...Are Stay-at-home Boss Ladies

Giving up a high-paying job for a life with flexible hours, relaxed dress code and cosy ‘home office’, ex-editor PRIYA RAMANI tells us how she got over the working-woman guilt to be a full-time mom

- Priya Ramani

At lunch with two fellow journalists, the conversation turned predictable again: “So what do you do all day?” “Aren’t you bored yet?” “Come back, we miss you.”

I’ve been working from home for two and a half years now. When I quit my job as an editor at a newspaper eight years after helping set up and launch it, my colleagues were convinced I was turning entrepreneur.

Their excitement was understandable. For as long as I can remember, my identity had been defined by my serious working-woman status. In my past avatar as a driven, aggressive task- master who got things done her way and worried about every little detail, I was every boss’ favourite employee. I was probably a scary person for my colleagues, often for the same reasons I’ve listed.