"You know the rules. It had better be the apocalypse, otherwise, don't bug me until five!"

That is what I normally tell my family the minute my cheeks hit my desk chair and I shut the door of my office. All that's missing is the requisite 'Enter At Your Own Risk' sign from my teen years to hang on my door.

As you can guess from the title, I work from home. I have been doing so since 2013 and I quite enjoy it. My commute to work is cost effective as well as environmentally friendly being that it's just a walk to another room. I can work in my penguin pajamas and shark slippers if I feel like it. I don't have to worry too much about what I want for lunch since the fridge is just a short stop away, or I can order a pizza if I'm in the mood. Office politics and workplace soap operas are a thing of the past in my world. (Between me and you, that was the MAIN reason I opted to work at home and not a brick and mortar business.) And once I'm off work, I don't have to rush home to change into party clothes if I'm hanging out with the girls later.

Sounds pretty awesome, right? It is. But, like all things in life, there are drawbacks.

Sometimes, I miss the water cooler confabs. Technical issues become the mother of all nightmares instead of just a standard annoyance. Oh, and then there's the mindset from certain loved ones. The mindset that if I work from home then I do not really work. And with that mindset comes the thinking that your time is up for grabs.

One conversation went a little something like this at the time.

"Hey! I'm only a few minutes away from you and I can't get a babysitter. Mind if I drop my son off?"

"Um, yeah, I do mind. I have work to do."

"Oh, but... aren't you home?"

"Yeah, I'm home, and I'm working..."

"But-"

Now, I could fill in the rest of this conversation, but I'm trying to keep it PG here. The point is that this person believed that my time was their commodity simply because I do my work from home. And this attitude that the work being done isn't real work if it's being done from home is more common than many realize.

Whether or not people realize it, there is an elitist attitude when it comes to the actual location where someone works. If it is in an actual office or location away from home, then it is work. If it is from a room at home that has been converted to an office, then it isn't work. Even though taxes are being paid (hopefully) and time is being taken from one's life to contribute to the workforce to provide for oneself and/or family.

Let's pause for a minute and collectively go 'What the F?!" The elitism is strong here.

Oh, I'm sorry. You don't care for the term 'elitism?' Well, then tell me what would you call a person who dismisses the hard work a loved one does just because of the physical location?

Seriously. Let's take a really hard look at it. A person does the work. They deal with the irritating customers and clients. A person (hopefully) pays the required taxes, whether an employee or freelancer. And at the end of the day isn't considered an actual worker by, not only random strangers but mostly that person's closest circle of family and friends. Which, if I'm quite honest, is worse than dismissal by strangers. Why? Because at the end of the day, strangers have no loyalty to you.

Another thing I noticed? While it would seem pretty logical that Baby Boomers would be the main ones expressing this attitude due to the fact that Boomers' working lives were spent in offices, factories and the like; this attitude also stems from Generation X and Millennial members.

I know, right?! Mind blown!!

The following quotes come from people who work from home and were asked to express the most infuriating attitude from others about their chosen profession.

"The main thing that infuriates me is how so many people assume that working from home = not really working. Folks will constantly call me and plan things for me to do (or get frustrated that I didn't do something) because: 'Oh, but you were home all day.' Um...I'm home WORKING all day. A lot of people don't seem to get that for some reason." *

" Yup. And now my mom still assumes that she can wander in whenever she likes and interrupt... I've resorted to locking the door and leaving big "Do not disturb" signs. Which sometimes works. And sometimes don't."- Alisa Gordaneer

"The team I was working on decided to do a project pro bono for the client. They expected me, the ONLY freelance member of the team, not to bill because the agency wasn't billing."*

" I have a couple of lovely friends who have the luxury of not having to work. They often confuse me as someone who does not have to work. Or has enormous flexibility. It's bizarre."*

"Basically, on more than one occasion I've had other moms at daycare say things like:Oh it must be nice to be able to get your errands done during the day. Or, that must be so nice to not have to rush to prepare dinner. Or, you must get so much laundry done. It's nothing specifically outrageous but it is this general lack of not understanding that my work day is the same as their work day but it just happens at home. And unfortunately, it seems to come almost solely from other women. I don't know if that's just a fluke or not."-Ceilidhe Wynn

"Or my personal favorite 'Can you watch my kids?' No, I've got to work. 'Oh, when did you get an actual job?'- Lexie (Yeah, that happened to me. Let's pause and imagine my restraint.

Quotes of those marked with an asterisk '*'' have declined from having their names mentioned in this article.