THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Many moms find it hard to balance work with family. More local moms are now ditching the office to work from home.
Brittney Rivers, of The Woodlands, is a wife and mom to 8-year-old twin boys.
"I love my kids, I love their smiles, I love making them happy," said Rivers. "One of my sons is profoundly autistic."
With a three-hour daily commute to and from work, Rivers was missing out on taking her boys to school and spending time with her family.
"I would leave before they got up, and I'd get home after they went to bed," said Rivers.
The drive was so grueling, Rivers said she'd stay on the phone with her husband to keep her awake. It was time for a change: she ditched the commute to work from home.
"When I had the opportunity to have a flexible job, I knew it was the right choice for me," said Rivers.
Rivers found an opportunity through the website flexjobs.com. She's now a project manager for ADP, a large payroll company.
Sara Sutton is the CEO for flexjobs.com.
"We help people find these jobs in all different career areas ranging from entry-level to executive," said Sutton.
Sutton said working remotely through a computer hooked up to a company's network, like Rivers does, is a growing trend.
"As opposed to being in the same office with your co-worker, it's working from another location. It can be your home office, a coffee shop," said Sutton.
According to the U.S. Census, more people in the Houston area are choosing to work from home. In 2013 3.7 percent of Houston-area residents worked remotely. That's doubled since 2012, when it was 1.8 percent.
Rivers said a big misconception about her job since she works from home is that she has the ability to do the dishes or the laundry.
"The last four nights, four days, I've worked at least 10-hour days," said Rivers. "Some days I never leave my office. Yesterday I did not have lunch until 3:30 p.m."
But she doesn't have that dreaded commute and now has more time to spend with her family.
"I'm home to make dinner. I can go to their school events, teacher conferences. I can volunteer at their school," said Rivers.
What is River's advice to people considering working from home?
"You need a certain personality to do a flexible job. You have to be very independent and not need any oversight," Rivers said. "It's very easy to want to sit on the couch and watch TV all day, when you absolutely know you can't do that. You have meetings and work that you have to get done."
There are many companies that hire remote workers, including the American Heart Association, Whole Foods, Six Flags and Texas A&M University.