This book is about families who combine home life and income-producing work under the same roof. Based on 899 homeworking households in nine states, the analysis presents detailed information about individual worker and household characteristics; work characteristics for both business owners and wage workers; family functioning types; management behavior; and adjustment strategies used in family life, the community context, and the home-based employment experience over an extended period of time. This is the first publication of a serious longitudinal study of the phenomenon of working from home with historical considerations of how and why so many people are choosing this option. It points to the significantly positive impact at-home workers are having on their families, their neighborhoods, and their communities.

The first longitudinal academic study of the phenomenon of working from home-who is doing it, what they are doing, and how it affects family life and community.

Foreword by Paul Edwards and Sarah EdwardsHarmonizing Family and Work by Alma J. Owen, Ramona K. Z. Heck, and Barbara R. RoweThe Changing Environment of Work by Alma J. Owen, Barbara R. Rowe, and Nancy C. Saltford with assistance of Ramona K. Z. Heck and Diane M. MasuoThe Workers at Work at Home by Ramona K. Z. Heck, Rosemary Walker, and Marilyn M. Furry with the assistance of Kathryn Stafford, Mary Winter, Diane M. Masuo, Joan E. Gritzmacher, Suzanne Loker, and Elizabeth ScannellThe Hidden Hum of the Home-Based Business by Rosemary Walker and Ramona K. Z. Heck with assistance of Marilyn M. Furry, Kathryn Stafford, and George W. HaynesHomeworking Families and How They Make It Work by Barbara R. Rowe and Ramona K. Z. Heck with assistance of Alma J. Owen, Kathryn Stafford, andThe Community Connection by Suzanne Loker, Alma J. Owen, and Kathryn Stafford with assistance of Ramona K. Z. Heck, Barbara R. Rowe, and Elizabeth ScannellThree Years Later by Suzanne Loker, Charles B. Hennon, and Ramona K. Z. Heck with the assistance of Mary Winter, Margaret Fitzgerald, and George W. HaynesWhat We Know and Do Not Know About the "Home" and "Work" and the Implications of Both by Ramona K. Z. Heck, Barbara R. Rowe, and Alma J. OwenAppendix A: Research Methods Including Sample Design and Questionnaire Development by Mary Winter and Kathryn StaffordAppendix B: Annotated Bibliography from Nine-State StudyReferencesIndex