Posts Tagged telecommuting

I’ve had the option to telecommute since 2002. I’m a Writer, so there is not really a need for me to always be at the office. In the comfort of my home or a local coffee shop, I usually produce better work that being in a sterile, white office where you are constantly being interrupted by coworkers and meetings. It was wonderful to read Jason Fried’s article, “The Way I Work: Jason Fried of 37Signals,” in the latest INC Magazine issue.  He discusses his philosophy about work, and it’s one that I wholeheartedly agree with.  Every Manager, Supervisor, Company Executive should read this article.

It’s something that Tim Ferriss wrote about in the “The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.” The typical office environment: People usually spend four hours or less doing actual work, and then the rest of the time is pretending to actually do it.  There are meetings about meetings about meetings, and that time could have been spent actually being productive.

I wrote a blog post, “Telecommuting Should Be An Option for Everyone,” which I talk about my philosophy about telecommuting.  It seems companies are still hesitant on allowing their employees to telecommute.  I do understand that there are some jobs where you can’t actually do it (e.g. working with classified information).  However, there can be some flexibility.  If the work is completed early or within deadline, then there shouldn’t be a need for someone to clock my time.

If the person is a fast and accurate worker, then I don’t see why companies insist that the person HAVE to be in the office eight hours a day.  There are some people (like myself) who can do a project in two hours, in which it takes another person eight.  When I interview, I usually ask the interviewer up front the following questions:

1. How is the work/life balance at the company?
2. Do you allow telecommuting?

I had two people say that “the company frowns upon telecommuting.” When I told my friend this, he said exactly what I was thinking:

“Are they stuck in the 90s?”

One thing that I learned after my horrific ordeal early in my career with a Micromanager is that I would never put myself in a position where I am not happy and satisfied at my job.  I don’t need someone looking over my shoulder checking my work, and I don’t need to be at the office at all times.  What does this show? That I am working? It really doesn’t.

I have seen some progress on the matter.  More companies are offering telecommuting and flexible schedules, so we are moving in the right direction.  We are now moving into cloud computing, web and video conferencing, and white label social networking sites, so the need to be at the office is diminishing.

For companies who are still trying to maintain some control over their employees, you will eventually lose out in the long run because you will have a higher employee turnover rate than a company that is working with their employees.

Photo Detail: telecommuting, originally uploaded by mccun934.