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by kwells

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In this current day of age where location is nothing to be concerned with, I wonder how far we are away from the mainstream tech jobs being home based.

At my current position, I work in the IT department, but we support programmers and a database administrator. The programmers can certainly work from home, and the database administrator does already.

So, what is holding companies back from allowing workers to work from home. Of course, all mission allowing, but programmers can program just as well at home as if they were at work.

For me personally, the ability to work from home would be very appealing, of course coming into the office once a month or so, or as needed.

But how far away from this are we, and what's the hold up? Legacy-minded managers that don't want to accept this new concept?

47 replies

by jaqui

that for a lot of it positions this is perfectly reasonable, I'll give you the number one reason that a software development company would fight it:

security.

people are lax about security at work, and worse at home.
how can you guarantee that they do not have a copy of the cvs tree for your latest app, and if they do, that they have locked down access to it?
in the office, you have alarms, possibly 24 hour staffing etc that helps reduce the risks of the code getting out. at home you don't.

by amcol

That's A reason, but it's not the number one reason.

The biggest reason is that most management is by done by direct observation. If I don't see what you're doing then you can't actually be doing it.

When the ranks of management are populated primarily by enlightened people who understand the true measure of productivity is actual output regardless of the location from whence it's generated, then you'll see more people working from home.

BTW...working from home is not all it's cracked up to be. Human beings are social animals, and being cut off from the kind of regular social interaction one gets in an office environment (as lovely as that might sound to some) is actually and ultimately quite depressing. What's more, it's difficult to explain to friends, neighbors and families that you're working (you're home, therefore you're not really doing anything important) and the level of interruptions while at home can be greater. It's also not good for the waistline...the refrigerator just seems to call your name about once an hour.

by jmueller

I have found that allowing a mix of working at home and working at the office on a schedule such as M/W/F at the office and T/T at home works well. Meetings can be held either while in the office or using something like NetMeeting. If you are on top of the development schedule you will know whether someone is actually working at home. Scheduling techinical meetings while the developer is home is helpful also - it will help ensure that the developer isn't at the golf course (unless of course the developer decides to take all the docs and setup cell phone access on the laptop while in a golf cart). Trusting the developer is key but keeping tabs on progress is also key. The developer will know whether you are an effective manager if you keep to a schedule and update it frequently with statuses.

About security - it is not unusual to enforce the same security restrains on a home user as a condition of working at home. Whether that entails a signed document make them liable (think Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance), auditing their laptop and setting up VPN access to allow their traffic to flow through the corporate firewalls and security.

by too old for it

... has me thinking about this. My current stint in the "disposable workforce" (i.e. contracting) has me driving 20 miles one way to a campus of four 5-story buildings. Other than the guys in the chem lab, some guys to keep the server farm and inbound VPN running and the receptionists (say 50 folks tops) the rest of us could do our job if FedEx had brought the PC out to the house preconfigured, we could VPN in and answer a phone. Make that a VOIP phone, and it's even easier.

Part of my question is how long can companies afford big buildings and acres of parking (our transit service is garbage in the suburbs)? More importantly, how long can they afford people at management pay whose only job is to physically watch other people work?

(And the gas was better quality when it was 35? a gallon as well.)

by neil higgins

when you said "direct observation" and "if I dont see what your doing then you can't actually be doing it".social interaction is a must.If I had a problem,and I was at home,sure,I could text,or phone someone up,but if I misinterpret something,or start waving my arms around like a domented windmill,they wont see what I'm looking at on my monitor,and quoting data is just silly.And using a webcam to explain "important work" is still not good enough in my book.Besides,how often has "something" broken at home,and you've phoned up the tv tech guy,who has'nt a clue what your talking about,or says "can you bring the tv in",or "I'l be down tomorrow".No thanks,travelling in to a heated office in the rain,might be a pain in the ass,but it pays dividends in the long run.Besides,I'd always find Sky Sports too much of a distraction!!That's my opinion anyway.

by woobie

unfortunately you don't mention the main indicator of managing telecommuters... and that is how we're already depply intrenched with remote work locations. in my company I have a team of 19 people - 1 of them are in my same state, the other 18 are scattered around the country from boston to tampa bay to dallas. since I don't have any regular observance of them and have to rely on their output and meeting deadlines it doesn't really matter if I or they are in the office or not. some folks are smart and honest enough to know they do not work as well from home as they do from the office, but some aren't and while it might take awhile to find out myself and cancel their telecommuting privilege, there's usually no way to know who will succeed at telecommuting and who will not.

as for the friends, neighbors and family wondering what I'm doing at home - not one single person has expressed that sentiment. the only feedback I receive from them across the board is "wow, you're lucky", or "wow, that's a great benefit, I wish my company allowed that". friends, neigbors and family don't know what you do in the office as much as they don't know what you do at home - and how do they know I'm not goofing off at work, taking long lunches, leaving early for happy hours, etc.? the level of interruptions? what level of interruptions? I get 2-3 times mor interruptions at work by folks walking around asking about my weekend, or asking if I saw the game last night - remember, you said it - we're social animals. at home I'm in my office with no kids to bug me, no spouse barging in to ask if I saw desperate housewives, and if I choose to screw off and watch tv it'll eventually burn me and cost me my job so I would never do that.

you know what else calls your name about once an hour? the fridge in the kitchen on your floor at work, the vending machines in the lobby, the cafeteria, the coffee shop across the street, etc. you can make any excuse to work for or against telecommuting, including my hardware at home is new and allows me to work twice as fast as I can in the office with my 1998 compaq. it's really a simple matter of preference and trust.

by filosofer

I agree with the direct observation issue as I've dealt with that myself and although I understand the social interaction, interruptions from friends and family, and even the refrigerator issues, I think these can be easily be overcome. I have worked from home at two prior jobs, and prior to becoming management at my current job. All very successfully. The keys to success are regular visits to the office to handle the social issues (it also helps to have friends that are not also co-workers). Periodic visits to the office lets you be seen and heard enough from co-workers that they know you exist and understand what you are working on. When I worked at home, but close to the office, I went into the office once or twice a week. When I was 1700 miles away from the office, as was the case when i first started at my current company, I went into the office one week every month and had frequent conference calls and even gave training sessions with fellow developers over the phone when I wasn't in the office.

As for the family interrupion issue, I set the family down and talked to them. I explained the situation and told them that I would take periodic breaks to say hi and such, but that other than an emergency they were to try to forget I was there. It was tough at first, especially when my daughters were younger, but it worked out really well in the end, and it's a huge advantage on the home front, in my opinion.

I can't help much with the refrigerator issue, but I will say that I could control what I ate more effectively and actually dropped weight when I worked at home.

by secretgeekygirl

I used to do a lot of my work at home.

I think employers are REALLY missing out on a big opportunity here. They could easily provide the means for a secure connection. I know that we lived where I could get broadband, and I did have to pay for it myself (my boss said he'd pay for it, then got shot down my his superiors), but that was worth it.

I have a special-needs son who was in school all day. I had to adjust my working hrs anyway to be home when he got home. They got at least an extra hours' work from me when I was not having to commute, and could be there as soon as he was home, rather than having to leave work early enough to arrive home in time.

While I agree that security can be an issue, that is where TRAINING steps in! TRAIN people. So many employers no longer train anyone adequately, expecting they'll hear it "on the streets" from cube mates, or just already know about it. Both scenarios are wrong.

Employers could reduce office space needs, increase productivity and generally increase the bottom line by allowing more home workers. Plenty of companies do this successfully (I don't happen to have any in my area though!). And I don't mean just the call centers - shudder - wouldn't want that job at the office or at home!

And while I agree that you might miss the social aspect of the office (AND that the refigerator does speak more often! Ha!), I didn't. So much of it is backbiting, sniping, gossiping, etc, that it was actually refreshing to just focus on my work alone.

I'd take a homeworker position again in a heartbeat.

(Not trying to hijack the thread, but...both my boss and a co-worker have told me I would be a natural for database management, but neither ever told me how to break into that. Any suggestions or pointers would be appreciated!)

Meanwhile, I'll just continue to work on other skills as well, until I figure out what I want to do when I grow up! (And I just had a bday on Sunday - I'd better decide soon! HA! I am in college WITH my two kids this year...)

by the_outlaw313

When I worked from home, it was a concern security-wise because of the VPN we were working with. Many felt that the VPN wasn't very secure and that the information that we were working with was at risk. This was not a tech job, but a mortgage related job where personal and financial information was at stake. (Hi Krisy! It's Chrystal from Baker :) Great site!)

by kwells

The security levels of VPN's have significantly improved. How long ago was it that you worked from home?

I do understand the sensitive nature of personal and financial information, and that is a good point why working from home with that sort of information probably isn't the best idea.

Glad you like the site -- its a wealth of information to be tapped by all techies.

by healer

There are always some distractions whether they are from one's partner or spouse or children. It needs self discipline and undistrubed home office environment too. If one's job is paid by well defined project, that would be fine otherwise it could be difficult for an employer to gauge the time to pay.

Working in the office, colleagues are around for discussion it certainly helps working on any project unless one's job really takes no interaction with peers.

If one develops software for big system that comes with heaps hardware equipment for testing, working at home might be a handicap as well.

I think we need to assess case by case on its merit.

by too old for it

Most of my distraction when I am working from home comes from people outside of my family who figure that because they didn't see my car leave in the morning, I am just sitting around the place.

by joey indolos

I agree. Unless you raised your children to be spoiled brats (a separate topic entirely), family distractions are usually more controllable. You can have a set time when you shouldn't be disturbed, and it would help if you have a separate room, like a study or den, from where you work and connect to the office. Think of it as an updated computer-age version of those stereotypical writers who thank their families in the acknowledgements of their books for time spent away from them while writing The Next Great Novel in the attic. Most families I know would understand the situation if it was clear that they would starve if Daddy (or Mommy, for female IT workers) lost a job because of unmet deadlines. And you can still be more flexible in spending time with them -- aside from the lack of commute giving you more time per se, you also have more options in alternating time with them and work, such as crawling out of your basement to spend lunchtime with them (rarely an option for office workers).

Friends, on the other hand, can sometimes be tricky. While most of mine would be understanding, there are some people who would be offended if you "snubbed" their visit. There are also those gregarious social types who aren't easily offended, but are very persistent in teasing and razzing you to "get a life" and go with them to the ball game instead of working. For me, the latter are the most disruptive ones, as I am sorely tempted by such offers :-)

by alltech

I have studied (selected as a company manager/employee) and have made recommendations to one large company and one medium size company about "the remote workforce" as part of my job. I have been in the field of technology (software and hardware) for 34 years and a manager for about 28 of those years.

I carefully studied and defended remote work methods (e.g., ROI, tangible and intangible benefits) that benefit the corporation and happen, being corporate focused, to benefit the employees as well.

I was surprised to reach the same basic conclusion for both the large and medium sized company. Rotating staff (20 percent each day of the week -- e.g., Monday john always comes to the office and Tuesdays Jane works in the office)came out as the optimum for corporate and the individuals. Special meetings between groups or people could be arranged and held as needed.

Management gets the updates and oversight of the common-place weekly staff meetings and the staff has the opportunity to interact, share ideas and get help where they need it.

Each office needs to be equipped with a locking drawer or filing cabinet where things can be stored while the employee is not in the office (5 people use the same office each week). An additional conference room or two may be needed for meetings but the overall cost savings is very significant to corporate.

Some people will still need to work in the office full time like facilities, security, etc... But this is very limited.

Just thought I would share.

by cweb

For the programers, web developers, and some sys admins. It could work great as long work was done. Both the problem and allure to me is the ability to mix up personal things with work. Meaning to work at home I could mow the yard during the day and finish my project that evening. Work for a few hours during the morning and then the rest that night.
Sprint a few years ago down here allowed their Sys Admin's to work from home and even ran fiber to their home office. As great as that sounds the downside was that the Sys admins were on call 24hrs a day.

by mygetbiz

Telecomuting frees you from the useless, achieve nothing meetings you are forced to attend every week when you could be hashing out your code.

by kwells

Thank you everyone who responded to my post. I appreciate the variety of input on the topic.

Now, what about technical writers that have the function of documenting "how to's" of software programs. There would seem to always been an active project, and that it would be easy to show the progress of work with this sort of "at home" job.

Thoughts on the techies who document software and work at home?

by Former member

I write FAQs and Tutorials as the primary part of my job. The boss is happy as long as I'm cranking out documents. :) It works out well because he can tell I been working when I send him my weekly report with links to the documents that I did and are online for customer viewing.

Sometimes we even work together via telephone and internet at the same time to develop a web site.

This type of work is well suited for internet/work at home situations.

by mdv3441

As long as there were no family interruptions technical writers would be more productive working at home providing they have access to the "thing" they were documenting. I provided worldwide technical support for hardware products and created documentation for over a year. Being at home it was easier to cover the needs of other countries as well.

by secretgeekygirl

I would be interested to know how you get into that line of work as well!

I write fairly well, and used to document our software procedures way back before there was normally any documentation available. I'd make "user's manuals" for my company on the various programs, and how to use them correctly.

I think that would be a great blending of skills for me, but would have no idea how to break into that field!

by djl2

Nearly every office worker in America could work from home at least a couple days a week (ideally more). Skeptical business owners are the only ones standing in the way.

Traffic is so bad in my city, I'm going approach my local/state/federal officials and propose that they offer tax cuts or credits for telecommuters. It's the only way to get businesses to look at it more closely. The benefits would be immeasurable for everyone.

If anyone still needs convincing, read these case studies done by legacy companies like AT&T and IBM on the issue. It should be required reading for every CEO in America.

http://www.telecommutect.com/research/caseStudies.asp

by chasafd

I'm a developer and I work from home two days a week, usually Tue and Thur. As a city employee, we are encouraged to work from home and I believe the city gets reimbursed for GoToMyPc licenses by the EPA (I could be wrong). Here's my take:

Security - the city provides anti-virus and firewall software for home PCs. We use gotomypc and are not allowed to use wireless connections from home.

Discipline - I was self employed and working from home for 8 years before taking this job. I've never had a problem being distracted by things at home. My home office means "work".

Social - I'm at the office three days a week and that's plenty of time to maintain social connections. I try to make the social events at work such as our monthly birthday celebration.

Communications - Between email, phone, and IM chat (jabber/exodus) it's just like being there. With gotomypc I log onto my computer at work so its like having long arms. The IM chat is a great tool when teleworking.

I'm more productive due to fewer interruptions, higher concentration level, and I'm a happy camper. I get great annual reviews, too!

by kaecy5

i just wish i could work from home, am a network engineer for a telephone company my boss is a workaholic and he wants us to work at his pace, at times it is interesting at other time u find out u aint got a life, but on the other hand working from home i cant get my eyes of TV or sleeping, also my fiance' these three could be distractions to me

by Former member

Due to a disability I can not gainfully work. Especailly not out of my home where I'd have to travel to and from a location daily. However, I got a job as a web developer and tech writer for a company that does hosting. They are across the country from me but I been working there for over a year now and love the job! Sure it's part time but it's something to suppliment my disability income and it's something I know how to do. And I do learn a lot on the job as well. It's never boring. I've talked to the owners and the admin a few times on the phone even. But I've never met any of them face-to-face. But we all have a good working relationship with one another. We exchange ideas. We get things done.

They also employ a couple others that also work exclusively from home. It works out well for all of us.

I know of times I didn't feel too well but was able to work then go lay down for awhile, then go back to work again a little later. I need the flexable schedule.

Some nights I can't sleep, so I end up sleeping part of the day. And then I can go to work at night if I wish. Or work during the day. I get to control when I work as well. I could never hope to do that with a 9-5 local job.

This also allows me time to sit at the computer and research things for work. Sometimes I spend quite a lot of time doing this. If I was at an office, they'd have to give me a bed and microwave because I tend to get too glued to the computer researching things for work until the wee hours of the morning! :)

I realize not everyone is a work-a-holic. I'm not entirely sure I am either. I work maybe 10 - 20 hours a week depending on what projects I'm working on and what's needed to be done with them.

I think working from home also cuts down on distractions. You can IM your co-workers or email them. But you can also sit and do work undisturbed by anyone because you are at home on your computer, and not in a cubicle with Snoring Stephan or whoever (just throwing names, I don't know any Stephans) distracting you from your work. You can go get your email whenever you're ready to reply to it. Or turn off your IM program when you want to work. You can work in your PJs even! (ok, so I don't do that much at all, realistically).

For the employee it works great!

What's in it for the company? Well, I think it will result in more productive employees because they'll be in a familiar and comfortable environment with less office or work-related distractions. And it may give employees the feeling they can research things on the internet easier and without any fear of someone monitoring their activity on the network, since they are working on their own computers. Of course, hooking up to the company computer is a bit different but still people will feel more comfortable, I'd imagine, on their own personal computer than a company computer. Thus online research can be easier. Sure there's a tendency to get side-tracked but then again, you work when you want to so you just be sure to get back on track again a bit later.

However, working from home might not be a great idea for mission-critical types of jobs where someone woudl really need to physically be at a network in case of a hard drive failure or need to reboot, etc. Some technology jobs will still need to be done at the company site. But many other things can be done now via internet.

It saves gas. Saves possible distractions, and may boost productivity.

I'm very happy with my work situation. I think more companies should embrace work-from-home jobs as an alternative. There's quite a few people with disabilities that are quite technically inclined and know what they are doing. Though they can't get out of the house, they could work via computer. This would expand the number of potential job candidates as well.

I was lucky when I got my job. I admit these types of jobs are hard to find. But I think the more that word gets out about the benefits of working from home (also called "Telecommuting"), the more employers may be inclined to look into it. And talking to your current employer about the benefits and possibilites won't hurt either. :)

by kwells

Wow, congratulations on such a wonderful work opportunity.

Technology is coming to the point that a lot of physical disabilities are irrelevent to getting the job done, just like in your case. It's really irrelevent that you have a disability, because you can work just as well and produce the same high quality projects as someone who works on site doing the same job.

Thanks for sharing!

by Former member

I also wanted to note that Linux developers I think mostly all work from home. They use the CVS system, and they have developed one of the best (if not THE best) operating systems in existance this way. Sure some of them may not be getting paid for it, as it is largely volunteer. But Linux is touted as the most secure OS around. And this is developed by people using their own home computers and collaborating with other developers around the world.

I don't see why this type of system couldn't be used for other types of jobs as well. Another example of how productivity can boom via internet.

by jcstandley2

Some companies that could have their employees work from home do not want to give up control over the employee.

by kwells

And its also change. And change scares people. It's sad how some organizations and companies drag their feet in implementing something new for silly reasons, like control issues.

by joey indolos

Despite the fact our industry is sometimes unfairly criticized for promoting dehumanization through excess technology, much of our work still boils down to human beings and human nature. Getting that project approved, team interaction and productivity, good and bad management, etc., there's still much in common with other industries when it comes to the psychology of work. One common factor is the human tendency to maintain the status quo. Management that is used to having staff at their beck and call are ill at ease with the distances of telecommuting.

One situation is caused by the variability of programming work: If I make an inspired discovery and finish a day's worth of programming in 5 hours at the office, management will give me more work when they see that I have finished. Conventional management would be bothered by the fact that I could get away with the same thing while working at home under output-based rules.

Ironically, the same conventional management of some companies find it conveniently easy to outsource their work if it saves on payroll costs, despite the fact that the security issues that they love to cite against telecommuting are at an even greater peril when we talk about transferring programs and data, not just to another location that is somehow answerable to the company (i.e., the house of a direct employee), but an entirely different company, and sometimes an entirely different country.

by wamorita

Unless the job involve tasks that are descrete, well defined and of limited duration not requiring much in the way to teamwork I do not foresee IT work going this way. The supervisor wants to know what people are working on and if their work output is at an acceptable level.

by turbogeek

If the excuses given for telecommuting being prohibited are, "We won't know what you are doing." or "We can't evaluate your accomplishments performed at home." then the issue is stodgy, lazy management. Any kind of telecommuting program (in IT or any other field) should have a plan that addresses task assignments, progress reporting, work schedule, problem (The VPN is hosed. We just had a power failure in our neighborhood. The school just called and Jimmy has a temp of 103.) reporting, etc. In IT, work quality evaluations tend to perform themselves as everyones 'output' is used by someone else at some point who will doubtlessly complain if there is a problem.

Rejection of telecommuting as an option generally has more to do with the personal biases of the management involved than any specific business reason.

--TG

by secretgeekygirl

well again, that comes back to TRAINING your people. That is something that is lacking in most companies these days, not just office or I/T.

Your productivity is fairly easy to measure. Job assignments vs results.

I think that corporations are being extremely short-sighted in this area.

by cbcathy

I thoroughly enjoy working at home and am very productive. I find that there are less distractions at home. I have a 12 and 14 year old and they know enough not to barge in any time. My coworkers also work at home and we're now quite used to getting each other on the phone or IM when we need help or time to brainstorm. I think that IM helps cut down on distractions because before IM, you might call or stop by someone's office and spend more time than you had intended to, where now, it is easier to send a message or answer one when you have time to.
If we could get just 20-30% of the American workforce to work at home, we would reduce our dependency on oil significantly, as well as polution, traffic, less road wear/deterioration, save worker's money, and increase employee job satisfaction.
It is the major reason why I don't even bother looking for a better job elsewhere.
Working at home is truly a valuable benefit that companies could use to reward and motivate productive employees.

by tripster_web_design

I love working at home and have for a long time. I have my own computer repair business and when I want to, I do very well.

I am not a "Social Butterfly" so I don't need that "Human Interaction", in fact I find it tedious and sometimes silly the way companies try to get you in a "Team Spirit" - - I work best alone and always have. I don?t like holding hands going "OOOHHHMM buwah OOOHHHMMM" while dancing around the may pole with a bunch of coworkers - - it is humiliating and degrading for me. I am at work not Kindergarten.

And I have found, by being a supervisor of people both in my own businesses and working for others, that employees are going to find ways "screw around" as much at an office desk and in an office building, as they are at home, they will just have to find "more clever ways" to cover up "sluffing off" at the office.

It makes little sense to me and I have felt this way a long time, that if you are not going to do the job and are one of those that just does not really want to do the job, it does not matter if you work from home or sitting next to the supervisor.

As a matter of fact, that used to be one of my punishments just before I fired someone was to put them in a chair next to me and have them perform their duties. Most just could not cut it and it would not have no matter where they sat to work.

I hope you get my point. If you tender the drive time to work, the break time, restroom BS, Lunch Breaks, and the general stupidity that surrounds meetings and sluffing off, I figure an employee that will do it right at the office, will spend just as much time to do it right at home. The breakdown and calculation in overall "Pay Period Time" or "At Actual Work Time" will measure out the same whether at the office or at home and will be less costly to the company by not having to house, cool, heat, and insure employees against onsite injury and the like.

But then that is the rub is it not, weeding out the bad apples remotely rather than at the office .... that would be a little more demanding, but worth the cause I believe.

But with gas prices going to be our demise, I see no other way than to outsource to "Home Based Workers" even if it contractual .... that way your contract is ironclad and if you do not hold up your end of the contract, it is "Goodbye" by the signature in your own hand writing - - no law suits and no BS.

Home based employment sounds fantastic to me ..... so VOTE ME IN !!!!!!!

by telecommuting developer/analyst

I have been telecommuting full-time for five years, & part-time for a year before that. I live five time zones away from most of the co-workers on my accounts. I attend conference calls at least a couple of times a week. In one case, I was attending an ongoing conference call for over a year before the client found how far away I lived. Aside from starting work at 6 AM HST (11 AM EST or noon EDT), my location does not seem to matter. BTW, there is one co-worker local to ET who routinely starts at 11 AM ET.

Security is largely a resolved issue. I attach to the Internet by a firewall router attached to a cable modem. I have anti-viral, intrusion protection, & anti-spyware software installed on all my Windows PCs. Even though I have automatic updates enabled, I also manually update my virus profiles when I read of a new infection & update Windows whenever I receive the Microsoft Security Bulletin. I have my VPN configured to connect to my own company's & two client companies' VPNs. My router's firewall routinely stops nearly all external intrusion attempts, with the ironic exception of anything coming in through the VPN. In other words, when some computer within a VPN network is infected, then the port scans come right through the firewall. In that case, I have to rely on my intrusion protection software.

I advise any telecommuter to be fanatical about security.

My broadband connection speed has been comparable to inter-office connectivity; it is pretty much what I would have working in an office, even when running X-Windows. In fact, at times I have had far better connectivity than some of my office co-workers. For example, there was a fire in a Baltimore train tunnel several years back. It knocked out some fiber-optic lines & shut down portions of the Internet. It had little effect upon me, but had a major impact on the office where our development occurred.

My wife home-schools our kids, so they are constantly in the house, but know not to bother me in my home office. As to other distractions, I like to think that I am disciplined enough to stay on task & at my desk, whether working in a home or office setting.

I think that THE biggest drawbacks are the difficulty that I have in social networking & finding new positions. My company's co-workers who are local to my location do not know me because they work on a different account. All of the people that I work with are four or five time zones away. Most of the jobs that I qualify for on my company's internal job web site are not telecommuting positions. Telecommuting seems to occur most often when a valued employee wants to or needs to telecommute, rather than a company offering a telecommuting position in the first place.

One final comment: I have also helped to offshore applications. I think that companies that offshore but do not allow domestic telecommuting are hypocritical & shortsighted. There are more issues to be resolved with off-shoring than telecommuting. Offshore workers usually live in a different culture than an account or company whose work is directed domestically. Those offshore workers are also not subject to domestic laws & regulations, while the company is. My salary might be more than someone who is offshore, but I think that I tend to have a much better understanding of the business, cultural, & regulatory climate. Plus, offshore workers are often at night during your day, & vice versa. Why introduce that problem, unless you are doing 24x7 development or support?

by secretgeekygirl

I agree completely with your post.

I really fail to see why employers have been so slow to get on board. Even webcams could help, if they are totally paranoid.

I think one of the biggest reasons (other than stated security concerns, which CAN be overcome - offices are not foolproof either, and many workers feel like they can do anything online, since the office is "safer" - right!) is middle management. Where would they be, if there was no one to check on or micro-manage?

I work well independently. Give me my task and my deadline, and I'll call you if I have a problem. I am not shy about asking questions, even if they seem dumb. I've been-there-done-that on trying to work through them, and am well aware that it takes a lot more time to fix it later than up front!

How would one find a telecommuting analyst position? I would love that too. I was a billing analyst at my last position, and have always been a trouble-shooter. One of my former bosses occassionally shoots me some work to do here (she works for a different company now, and has offered me a job, but I'd have to move to another state!). I get paid by the job, but the work is spotty, of course. (When they run into something that her staff can't work out, she sends it my way! ha!)

by dr dij

both in inflation adjusted $ and in percent of income.

it lubricated valves with horrible toxic lead that made babies raised by roads dumber.

the quality is better now both in octane ratings and additives that clean valves/ injectors

high mol wt catalysts will soon lead to less fraction rejected as asphalt, more gas.

probably we'll gasify coal soon.

other things we'll probably do: cellulosic waste should soon be capable of turning cheaply into ethanol and bio-diesel. much better idea than using corn or sugar (non-cellulosic products) as it will cost less.

Europe will benefit from the biodiesel more as they have more diesel cars. This is a straight replacement type biodiesel, not the restaurant waste type that needs conversions kits.

in US we can use ethanol in gas upto a good percent. I disagree with subsidies to ethanol producers tho. It is energy intensive but new figures show about 67% gain from carb sources such as starch, sugar (corn, sugar cane), which isn't great, so we need the cellulosic conversion.
(source: sci-news cur issue)

by errk'd guy

When it works it works well, but there are both direct and
indirect costs. In my organization we have 11 tele-workers who
are based exclusively out of home offices. Two are local to the
city were are based, and the rest scattered about the state (at
least it is the same state).

Support Costs ...
The work unit these people contribute to has the largest amount
of clerical and secretarial staff of any other area. These people
still need arms and legs to coordinate portions of their process
and product with internal staff doing related work.

Not to mention trouble shooting computer or connectivity
problems over the phone. The expense of drop shipping
replacemdnt hardware and/or paying time and mileage for a
tech to drive across the state to correct an issue adds up to alot
of unproductive drive time. Contrary to popular belief every
issue cannot be handled using remote access software. Lets not
even get into software upgrades and installations. Remote users
by nature, need to be tech savey and more self sufficent than
most. Socially these people seemed starved for professional
interaction. When they are in the office for meeting everyone is
disrupted by igh than normal amounts of "hallway chit-chat",
not to mention the laundry list of issues, supplies, etc. they
often bring with them.

Security Issues ...
While they do connect to central office resources via a VPN, I am
never really convinced that their machines are secured properly
every night. I have caught several people who left themselves
logged in for portions of a weekend (no they weren't working).
Additonally, since these people are not backed up to my network
server, their home machines are backed up to portable drives.
Talk about easy to loose or be stollen. They are supposed to be
physically secured. (I wonder how many are left laying on desks
or bookshelves.) While they have all signed the various security
and responisibility policies in place, it isnt much help from a
liability standpoint if it misappropriated. Someone whose
information is stollen won't sue the teleworker (who may now
not have a job), they will sue the employer (where the money
is...).

Connectivity ...
Each home has a monthly pager, voice line, fax line and long
distance expense. One of the two double as a dataline (dialup ...
yuck) for those living where DSL or Broadband cable isnt
accessable. Add to that laser printer and fax machine
maintenance contracts and the added postage for those items
that cannot be transmitted electronically for legal signature
reasons and the cost escalate. Not to mention the cost of all
those last minute overnight packages.

Management ...
The people I have described above are investigators. I think
basic production numbers only tell half the story on how much
work is really getting done. Some cases are harder than others
and law enforcement in more rural areas are often easier or
harder to work with. Complicate that with setting a baseline for
productivity. All workers are not created equal. Should everyone
be compaired against your best (or worst) performer? I have
seen managers fail at remote management as often as succeed.
Much seems to relate to there management style. You do NOT
want a more detailed oriented (micro) manager overseeing your
remote staff. Also, lets not discount the value managers 'can'
bring to the table. I am working manager and spend a large
portion of my time on my own projects as well as overall
infrastructure planning and budgeting. I am hands off as long as
I am kept informed and assigned projects stay on course.

If I can find the time, I might actually do a cost comparison on a
few of our out stationed people to see what we are really saving.
Any mileage reimbursement and time in transit we save could
wash with the support costs both direct and indirect, including
the milage they are reimbursed for meetings at the office and
when out in the field.

Just a bit of rambling after a heavy lunch.

by terrybyrne1963

I think you hit it exactly, for better or worse. As a programmer with 15 years of experience with databases and with a number of platforms, operating systems, compiled and interpreted languages -- and oh yes, also with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, I am having a really hard time finding employers who understand that YES, supervisors can check my work every day and YES, I can be held accountable! The tech people understand your concept; but the HR people don't. That's my experience.

by truthiness

Why would anyone pay an American 30.00/hour plus benefits to work from home, when they could pay an Indian 10.00/hour?

by too old for it

They won't. But then they will piss n moan about how the consumer economy is failing.

Where did today's businessman learn his economics?

by kwells

So very true. Part of the corporate IT work for my company is done in Bangalore. I don't know how much we've contracted out, but they never attend the Lan Admin meetings. I wonder why.... they're probably all in bed during that time.

by secretgeekygirl

the answer is, as long as there are good tax write offs.

I agree - makes a LOT more sense to invest in portable technology than bigger buildings, to have more people drive in to work, only to have to eventually offer flex time to hold them all...

by secretgeekygirl

Well, I would have to agree that I did not snack as much at home as I did in the office!

I could concentrate better, had less interruptions, which tends to let one's mind wander off.

Plus, we all ate better, as I was home to start a decent dinner instead of stuck in a commute home.

I did,however, drink vast quantities of soda...

by secretgeekygirl

I get 2-3 times mor interruptions at work by folks walking around asking about my weekend, or asking if I saw the game last night

Yep - and many times, it is people from other departments, passing through, who want to shoot the breeze.

I don't miss smelling someone else's lunch cooking that smells like roasted armpits, the cube neighbor's loud radio (or worse - generally loud voice), the flirting by those with no skills other than great legs, the general politics.

I personally LOVE being rated only on my output. I also agree that I had better equipment at home than at work.

I could conference call if needed, and certainly had email and cell phones to fill the gap.

So easy, yet so overlooked....

great post woobie!

And I agree on the fridge post. Besides, no office birthday parties to have cake forced on you and/or interrupt your day (I mean, we had to attend EVERYone's thing, even if we were in the middle of something we really needed to concentrate on).

Now, my kids were older when I worked from home, but I would still tell them that I needed to be left alone unless they were on fire or bleeding! Ha!

All in all, I'd telecommute any day over an office situation. And I would love to do that again NOW - there are simply NO jobs in this area. We are currently caught in that rock/hard place scenario - can't find jobs here, but can't afford to move because of the low wages of what little work there is.

The last job I was offered (and declined!) was a local lodge who needed someone to track the membership and report to the main offices in another state. They also needed to do the bills, etc, and the newsletter. Nothing big, to be sure. Now, the trick is - NO COMPUTER! Nope - all manual. Ridiculous in this day and age.

I said I would consider the job (which paid just above minimum wage, by the way!), if I could take the work home with me and computerize it. I would also consider it if they went out and bought a computer. Good grief - go to Wal Mart and buy one of their prepackaged systems - it just isn't that hard! They'd not had anyone who could use a computer in there before, and were hesitant to get one!

I turned down the job, and started selling widgets online instead. There have been no openings, since no one working in my line of work has died. You know the types of places - so small, everyone has their jobs for years until they die or retire. Even then, they have probably already lined up a relative for the position! Ha!

I like living here most of the time, but there are NO job ops whatsoever.

by st.kpo02

All successful people are outstanding performers. It's the price of admission to the business success club. However, don't make the mistake of thinking that performance alone will get you where you want to go. Performance is just one of the five characteristics of people who achieve business success.
Jimmy
Make Money

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