July 28, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Dalton Moore (7/28/2011)
Rod at work (7/28/2011)
When I first saw the title of your editorial, I had to laugh. No, I can't telecommute; at least not in my current position. It's not even open to debate. The business of the department that I work for is primarily assessment and counseling of people with addictions. Since the counselors cannot telecommute, no one can; period. But perhaps, in some future job, I'll be able to.This is how it is in my company. Since not everyone can telecommute, no once can. People need to realize that all jobs are not the same, both in mental requirements and physical requirements.
That's completely shortsighted and silly. We are not all the same, and not all our jobs are the same. The fact that some people telecommute is not unfair. Some jobs allow it, some don't. Does no one get to travel for work out of town because not everyone does?
I'd argue most in technology can support it, at least part time. After all, for many of us, we handle on-call duties remotely, so we can do some portion of our job remotely.
July 28, 2011 at 1:18 pm
Dalton Moore (7/28/2011)
Rod at work (7/28/2011)
When I first saw the title of your editoral, I had to laugh. No, I can't telecommute; at least not in my current position. It's not even open to debat. The business of the department that I work for is primarily assessment and counseling of people with addictions. Since the counselors cannot telecommute, no one can; period. But perhaps, in some future job, I'll be able to.This is how it is in my company. Since not everyone can telecommute, no once can. People need to realize that all jobs are not the same, both in mental requirements and physical requirements.
I completely agree with you. What I do, and what the counselors do, are totally different. I can't do what they do, and they cannot do what I do. But, we're preaching to the choir here.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
July 28, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (7/28/2011)
Dalton Moore (7/28/2011)
Rod at work (7/28/2011)
When I first saw the title of your editorial, I had to laugh. No, I can't telecommute; at least not in my current position. It's not even open to debate. The business of the department that I work for is primarily assessment and counseling of people with addictions. Since the counselors cannot telecommute, no one can; period. But perhaps, in some future job, I'll be able to.This is how it is in my company. Since not everyone can telecommute, no once can. People need to realize that all jobs are not the same, both in mental requirements and physical requirements.
That's completely shortsighted and silly. We are not all the same, and not all our jobs are the same. The fact that some people telecommute is not unfair. Some jobs allow it, some don't. Does no one get to travel for work out of town because not everyone does?
I'd argue most in technology can support it, at least part time. After all, for many of us, we handle on-call duties remotely, so we can do some portion of our job remotely.
I am not management so I cannot make the decision 😛
July 28, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Telecommuting is allowed in the company I work for but it is on a case-by-case basis. There are some jobs here that prevent telecommuting and there are some that only require once a week face to face meetings. I am usually in the office but can choose to work from home when I need to. After reading all the replies here I realise that I work for a very progressive company!
I have everything set up at home and claim my expenses and equipment depreciation on my tax return. My company provides an encrypted laptop and I use the VPN to connect to my desktop at work and all work stays on the company's network. My boss just needs me to be available in office hours and get my work done. I forward my work phone to my mobile (cell phone) so he doesn't even have to use a different number to ring me.
So far (6-7 years) it has worked out but like Steph said, you must be fair and actually do the work.
Nicole Bowman
Nothing is forever.
July 28, 2011 at 6:25 pm
My company has about 400 employees with 3 offices in the US and are planning to implement Work from Home policy soon. However they are going to implement a pilot Work from Home for about 6 weeks in the smaller office first, and depending on how sucessful the pilot is, it will be then implemented to other 2 offices.
I work at the company's HQ where we have majority of the company staff working. We'll are hoping that the pilot is a success and no-one misuses the privilege to an extent that the company decides to put a full stop to the policy.
Fingers crossed. Let's see how it goes.
Amol Naik
July 29, 2011 at 6:47 am
I know a number of full time employees who telecommute.
The telecommute from Phillipines, India, Lithuania ....
Opening the door to telecommuting may backfire.
...
-- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers --
July 29, 2011 at 12:34 pm
gdonufrio (7/28/2011)
my boss is very severe ... I must have real and official stats or articles to convince him ...
Flipping the question around: other than seeing your butt in a seat every day - how would your boss know if you're being productive even when you ARE in the office? Most of the people I have worked for wouldn't know what I do on a minute by minute basis, nor do they need to.
I understand the fear, but ultimately that's a fake argument. They either can check that you're working or not, and in every scenario I can think of - they can do that just as easily with someone working from home as with someone in the office. If they can't, they have a problem, but once again - that has nothing to do with telecommuting per se.
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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?
July 29, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Matt Miller (#4) (7/29/2011)
gdonufrio (7/28/2011)
my boss is very severe ... I must have real and official stats or articles to convince him ...Flipping the question around: other than seeing your butt in a seat every day - how would your boss know if you're being productive even when you ARE in the office? Most of the people I have worked for wouldn't know what I do on a minute by minute basis, nor do they need to.
I understand the fear, but ultimately that's a fake argument. They either can check that you're working or not, and in every scenario I can think of - they can do that just as easily with someone working from home as with someone in the office. If they can't, they have a problem, but once again - that has nothing to do with telecommuting per se.
I think this is the root of the issue. Measuring hours in the office isn't a way to look at productivity. Looking at the work someone accomplishes is what should be examined over time.
July 29, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Matt Miller (#4) (7/29/2011)
gdonufrio (7/28/2011)
my boss is very severe ... I must have real and official stats or articles to convince him ...Flipping the question around: other than seeing your butt in a seat every day - how would your boss know if you're being productive even when you ARE in the office? Most of the people I have worked for wouldn't know what I do on a minute by minute basis, nor do they need to.
I understand the fear, but ultimately that's a fake argument. They either can check that you're working or not, and in every scenario I can think of - they can do that just as easily with someone working from home as with someone in the office. If they can't, they have a problem, but once again - that has nothing to do with telecommuting per se.
+1B.
July 29, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Is telecommuting really that desirable? At my previous job, I probably could have done it fairly often. At my current one, not quite as much (as Im meant to be managing people).
But I find home every bit as distraction filled as the office, don't have a long commute to get to work, and even if management were 100% on board, never being in the office has a social effect on how coworkers perceive you. Also, work time and personal time tend to blend inconveniently together more once I'm already at home and set up. So to me, part of the question is "even if you can telecommute, SHOULD you?".
I recognize that all cases are different, but for me, its really not something I'd ever fight for.
July 29, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Nevyn (7/29/2011)
Is telecommuting really that desirable? At my previous job, I probably could have done it fairly often. At my current one, not quite as much (as Im meant to be managing people).But I find home every bit as distraction filled as the office, don't have a long commute to get to work, and even if management were 100% on board, never being in the office has a social effect on how coworkers perceive you. Also, work time and personal time tend to blend inconveniently together more once I'm already at home and set up. So to me, part of the question is "even if you can telecommute, SHOULD you?".
I recognize that all cases are different, but for me, its really not something I'd ever fight for.
Absolutely it depends on the person. My business partner doesn't like the idea because of the distractions. I think it's great.
If you try it, go with a pilot, as much for you as for the company. It's not for everyone.
July 29, 2011 at 1:31 pm
I also don't think it has to be an all of nothing scenario. There is a bit of value to having in person meetings (and the social aspects) even today, but having some me time and the ability to "lock down and focus" is valuable as well. As a result - I simply structure my work so I can do my focus work on the days I'm at home: the planning/cooperative stuff tends to happen when I'm in the office.
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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?
July 29, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Nevyn (7/29/2011)
Is telecommuting really that desirable? At my previous job, I probably could have done it fairly often. At my current one, not quite as much (as Im meant to be managing people).But I find home every bit as distraction filled as the office, don't have a long commute to get to work, and even if management were 100% on board, never being in the office has a social effect on how coworkers perceive you. Also, work time and personal time tend to blend inconveniently together more once I'm already at home and set up. So to me, part of the question is "even if you can telecommute, SHOULD you?".
I recognize that all cases are different, but for me, its really not something I'd ever fight for.
You do bring up a good point. I want to telecommute primarily because I have such a long commute (90 minutes one way, each day). If, on the other hand I lived close to my work (can't afford that, so I don't) so that the commute was significantly shorter, then I would probably continue to commute. But the loss in time with my family, increased stress due to the long commute each and every day, really makes telecommuting very attractive to me.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
July 29, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Matt Miller (#4) (7/29/2011)
I understand the fear, but ultimately that's a fake argument. They either can check that you're working or not, and in every scenario I can think of - they can do that just as easily with someone working from home as with someone in the office. If they can't, they have a problem, but once again - that has nothing to do with telecommuting per se.
Being in a virtual workforce myself, I had an employee issue that was very hard to resolve. He worked in an office but in a different city. He never got the work done on time. I emailed him, no response. I called him, he never answered the phone. I left messages, they were never returned.
The projects I gave him should have taken 30 minutes each but took two weeks. What was he doing? Going to the beach instead of working? It turns out, the executive of the department was giving him projects to do instead of coming to me with the requests. I didn't know that and he didn't tell me even though I contacted him numerous times.
He ended up getting fired for a different reason but I can tell you it's not easy to manage people that work remotely unless you hired them yourself and you know they have good ethics.
August 4, 2011 at 7:41 am
cengland0 (7/29/2011)
Matt Miller (#4) (7/29/2011)
I understand the fear, but ultimately that's a fake argument. They either can check that you're working or not, and in every scenario I can think of - they can do that just as easily with someone working from home as with someone in the office. If they can't, they have a problem, but once again - that has nothing to do with telecommuting per se.Being in a virtual workforce myself, I had an employee issue that was very hard to resolve. He worked in an office but in a different city. He never got the work done on time. I emailed him, no response. I called him, he never answered the phone. I left messages, they were never returned.
The projects I gave him should have taken 30 minutes each but took two weeks. What was he doing? Going to the beach instead of working? It turns out, the executive of the department was giving him projects to do instead of coming to me with the requests. I didn't know that and he didn't tell me even though I contacted him numerous times.
He ended up getting fired for a different reason but I can tell you it's not easy to manage people that work remotely unless you hired them yourself and you know they have good ethics.
Curious why that would be hard to resolve? If he's taking too long to complete tasks and not calling you back, then you notify him with a written improvement plan that outlines the expectations. If he can't satisfy the plan, he's gone?
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