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Telecommuting losing it's appeal?

  • Artigo

This article in eWeek is timely; this is exactly what is going on with me. While I love having the flexibility to work from home, it can be isolating. Sometimes you need to be around people. So I am more frequently dropping into the office for just that reason.

It's easy for me; I live 3 miles from the office (and now I've got the scooter....zoom! beep beep!). So a change of scenery is not a big deal. As for the work/life balance issue, I think I have gotten to more of a place where work and life exist together in harmony and it doesn't have to do with specific business hours. If I want to put in a couple hours on the weekend, so what? If I want to go to the gym during the week, so what? Is the job getting done? Yes, it is.

I have to admit that now I have gotten into the habit of leaving myself logged on at home. This means that sometimes, mostly in the AM, I can hear my e-mail go "bong!". I can really only hear it if I am already awake, so we can't blame the insomnia on that.

I guess that for me, it's mostly about evaluating what I need at that moment to be most productive and happiest. At different times, it's different things. I had my first 8 AM Monday morning meeting in a very long while this morning (who does that?) and while I felt a little put upon rolling out of bed, I knew I didn't have a right to, because most people were doing exactly the same thing, only every day. And once I got up and going, it felt kind of good to be up and about. So I guess what I am saying is that I like the variety and I like being able to tell myself "self, you need to get out today. How about lunch on campus".

I've gotten accustomed to the telecommuting lifestyle. I can understand where some people operate/perform better under specific rules. I've just gotten to the point where my style has adjusted in a way that gives me so much flexibility. Have to say that I am really liking it right now.

So as much as the article might give the impression that telecommuting is falling out of favor, I still think that for a certain type of employee (a self-regulating one perhaps?), it's a great option.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    May 05, 2008
    I've spent a lot of time freelancing and I absolutely hate working at home. I always seek out places where I can set up shop. It's always either a coffee shop or a bar. I just don't get it why someone would want to mix up their work and home situations.

  • Anonymous
    May 06, 2008
    Yeah, my area of Microsoft is having moderate to severe problems with office space right now (i.e. I now share an office that is roughly 10ft-by-12ft with two other people).  My boss recently offered me the opportunity to work from home a day or two per week, but I told him that's just not a viable solution for me.  I have a 4-year-old and a 7-month-old at home.  Odds of me getting much of any work done are roughly zero.

  • Anonymous
    May 06, 2008
    Brad, I have the same problem. I have an almost-3 year old at home and simply can't get anything done if he is anywhere in the vicinity. What I found is that the local library has wifi access, silence, and large comfortable easy-chairs. A simple VPN and RDP get me to work, and the commute is only 10 minutes, not an hour and a half. Of course, not having multiple monitors is a bit rough, especially when writing code, but saving 3 hours of commute time per day makes the cramped space a bit more tolerable.

  • Anonymous
    May 06, 2008
    I don't like working from home either, I prefer my office chair and extra monitor :]

  • Anonymous
    May 09, 2008
    Love working from home. Yeah I miss the daily talks with cohorts but my cohorts are in India, Malaysia and Germany, so I do not get to see them too much. And when I do the voices do not match my preconceived images of them. From home I can listen to Sirius, HDTV and have two cptrs going on at once. I do get the remote controls confused, but that  is the pitfalls of being techy in your home office. Love it!!   -NW

  • Anonymous
    May 18, 2008
    The first thing you should do is learn to spell ITS.

  • Anonymous
    May 18, 2008
    Wow, Frederick. The very FIRST thing? Really? You'd think there are things in life that are so much more important; for me, finding happiness. For you, trolling. You are far superior to me in every way. Does your ego feel better now?

  • Anonymous
    May 30, 2008
    its, its, its.... Get your its together. : )

  • Anonymous
    May 31, 2008
    yeah, the grammar routine is getting boring, boring, boring. I just don't care. I've been writing this blog for 4 years and I am allowed some typos!