April 9, 2008 at 2:41 pm
My office wants us to start telecommuting several days a week because they want to hire more workers but don't have enough office space. Most managers want their team in the office at least one day a week. Management wants us to "desk share". Non-management personnel would share a desk with someone who works in the office on alternate days. Feelings are mixed. Currently, telecommuting is optional but if they don't get enough takers they have said they would require telecommuting. There are people who would quit rather than telecommute. I live in an area affected by Hurricane Katrina. We were forced to telecommute for 9 months after the storm, while our flood-damaged buildings were being repaired. I was very glad to get back into the office.
Of those who telecommute "part-time", do you also desk share?
What provision, if any, does you company make for your home office. My organization will not provide any phone or internet service for your home office. They provide a laptop but not a printer. They stated that we are on our own with the IRS if we want to take a tax deduction for the home office space.
Do you use any collaboration software, net meeting, remote desktop?
I am interested in how other companies handle this issue.
Terri
To speak algebraically, Mr. M. is execrable, but Mr. C. is
(x+1)-ecrable.
Edgar Allan Poe
[Discussing fellow writers Cornelius Mathews and William Ellery Channing.]
April 9, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I telecommute one day a week on average. no desk sharing. without RDC I wouldn't be able to do it.
It's just like I'm at work except there's nobody coming into my office to bug me with random requests, so I get more done. 🙂
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elsasoft.org
April 10, 2008 at 5:48 am
Sounds like heaven. We're trying to convince our bosses to let us telecommute regularly (we're able to do it now on snow days or when the cable company is coming over or something). We make it work when given the opportunity.
In addition to email, you need some version of instant messaging. That's as close as you can get to a conversation online. A document sharing portal such as Sharepoint so that you can track changes, check-in/out, have a common repository for data is a must. Phone conferences & live meetings are OK, but not nearly as good as being there in person. If you're working on databases, you should get all the database objects into source control like TFS or VSS in order to manage changes.
That's from my, limited, experience so far.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
April 10, 2008 at 6:57 am
We have the option of working from home,
I agree with the comments about a messaging system we use Microsoft Office Communicator which works nicely as it ties into your Outlook calender so you can block out time and it show up that you are unavilaible.
April 10, 2008 at 7:36 am
It's important to work with people, especially those that are opposed. Lots of people have trouble working at home. It's either hard to get started, or hard to stop. I've been doing it for 4 years, my wife for 14, both happen in cycles.
It's easier if you're in the office some days, but be prepared for workloads to suffer a bit as people adjust.
I might also recommend getting everyone together once a week, even if they have to "squeeze" into desks. If you have people on regular schedules, I'd also be sure you "regularly alter schedules so everyone gets time with everyone else. So if I shared desks with Bob and don't see him, we want to be sure that after a few weeks, Bob and I are both in the office and I might switch to sharing desks with John and miss him for a few weeks.
April 11, 2008 at 7:38 am
Personally I would love to telecommute. I have worked at multiple companies as a DBA, and I could have telecommuted and performed my job at all of them. Too bad management never trusted the concept.
If management would get into the mindset of tracking work accomplished instead of time-in-chair, telecommuting could greatly improve productivity. And yesm, there are always some people who would be worse off, less productive, etc. telecommuting. Put them in an office and call me at home anytime!.
April 11, 2008 at 8:25 am
ditto what Chris said. We are totally set up for working at home but can only do it occassionally when needed. I would love to work at home right now and have, at the very least, the hour that I now spend driving to spend with my son.
What I want to know is how in the world do you find telecommuting jobs? Nobody seems to really advertise them.
Karen
April 11, 2008 at 8:40 am
From what i have found , they are usualy not directly advertised, but it can be mentioned in the Job Description.
I usually bring it up it interviews to see if there is any scope for working part of the time from home.
But due to unreliable internet service (thanks BT!) i have not been able to for a while.
April 11, 2008 at 9:43 am
our company headquarters does use a desk rotation for certain job functions because there is not enough space for all the people to work at the same time. so, there is a 'clear desk' policy in effect there, and when you show up to work you simply grab whatever space is available for your shift.
where i work we are allowed to work from home periodically. unfortunately for me it can be difficult to get work done when you have small children running about. so, either i go to work and get distracted by dozens of questions all day long or i get distracted by my children who want my attention. which one is easier to turn down when you need to get work done?
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https://thomaslarock.com
April 11, 2008 at 10:28 am
I know where you're coming from there. I try to only work from home if I know the kids are going to be in school.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
April 11, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I work for a small company and everyone works at home. There is no physical location of the company. The company address is the CEO home address.
I used to drive 1 hr each way to go to work so I thought this would be good. It definitely saves me a lot of gas money since the gas price sky rocked.
However I find out I easily work more than 8 hours a day. I find out I skip lunch a lot since no one reminds me it is lunch time so I keep working. Also since I am home so when I have something to do, I keep working since I don't have to 'go home'.
The main disadvantage is communication. Even we use the phone, IM, email, web meeting, sometimes it is hard to explain something to someone and sometimes it is hard to get hold of somebody when you have a question.
So it has its own advantage and disadvantage.
April 11, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Loner (4/11/2008)
I work for a small company and everyone works at home. There is no physical location of the company. The company address is the CEO home address.I used to drive 1 hr each way to go to work so I thought this would be good. It definitely saves me a lot of gas money since the gas price sky rocked.
However I find out I easily work more than 8 hours a day. I find out I skip lunch a lot since no one reminds me it is lunch time so I keep working. Also since I am home so when I have something to do, I keep working since I don't have to 'go home'.
The main disadvantage is communication. Even we use the phone, IM, email, web meeting, sometimes it is hard to explain something to someone and sometimes it is hard to get hold of somebody when you have a question.
So it has its own advantage and disadvantage.
based on your handle, it seems it's also a lonely way to work. 😉
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elsasoft.org
April 13, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I've been telecommuting at least 2 days, if not 4 per week now for over 8 years and I'm a huge advocate. However, my situation is unique compared to those already expressed. I am the only SQL DBA in our organization, I'm supporting upwards of 70 instances and 800 databases. My customers are the IT staff (including the SQL Developers for internally-developed apps) as well as the application analysts and a smattering of end users and Managers. I am not a part of a team per-se, I am the DBA Team Manager, Team Lead, and Team all rolled up into one. I report to the Server and Storage Manager only because they have no idea where else to fit me. I do have to collaborate on projects with coworkers, don't get me wrong. This is easily accomplished with conference calls, IM, and email. What I am getting at is that I have greater control over managing my time and tactics than most DBAs.
As for tools, I make use of Outlook, Sharepoint, OCS... all previously mentioned by the other posts. I also have a VOIP setup that allows me to answer my office extension from my laptop, as well as an aircard for when I am traveling and have no access to WiFi. I have a dedicated home office with DSL, WiFi, and all the trappings of the normal office.
Personally I find myself more productive when working remotely, than when I am in the office. Though I've been telecommuting for so long, there is that perception that I am not in the office, therefore I must have the day off. It works to my advantage since it prevents the "walkup work" that comes with being in the office and visible to anyone stopping by. I often joke that I come into the office to take the day off.
As for taxes, you can deduct the prorated expenses for your mortgage interest, utilities, etc. based upon the sq. footage of your dedicated office compared to your home's total sq. footage. You also must prorate based upon the percentage that you use the office solely for business purposes. Therefore if your office is 10' x 10' and your home is 2000 sq. feet you can deduct 100/2000 or 5% of these expenses if you use your office 100% for business. 2.5% if it is used 50% for business. You can also deduct the cost of office furniture, etc. for those expenses strictly for the office at the prorated amount of the business use: a $500 desk used 50% for business = a deductible expense of $250.00 in the year it's purchased under certain rules. The most common tax question is mileage deduction. You can only deduct the mileage between your home office and work on those days you must drive in if your company mandates telecommuting. I can not deduct it since my arrangement is a benefit for me, not a mandate by my company (like your situation.) Even in this case, if you're reimbursed for commuting on those days that they want you to come in (I hope so) then you can not claim mileage as a deduction. Please keep in mind my accounting degree was earned 17 years ago and I only practice accounting once a year when I do my taxes.
I have yet to see a downside to the arrangement I have. If there is one suggestion I've found that works extremely well it is to provide your Manager with a daily status report itemizing the workload for the day and any issues that arose. This prevents you from having to include them on every email thread (unless their help is needed) and removes the "out of sight - out of mind" situation that may impair advancement at review time.
Good luck with the arrangement. I hope it works out as well for you.
- Tim Ford, SQL Server MVPhttp://www.sqlcruise.comhttp://www.thesqlagentman.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyford
April 16, 2008 at 12:36 pm
We've been suggesting that we increase the use of telecommuting -but its not going to happen. We can telecommute when we need to stay home for something (repairman, etc) or weather. I am also on call 24/7 (with a company pager) so I end up remoting in a lot of the time off hours. I would love to telecommute and would happily pay to outfit my home office instead of paying gas. If only I could work in my pjs at work 🙂
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