used to being outside. Sh thinks "mama" dont love her no more. :( Bless her heart.
The LGDs are growing like weeds. The just had their 2nd shots recently. Doing pretty good at barking at strange things. Only problem is Ivana has taught them to "roam". Lil boogers. Soon though they wont be able to get out of the gate.
Turned the last few baby ducks out yesterday. They are loving it. The birds love to hang out under the bug light. They have prctically dug a hole from here to China trying to get all the bugs.

Update on my leg...not good. It has been what? almost 2 months since the accident? My leg and foot still stay swollen most of the time. I have a knot on my leg in the spot where his hoof landed and from the top of that knot all the way down my leg is still numb! So we are thinking maybe theres nerve damage. Dont know that theres anything they can do for it. Of course when the accident happened, was before the new insurance kicked in. It will kick in next week, so if there is more treatment needed it wont be covered.

We went to church Sunday. The music was great. Although they are still looking for a replacement pastor, so the sermon left a little to be desired. Still enjoyed it.

I am so ready for school to start back up! Anyone else with me on that one? :)

I have downloaded all the files from the memory card in my phone to the PC. So I will be adding pics and more videos soon!

Well thats all folks. Yall come back now ya hear! ;)

My crafty husband

My husband is a very hard worker. He is a mechanic by trade but found that he could make more money working in the oilfield. So thats where hes at now. He is working for one of the best companies out there. God love him, he works his butt off in the most extreme weather situations, 12 (sometimes 16 hours a day), 7 days away from home at a time.

I have been trying to decide for months now the "design" of the new space I want for the rabbits. Ive had several ideas but no definite idea yet. I had told him sort of what I wanted and he gave me no specific time on when we would start working on it.

However, this last weekend out of the blue, he went and got a ton of materials and just started building. We are still working out the specifics on the building, but the frame is up. It is awesome! :)

I didnt even ask. He just started doing. Its cute because he loves all the animals we have and loves doing these things for them.

Blaze

I wish I would have taken a picture of this beautiful horse when we rescued him. We saw him at a livestock auction. He was about 2 years old according to the coggins report. The poor guy barely weighed 400 lbs. He was literally all skin and bones. You could see the outline of every bone in his body. No one wanted him because the feared he might be sick since he was so thin.

You never know what you are getting at a livestock auction. But I looked at my mom and we decided to take action. Bidding was down to $12.50 because no one wanted him. We figured heck, for $12.50 if the horse is sick and isn't going to make it, at least we can give him a good home until the end. We brought him home and he was the sweetest and gentlest horse. We started feeding him 3 times a day and giving him weight booster. And literally a month later he looked like a normal horse.

Mom says there was nothing wrong with him except for he suffered from "lack of groceryitis". Which after seeing how he has improved, I agree.

Blaze had "brain surgery" about 6 weeks ago, so he is indeed a happier lil boy. But contrary to the coggins report we were given, Blaze is not 2 years old, he is more like 5. The level of neglect on this horse waas pitiful.

He is a very sweet and very smart horse. He has come along way and is learning to trust people again. He warms up to others over time. But I am just about the only one that can handle him. I guess he figures I "rescued" him and fed him when he was on his last leg. So he trusts me. That is an awesome feeling.

We turned him out into the big pasture today with the big boys. He loved it. Mom speculates that he has cutting lines by the way he runs and turns...if he doesnt, I do believe he would be a great candidate for a cutting horse!

Update on Casey

Casey (before)

We rescued Casey at the beginning of May 2009. Not sure of alot of details about him. Casey is a white (what we believe to be a charolais) bull calf. Well he would have been a bull if they hadn't banded him.

How Casey was rescued...We had driven by a house many times on our way other places. We noticed this place had alot of "junk" all over the yard. The had no fenced yard. But tied on a short green rope to a pine tree right beside the highway was a tiny white calf. That bothered me. Everytime I drove past this house I wanted to stop so badly. There was nothing for this poor calf to eat. Finally after a few weeks, I stopped and went to the door and just flat out asked the people if they would consider selling him. The guy first said "naw", then about 10 seconds later said "I'll take $50 for him". I said "SOLD!". Poor Casey had a small cooler with stagnant green water and was wrapped around that pine tree so tight he could barely lay down. The rope around his neck was so tight the guy couldn't untie it. He had to go get a knife to cut it off. As we were leaving, he brought out a bucket of "feed" for us to take with us for Casey. The bucket had stale moldy feed in it. No wonder this calf was malnourished.

Immediately I felt this poor calf would be happier. We took Casey to the vet and had him examined. According to the guy we got him from, he should be about 2-4 months old. We loaded up a couple of our 2 month old bull calfs to take the the vet and found that Casey was HALF their size. So poor Casey's growth has been stunted pretty bad. He also hasd a pretty bad case of mites. He was in sad shape.

He loves having all the other lil boys to play with. He gets plenty of food now and can run all over the green pasture, which he absolutely loves. He is so happy. He will let me pet on him some but is still leary of people. He will come around eventually. The mites have cleared up. He is healthy now except for the fact that he is still small. Probably wont get nearly as big as he should have if he had been raised right in the beginning. But thats ok, hes still cute as a button! :)

New residents

Lotta travelin...but we have some new residents on the farm. It was worth the drivin.
Both families that I met up with today to give their animals a good home, were great people with big hearts. They had their circumstances that led them to rehoming their critters. They really cared for the animals they had. Its hard to have to let go, but I was all for giving them a home.

The first stop brought us 2 very cute lil rabbits. They are just too pretty. Will post some pics soon. I enjoyed meeting that family. They really cared about what happened to the rabbits. Awesome!

Next stop brought me more than what we initially thought. They also were very friendly people who cared alot about their animals. I enjoyed meeting them also. We were intially going to get 8 goats from them because of their circumstances. But the longer I stayed the more animals I adopted. LOL

We did get the goats. They are cool, I think theyll fit in perfectly here. They made the mistake of telling my kids they could have A kitten...well after we get on the road, low and behold my son had conned them out of every kitten they had. So now we have 6 new kittens. Ah...they are cute tho. We also adopted a rabbit family. (mom, dad and baby) They are just cute too.

We didnt get home until about 1:27 am...got everyone unloaded. The kittens went right for food. The rabbits snuggled up for the night. The goats got out and made themselves at home at the hay bale. Everyone is adjusting fine. Cant wait til morning so I can spend more time with them.

Will try to get some good pictures of everyone tomorrow.