Not sure if this is the right subreddit for this topic, but in everyone else's opinion, is it that unreasonable to want to work from home? I know not every industry allows it and not everyone can, but if there's a possibility of doing so, is working from home an unreasonable thing to want or look for in a job?
In my case, I am a former newspaper reporter and freelance writer. My dad passed away four months ago after having fought cancer for a year and a half. I was not working during that time and have not yet found a new position and have only managed to snag one freelance assignment so far. Same thing happened when my mom was ill and after she passed away 16 years ago.
I still haven't even begun to wrap my mind around losing my dad, and just getting out of bed and through another day is about all I can manage right now. I'm mentally and often physically exhausted from the past couple of years and the thought of having to commute and spend most of my waking hours at a poorly paying job I don't want and am not qualified or overqualified for is too much.
I am facing pressure from my older brother to find something – he has tried to push me into taking jobs for which I have zero experience and interest, such as a preschool teaching assistant – and it is really upsetting.
He has a high-paying executive position (VP) and millions in company stock, so has a lot of freedom and financial ability to take time off whenever he pleases and even work from home when he wants to. Unlike me and my older sister, he never had to give up anything or disrupt his life in any way when either of our parents were ill. We did all of the caregiving and helping, going to Dr. visits, spending days and nights at the hospital, etc. He got to go on several vacations throughout the year and carry on as normal, but we did not. Plus, he has a wife and kids at home to lean on for support and help out with things. I have no one.
I don't think he understands how mentally and physically taxing these experiences and losses have been for me and how much they've made me take stock of my own life and what I want for my future.
After everything I've been through and the losses I've dealt with, I am at a point where I don't ever want to go back to an office again and have to deal with the long commute, not being compensated fairly, the expense of commuting, spending most of my waking hours away from home, being micromanaged, having to deal with office politics and having little free time or energy left over at the end of the day to accomplish the things I want or need to accomplish.
I would feel so much more at peace if I could work somewhat independently from home and perhaps eliminate some of that stress from my life. Is that really all that unreasonable to want something like that? I'm not against working hard, but at this point, I want more out of life and to not to be completely consumed by a job.