July 28, 2011 at 9:38 am
cengland0 (7/28/2011)
...I'm salary and I do work from home. When I went into the office, I would work my normal 10 hour day and then go home. Now that I work from home, I put in more hours because I don't have the travel to and from the office. That gives the company additional free work. I think I also work harder at home to prove that I'm actually doing something instead of just sitting around twiddling my thumbs.
The company saves a lot of money when the employee works from home. Office space is very expensive and our department showed a cost savings as people left the office permanently and surrendered their desk. If you still go into the office periodically and have a specific desk, you're not saving that money. They have been able to reallocate the space for other departments and they pay the costs.
...
I find myself doing the same thing - working more and harder. I also agree that the company tends to save quite a bit of money by permitting telecommuting.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
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July 28, 2011 at 9:40 am
Schadenfreude-Mei (7/28/2011)
gdonufrio (7/28/2011)
can you send me a list of articles the explain that telecommuting is a fair option?pleeease !
gabriele
Yes, I'd second that cause as it stands we havent got a chance! 'Bums on seats', I believe was the term. Even though we have prooved via prod releases that work froom home tends to go smoother!
I have encountered that many times - we have to have a butt in the seat (whether it is warm blooded or not).
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
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July 28, 2011 at 9:42 am
gdonufrio (7/28/2011)
can you send me a list of articles the explain that telecommuting is a fair option?pleeease !
gabriele
Here's one
http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~eecsba1/sp97/reports/eecsba1d/report/telecommute.html
And another
And another (this one is ammunition to help convince the boss)
http://www.quintcareers.com/telecommuting_options.html
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
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July 28, 2011 at 9:44 am
Jack Corbett (7/28/2011)
lewisc (7/28/2011)
I was part of a group that was allowed the privilege of working from home two days a week for the last few years, big savings on gas for me plus 2+ hours commute time per day. A few months ago a few employees were discovered abusing the privilege; now no one telecommutes and we are unlikely to get the privilege back. It's all about trust and integrity.CRL
That totally sucks when an irresponsible few ruin a good thing for everyone. This type of thing is why it is important to document what you are accomplishing at home and getting that to your boss on a regular basis.
Telecommuting is definitely something that should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and not just as a blanket policy.
I agree. Only penalize those that abuse the privilege.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events
July 28, 2011 at 9:45 am
Ninja's_RGR'us (7/28/2011)
Michael Valentine Jones (7/28/2011)
I have had people on my team that are full time work from home for the last 10 years, and I am happy with the situation.We are considering and probably will go to having the entire team work from home full time.
I'm in!
Where do I sign. 😉
Yeah - I'm in too 😉
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
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July 28, 2011 at 9:51 am
SQLRNNR (7/28/2011)
Ninja's_RGR'us (7/28/2011)
Michael Valentine Jones (7/28/2011)
I have had people on my team that are full time work from home for the last 10 years, and I am happy with the situation.We are considering and probably will go to having the entire team work from home full time.
I'm in!
Where do I sign. 😉
Yeah - I'm in too 😉
Too slow, that's an automatic out!
July 28, 2011 at 9:52 am
So many questions on how to handle the commute! Since I chose to move to a different state, and my company chose to retain my services, my answers may differ from your reality. Bottom line for me: Be Fair in your requests. Telecommuting can benefit both the employee and the company, and works best when both of those are in balance. It costs the company to provide VPN servers, routers, have firewalls properly configured. It saves them money to free up desk space and reduce use of supplies. There has to be a break-even for them (my employer did the research and proved the cost savings, by the way).
How do you answer your phone? Hello, or the name of the company you work for? Do you have a separate phone line for your work? Who pays for the phone?
-- I pay for the phone, and can forward my work extension to any phone number I choose. Mostly I use the land line, but also use my cell phone. I answer it the same way I did in the office: "Hi, this is Steph". I can tell forwarded work calls, because my company's name shows on the caller id. Note: I answer personal calls with the same phrase...
You obviously need internet access to work from home. Who pays for that?
-- I do, since it benefits me, and I use it for non-work-related things (like personal email). I'd have it regardless of who I work for, so asking the company to pay for it would fall in the "not a reasonable request" category.
Do you create reports with proprietary information? How do you deliver that safely?
-- Not on the home computer (we have a policy on that, too). The whole point of the VPN is that I can log into my work computer; all deliverables like reports or proposals are stored on the internal company network.
If you need office supplies (i.e., paper, toner) can you expense that?
-- Again, falls in the "not a reasonable request" category. Besides, how often do I need to print something? I email documents or links to documents to my associates. I only print something if I feel a great need to pull out a red pen and do editing mark-ups, and that is very rare these days.
How do you use your interoffice mail system when working from home?
-- see comments about paper, above!:-P
Do you need to fax documents? Do you have a fax machine at home?
-- No fax. I have a printer/scanner for the few times I need to scan and email a signature. I did follow up by mailing the actual signature page of the document; cost me the price of a stamp; that's pocket change.
If you need a computer repair, will the tech visit your home?
-- the home computer is mine, so I take care of any repair issues. For the work computer in the office, yes a tech visits it if needed (veeeery rare that it needs anything)
How do you do mark-ups?
-- I use MS-Word. Take a screen shot, for instance, insert it into Word, and use the drawing tools. Alternatively, print a document / screen shot / whatever, mark it up (red pen! :w00t:), scan and email it. The office copiers are also scanners, so my co-workers can do the same thing. For meetings, there are any number of meeting softwares out there that have drawing tools; you can usually transfer control of the meeting to any attendee, and often can transfer control of keyboard and mouse (say, for remote XP coding exercises). My company has web conferencing as part of the VoIP telephone package.
Steph Brown
July 28, 2011 at 9:52 am
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.
July 28, 2011 at 10:01 am
mtillman-921105 (7/28/2011)
cengland0 (7/28/2011)
What would you say if I told you when someone calls me and wants me to do something, I tell them I'll do it but that they need to submit their request to me through email. I don't do things due to a verbal conversation. I've been burned before and now use the email for CYA material.Yes, I can see that, but how are complex ideas communicated? Sometimes a marked-up picture is best. But the tools I see, that are easy to use, aren't that great. Most of my work is given to me with marked up reports to show the end-result of what they want. But I wouldn't want my boss to have to fire up and use a full-fledge graphics program like PowerPoint just to add some text and arrows for example.
EDIT:spelling and gammer
How about using a scanner and sending an image/pdf of the hand marked report?
Jack Corbett
Consultant - Straight Path Solutions
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July 28, 2011 at 10:08 am
Jack Corbett (7/28/2011)
mtillman-921105 (7/28/2011)
cengland0 (7/28/2011)
What would you say if I told you when someone calls me and wants me to do something, I tell them I'll do it but that they need to submit their request to me through email. I don't do things due to a verbal conversation. I've been burned before and now use the email for CYA material.Yes, I can see that, but how are complex ideas communicated? Sometimes a marked-up picture is best. But the tools I see, that are easy to use, aren't that great. Most of my work is given to me with marked up reports to show the end-result of what they want. But I wouldn't want my boss to have to fire up and use a full-fledge graphics program like PowerPoint just to add some text and arrows for example.
EDIT:spelling and gammer
How about using a scanner and sending an image/pdf of the hand marked report?
How about teamviewer?
July 28, 2011 at 10:24 am
mtillman-921105 (7/28/2011)
Thank you Kenneth, those are good suggestions. Now that you've mentioned it, we would probably use Excel and screen shots a lot.
No problem. Being that my team is spread across the US and supports customers across North America, we have had to learn the best way to communicate with the tools we have. There are of course better collaboration tools out there but nearly everyone we interact with has MS Office and our company settled on Window Live Communicator as our internal IM tool.
July 28, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Jack Corbett (7/28/2011)
Telecommuting isn't for everyone. While I'd love to have the option, I don't know that I'd be the best at doing it. As call.copse said, I tend to work at work and do at home things while at home. I am currently doing some remote DBA work on the side and I do miss the interaction with co-workers at that position, of course part of that is because I'm working off-hours so it isn't as easy to interact with them via email, IM, phone, since they are done for the day when I'm doing my thing.
Absolutely true. I'm not advocating it for everyone, and even if you want to, you need to pilot it for a few months and truly decide if it works for you.
July 28, 2011 at 12:12 pm
mohammed moinudheen (7/28/2011)
It is a bit tough to convince your boss if there are more than 100,000 employees in your organization. Usually the boss ends up saying that there is not much he can do as he alone can't alter policies of the company. If the general rule of the company is a strict 'NO' to work from home, then there is not much one can do.
I'd disagree. It can be harder to implement, and it might take time, but this is where you set up a pilot. Make a case, start with one group, get permission to do it. It might take months to convince someone to try it, but you can do it in any company.
July 28, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Stephanie J Brown (7/28/2011)
You have to prove yourself at work FIRST, of course, and the privilege can be revoked at any time.
A sensible way to implement this.
July 28, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (7/28/2011)
Stephanie J Brown (7/28/2011)
You have to prove yourself at work FIRST, of course, and the privilege can be revoked at any time.A sensible way to implement this.
Yes, and technically I'm telecommuting remotely on a trial basis. If it doesn't work out, for whatever reason, for either myself or my company, then we'll amicably part ways. And take what we've learned forward into our new endeavors.
My advice is be flexible, fair and honest. Re-evaluate whether it's working as often as necessary. Be willing to change what you're doing if it makes the process better for everyone. Hmmm, kind of like regular work... :hehe:
Steph Brown
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