Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410180063
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KERI GUTEN COHEN COX NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: DAYTON, OHIO LENGTH: Long
Then he drives to the office - his 89-year-old home on South Dixie Drive.
While his wife, Julie, sits at her computer at AT&T Global Information Solutions, Winters putters around the house in jeans and T-shirt, doing laundry, putting away toys, painting the porch - and talking on the phone.
Make no mistake, Winters is working.
That phone is the key to his budding business, Discount Medical Products, and it goes wherever he does. At home, he has a portable; in the car, the cellular has two lines. He never misses an order.
Winters, 32, is among a growing number of married men who work from home while their wives pursue more traditional jobs in the workplace.
Layoffs, technological and cultural changes and entrepreneurial opportunities have pushed many of these men out of corporate settings.
``With layoffs, men are no longer as secure as they once were,'' said Lisa Kanarek, a Dallas-based consultant and author of 101 Home Office Success Secrets, published by Career Press.
``If someone has a goal to start a business, he'll be willing to let his wife bring home the money for a while, while he gets started.''
Of the 36 million work-at-home households now in the United States, men make up 54 percent of those who work from home, according to LINK Resources, a New York research and consulting firm.
With ever more women working, the chance that the stay-at-home spouse will be the husband is more likely.
Marriages where the husband works at home are ``probably on the cutting edge of the future of the workplace,'' said Dean Stilwell, a University of Dayton marketing and management assistant professor.
Those who deal with the stress of dual careers most successfully are couples who devise strategies, he said.
``We can't just do what we did before. Couples need a partnership based on coming up with solutions that work for them. People can be pretty creative.''
Phil Winters never dreamed of working from home. But when he left a managerial position with a retail medical supplier more than four years ago, other plans just didn't work out.
``We started talking about Phil starting his own business. He knew the field and had done the research. I finally said, `Let's go for it,''' said Julie Winters, 32.
Her job as a financial analyst provides the financial safety net. His job allows her to focus on work because she knows he can handle situations at home.
She felt free to sign up to be a room mother for her kindergartner knowing that her husband could fill in easily if her work interfered.
``This is all about freedom and flexibility,'' Phil Winters said. ``I'll never work anywhere but home if I don't have to.''
For some couples, especially those with children, this arrangement is a creative way to reduce stress and bring flexibility into a dual-career marriage.
Take Peter Marks, for instance. An AT&T-GIS consulting analyst, he had a strong desire to live near Seattle. His company's telecommuting option made it possible.
For two years, he has telecommuted to the Dayton office from suburban Seattle. Having him at home has allowed his wife to pursue her dream to be a teacher, a career she delayed while raising their two school-age daughters.
Van and Sharon Temple's close partnership made their move to Dayton easier.
When she accepted a pastoral position at a Baptist church, he merely transferred his home-based carpentry business from Philadelphia to the Dayton home they share with three school-age children.
Once a high-ranked Dallas city government employee, he downshifted his career seven years ago when the fast track lost its meaning.
A few years ago, he turned his carpentry hobby into a home business while she concentrated on her career.
``We've changed our definition of success,'' Sharon Temple said. ``It's not measured by what we have, but by how happy our kids are, how satisfied we feel.
``I can't imagine how a couple would do it if they both had high-powered jobs with fixed hours.''
Their teamwork has brought some unexpected surprises.
``A couple of times, I've needed to hold a meeting at the house on short notice,'' she said. ``In true role reversal, he'd be home early to clean and get things ready.''
Later this month, the Temples will enter a new phase in their careers when he becomes director (and first employee) of the newly formed Old North Dayton Neighborhood Development Corp.
He says he was motivated partly by money and also by the opportunity to use old work skills again for the improvement of the community.
He'll give up his home-based carpentry business, but not his beloved flexibility.
``I would not have taken this job if it had been 8 to 5,'' he said. ``I told them we're here for Sharon's career, and I need flexibility.''
Although a stereotype still exists of what men aren't supposed to do, like caring for children or working from home, signs show the cultural climate is slowly changing - even Phil Winters' buddies are envious of his home-based job.
``A lot of my male friends hate their jobs, but they are excited about mine,'' he said. ``They like to talk about it. They can't believe I can juggle kids, a house, my job, doing laundry, cooking.''
Winters knows he's hooked on the flexibility, but he didn't anticipate the enhanced quality of life.
For starters, he knows his relationship is different with his children than it would be if he worked a traditional job.
``I never dreamed I'd spend this much time with my children. I can take them on my deliveries or take a day off to be with them.''
Meanwhile, his wife thinks running his own business has brought personal growth.
``Phil's grown up. He's more accountable, more responsible. He's more of a problem-solver,'' she said. ``And it's spilled over into our personal life.''
The only downside for the Winters is recovering the financial footing they had with his traditional job. However, neither seems concerned.
``My business is growing every year,'' he said. ``I'm still not making as much as Julie does, but I will be in the future.''
Consider the flexibility Brian and Pam Starr created in their dual-career marriage.
She already worked from their Clayton home as a pharmaceutical sales representative. More than a year ago, he began doing his job as an IBM marketing support specialist from home, too. The arrangement offers more time for each other and their toddler.
WORKING AT HOME
There are 36 million work-at-home households in the United States, up 6.5 percent from 1993. Of those working at home, 54 percent are men.
Self-employed workers make up the largest proportion (29 percent) of work-at-home households.
Telecommuters - corporate employees who work at home at least part time during normal business hours - are the fastest-growing segment, with 7.6 million workers.
Average pretax income for home workers was $58,400, compared with $38,300 for other workers.
Cellular phone ownership among work-at-home households increased by more than 70 percent from 1993. Almost 60 percent of home workers reported owning a personal computer.
SOURCE: LINK Resources
by CNB