MANY PEOPLE WANTING A BETTER WORK-LIFE BALANCE TEND TO FOCUS ON TWO KEY OPTIONS WHEN WEIGHING UP JOB CHOICES - WORKING FROM HOME AND SELF EMPLOYMENT. LEAH GIBBS EXPLAINS...

Each have obvious flexibility gains compared to traditional types of employment but anyone considering making a major change to their working life must be sure they know exactly what they are in for before they do it.

So, what's the difference between working from home and self-employment?

Someone who does home-based work can remain part of an employer-employee relationship. He or she undertakes work for another person, company or organisation but instead of spending their working hours at a traditional office or business premises for work they carry out their duties at home. They may do this as a casual employee, permanent part-time employee or full-time employee.

Someone who is self-employed gets their income directly from their own work, profession, trade or business and not as a salary from an employer. They may undertake contract work for a number of different sources or run their own business - either from a home office or business premises.

To be self-employed is not the same as being a business owner. A business owner does not necessarily have a hands-on role with the day-to-day operations of his or her company, while a self-employed person does. A business owner can simply be an investor.

A range of employers offer work from home opportunities. Telemarketing, IT, graphic design, sales, administration, occupational therapy, real estate, exchange student host family recruitment and finance are among those advertised in various media in recent weeks.

Once people make the decision to try and create some work-life balance in their life, finding the right job to make it a reality is not always simple and can become a long drawn out search. Securing a home-based job involves the same process as finding traditional employment - you look for a job vacancy and apply for it. As long as you have the necessary equipment at home to do the work, you are ready to get started as soon as you have the right job.

Sometimes an existing employer may offer its staff the option of working from home or telecommuting- especially in circumstances when their personal situation may change. It's always worthwhile to ask the question of your current employer - in many cases employers would rather retain valued employees by offering more flexible conditions than losing them, their skills and knowledge. Many organisations across Australia are currently conducting major restructuring of their organisations to become more flexible in response to government initiatives and legislation to be introduced. From January 1st 2010, all employers will be required to comply with the National Employment Standards (NES)

Juliet Bourke, employment lawyer of Aequus Partners a management consultancy that assists organisations with flexible work practices and diversity says "Once the National Employment Standards' ‘right to request flexibility' takes effect on 1 January 2010 we can expect that employees with young children, or children with a disability, will be putting much more pressure on their employers to provide flexible work arrangements. This means that between now and 1 January 2010 employers have a window of opportunity to get on top of this significant change to the way in which flexible work practices will be negotiated at the workplace". Based on similar legislation in the United Kingdom, Bourke predicts an increase in requests for workplace flexibility in Australia.

The process of self-employment takes much more planning. Not only do decisions need to be made about what type of self-employment to undertake, there are also a range of government requirements including business registration, taxation, council approval and licensing.

The most important thing to remember is: research flexible employment options or self employment opportunities which may suit you and find out as much as you can before you act. Getting the preparation and planning right is the way to ensure your journey to a better work-life balance is an unqualified success on all levels.

Leah Gibbs is the Business Manager for Lifestyle Careers a new online job board aimed at professionals wanting to balance their work and personal life. For more information or to look for flexible work opportunities visit www.lifestylecareers.com.au.