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    <title><![CDATA[Discussion on Poll: Do you take work home? ]]></title>
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        <title><![CDATA[Poll:  Do you take work home?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3451823]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I have been working from home for over 10 years now.  I love it!!  It gives you the freedom to do what you want, when you want.  I do work for an actual company.  They actually encourage us to work from home.  It saves them money and we get more independence.  We can choose to work at the office or work from home.  We can take the work home from the office if we like.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3451823]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Legitimate Work From Home Jobs]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 17 May 2011 17:14:20 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Of course ...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3189320]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[&quot;it is really important to have a good work-life balance&quot;This should go without having to be said.  The issue to be solved is, &quot;Just what is a good work-life balance?&quot;  And that's a matter of personal preference, view, and judgment.  There is no &quot;One answer fits all.&quot; to that question.For some, simply having to work at all is viewed as an onerous chore that intrudes upon their personal life and takes time away from it ... and is thus resented.At the other end of the scale, there are those who view the work that they do not simply as WORK they MUST do, whether they wish to or not.  They also consider their work as a vocation, a calling, a personal interest, a hobby ... an activity that they enjoy and which gives them a sense of accomplishment.For instance, when I was a youth for several years I worked after school and on weekends at a small neighborhood grocery store.  Owned and operated by two brothers.Both worked long hours daily and took few days off of work.  On alternating weeks one would take a whole day off and during the in-between week would take a half day (on Sunday morning).  In a year, each would take a single 1 week vacation.Now, they were the bosses, and their business was successful.  They weren't getting rich but were definitely comfortable as concerns income.  So they could have done pretty much whatever they wished.But the thing is that running that store wasn't &quot;just a job&quot; with either of them.  It was one of the joys of their lives.  And it was very much a part of their personal lives.  It wasn't just work, their store was a place they enjoyed being.  Many of their customers were close and long time friends.  Some of their suppliers were guys they'd grown up with and gone to school with.  And the grocery business was &quot;in their blood&quot;.  Even at home, or on a family picnic, or at parties they, and their families and friends often discussed &quot;the business&quot;.  It was a favored topic.  I know, as I was regularly invited to said picnics or parties.  Since as an employee, I was considered part of the family.I can remember old Joe, one of the brothers, telling me one time when I was a young teenager, &quot;Its not so important how much money you make, as long as it is enough to feed your face and put a roof over your head.  Nor should you care about how prestigious or important your job might seem to others.  Its more important that you find a job doing something you like to do, that you're interested in doing.  Or one that you can learn to like doing.  And then learn to be the very best at that job that you can be.  Its not necessary to be the BEST, just that you know that you've given it your personal best efforts.  That's all anyone can ask or expect.  And there is pride to be had in that.  Then, everyday you can look in a mirror and stand tall and be proud of yourself.  Its easier to work hard and well if you like doing what you're doing and know that at the end of the day you've given it your best.&quot;And he went on, &quot;That's more important than exactly what you decide to do for a living.  Think about it.  Its better to be a janitor who enjoys that kind of work, who knows he does a da*n good job at it and is proud of his accomplishments than it is to be a bank President who hates his job and dreads having to go to work each day.&quot;Of course, I paraphrased Joe here.  I don't remember the exact words.  But I'll bet I have most of it correct.  And 100% of the meaning.Over the years I've done a great many different kinds of jobs (I'm 60 years old).  Not all of them being my 1st pick or most wanted work.  Sometimes that just wasn't possible.  But I always had a sort of &quot;order of preference&quot; in my head.  So if the exact type of work I wanted wasn't to be had, at that moment, I'd pursue #2, or #3, etc.  Once I got that, I'd be happy, it was on the list.  And got me one step closer to the goal.  And I'd dive in and give it my best efforts.  And would step lively when going home at the end of the day knowing in my own mind I'd done well.  Didn't matter if anyone else knew.  Was only important that -I- knew.Of course, along the path of life, I made mistakes.  This or that job might've looked good to me at first, but once I was into it I found out it wasn't a good fit for whatever reason.  I'd still put my best into it but would start looking for something else that I'd enjoy doing more.  If there was something holding me back from doing whatever, such as lack of knowledge, I'd start studying on my own to take away that roadblock.  And/or if needed, I'd drop the former job which had a higher pay rate (and maybe position) and take a low level beginners position in the new work.  Didn't matter, got me into something I thought I'd enjoy more.  This, BTW, worked for me several times.Net result, I do what I do today.  And its a job of a type I only dreamed about in my earlier years.  Back then (after trying out numerous types of jobs), I fixed and operated mechanical, electrical, electronic, and computer controlled systems.  Now I design them, field test them, and find and remove the bugs.It pays nicely, but I'm never gonna be rich.  Nor do I care.  I LIKE what I do.  Its as much a part of me and who I am as is fishing, vegetable gardening, etc.  Other activities that give me pleasure and satisfaction.Of course, that doesn't mean I enjoy all parts of my trade, nor every hour or day of the work.  Some days just suck.  But that's life.  Some days of fishing can be pretty sucking, too.  But I take those in stride and just like many other fishermen, after such days we'll later sit around and swap stories about who had the worst fishing experience ... and all laugh about them.Yah gotta accept the bad and unpleasant things in life along with the good.  Otherwise, how do you differentiate good from bad, or pleasant from unpleasant?  If its all the same, all the time and every time ... good is no longer good ... its just boring and unremarkable.  Nothing special at all.I love vegetables, especially fresh right out of one's garden.  They're fresher and usually of a better and tastier variety than the commercially grown one gets in a store.  Now, I suppose one could try just buying some from a neighbor who grows his or her own.  But then something would still be missing from the experience.i.e. There are days when tending to gardening that I really hate it.  Days when its hot and humid, I'm sweating a** off.  Getting bit to heck by bugs.  Stung by bees.  Maybe its been a difficult week and I'm tired and would much rather be taking a nap or sitting with feet propped up sipping cold tea.  I might be cursing my garden, the world, and myself for my fool ideas.But, to get something ... at least something worthwhile ... yah gotta give something.  That is unless you're one of those types who'd just rather sit around and whine and complain and wait for someone else to do the hard work and give you part of the rewards of their efforts.  Gardens don't take care of themselves.  So I do it, whether or not I feel like it.But in the end, on the days when I can go out and just enjoy the smell of fresh black soil and growing things, and can enjoy the beauty of the growing plants.  And then pick some and haul em in the house.  Maybe eat em raw in a salad, or cook some fried green tomatoes, or make a fresh stir-fry, or some fresh cream of broccoli soup ... or all of the above. THEN comes the good.  I know its good.  Not just because its tasty.  Because that tomato I'm just slicing, lightly salting and eating raw tastes just so much better because with the enjoyment comes the memories of hours of digging, cultivating, tending to the plants, sweating, and so forth.If I just bought, or was given tomatoes and could have as many as I wanted anytime I wanted.  Even if they were the best tomatoes in the world.  After a while they'd be ... just ordinary tomatoes.  And I'd get bored with em and wouldn't really appreciate them nearly as much, if at all.Whether or not one enjoys work is much the same.  Its more a mental thing than some absolute reality, one way or another.Likewise, so is the question of whether one lives to work, or works to live.Neither is an absolute.  The real answer might be a bit of both.It might seem that if one could have all anyone might want without working in the least for it that this would be a good thing.  And it probably would be for a little while.  But I'm thinking (and my experience in knowing several people in such a position says the same) that after some period of time, the situation is no longer &quot;Good&quot; ... its just ordinary, average, expected, boring, etc.  There is not much to look forward to that's exciting, different, interesting.  Or that feels rewarding, that gives one a sense of accomplishment, self respect, and pride.  In such case one might just find oneself existing day to day, as versus LIVING.FWIW, most of the folks I know and have known who didn't HAVE to work, at some point or other found some work to do anyway.  Whether it was work for pay, charity work, or whatever.  The one's who didn't?  Often ended up as drunks or drug addicts, or went off the deep end psychologically, or kept on pursuing ever more hazardous activities until they eventually killed or crippled themselves.Just some food for thought.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3189320]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Osiyo53@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:53:05 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[good point]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3188452]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[For me it is really important to have a good work-life balance. I work very effectively and don't mind doing overtime as long as I have the feeling I will recover the time later. At the same time I don't really see an end in side sometimes.. I think it is very important to make sure the company knows you value your personal time. Do you work to live or do you live to work?]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3188452]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[kokopelli.@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:03:41 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Poll: Do you take work home?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3188424]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Yes I work for more than 40 hrs a weeek]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3188424]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[amolpradhan@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:01:23 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Umbilical to work]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187464]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I have a Blackberry that I am require to wear 24/7 because I am on call. Not only do I take work home, but I take it on vacations, to weddings, to funerals and to the hospital. I think it is the nature of the job for me. I will just accept and move on. Thankfully there is a silent mode so I don't disturb anyone.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187464]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[tulsacowgirl]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:26:38 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Poll: Do you take work home?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187408]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I do not take work home. I am currently working in a Trading Company in Europe and the 40-hour week does not exist here. We work more like a 50 hour week if not more. The only time I work from home is when I have vacation (to check e-mails for emergencies only). I do have the choice to work form home instead of going to the office if the need comes up.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187408]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[mahansench@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:50:27 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Poll: Do you take work home?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187252]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[To have time for my family I do not work at home. As an ICT Training Coordinator/Instructor/Supervisor I work more than 8 hours daily(10 to 12 hours)and I'm paid only for the normal working hours and no overtime. So why should I work at home?]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187252]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Atta-Kakra]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:23:42 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Hell_to_the_NO!]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187193]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I don't get paid enough to bring work home. Sorry. LOL!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187193]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Photogenic Memory]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:53:56 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[No]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187187]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[My employer doesn't allow me to take work home.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187187]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[knsravan@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:12:57 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Poll: Do you take work home?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187186]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[No.. My employer doesn't allow me to take work home.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187186]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[knsravan@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:12:05 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[I used to but not anymore]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187093]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Well, not quite. On rare occassions. But since I'm after hours tech support so technically I guess I do. That's the problem when you're IT, like coppers, we're only paid a certain amount of hours a day but we're expected to be available 24/7. So really, companies are getting a bargain as far as staff's concerned.Can't say for US laws, but in Australia, if we're to apply the law to the letter to IT staff, most companies would be in serious breach of industrial and OHS laws and regulations.But since we love our work so much, we don't bitch about it as much as some other professions do.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187093]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[ogregator@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:16:41 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Gotta stay on top of stuff]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187085]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[We are migrating from a AS/400-Cobol-RPG shop to windows based using Visual Studio as a workbench. Both programmers(me and another guy) were given laptops to connect to work to learn the Visual Studio at our own pace and mostly on our own time. It has been successful so far. I would prefer to work from home than working late in the shop]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187085]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[dharris@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:16:27 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Poll: Do you take work home?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187028]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Most places I've worked, I wasn't allowed to work at home. I have worked at home a few times when I was allowed to work at home, a deadline was coming up and I needed to get something done while it was fresh in my mind.  In one job, I had VPN and could work from home but on software stored at work. I used that a few times.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3187028]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[gypkap@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:12:23 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Poll: Do you take work home?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186968]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[If I'm in the middle of something big I might stay late, but taking work home is not an option I ever wanted. I made that very clear from my first day. I'm happy to put in my time but when I walk out the door my time is my own. That is my choice.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186968]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[kruegerc@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:04:40 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Poll: Do you take work home?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186917]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[No, I've to play my Trumpet, look at the newspaper &amp; study.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186917]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[nziokibm@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:13:26 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[I used to, until...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186857]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[... I realised that what most people think of as a &quot;great work ethic**&quot; is doing nothing more than killing them, sometimes not-so-softly.I &quot;especially&quot; discontinued this abominable practice after my company recently implemented &quot;strict&quot; work hours and make me an hourly employee.  You want me to work an inflexible schedule and &quot;no overtime&quot; when I was working 60+ hours a week as a salaried employee?  That's exactly what you'll get!** getting in all those off-hours at home after already spending 60+ hours a week at work.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186857]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[rfolden@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:01:54 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Poll: Do you take work home?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186851]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Although files and projects are normally capable of closure at the end of the workday, the ominous habit of waking nightly to ponder some facet of code, projects or garish office &quot;politics&quot; can be grueling enough.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186851]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Hall]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:28:43 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[There's Nothing Better than Reading a Manual On Your Own Toilet]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186845]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I'd rather sit at home and finish my work with my wife chatting on the phone in the background, Spongebob on the TV, and the aroma of dinner cooking on the stove than to have peace and quiet in my cluttered dungeon of an office.  No one on their deathbead ever regretted not spending more time at work.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186845]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jmarkovic32]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:26:15 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Poll: Do you take work home?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186840]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[No. It is rarely necessary and I value my private and family life too much to let work interfere with it.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186840]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[john.folkes@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:55:53 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Family is higher priority]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186813]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Consider yourself blessed.  I used to think that having a position of responsibility would be great.  Well, I am in the position where I am required to be on-call at least 1/4 of the year for a month at a time.  That is the official schedule.  Then there are the weekends that required maintenance has to occur during off hours, and did I mention that I have to carry a Blackberry?  I am ALWAYS on.  I even have my blackberry when I am on vacation, and have been contacted by co-workers and bosses with questions about work.  I love what I do for a living, but I think that some people do not understand the life of an IT person.  I think that most workers can get off and leave work at work.  Other than emergency personnel, law enforcement, or some medical staff, IT workers are asked to do a lot of &quot;off the clock&quot; work that is expected.Since family is a high priority for most, I think that IT workers do this because they ARE concerned for the well-being of the family.  Unemployment is not good for the overall well being of the family.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-319335-3186813]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[ITCompGuy]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:40:49 -0700</pubDate>
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