5 ms·

Employers that understand the concept of flex hours seem to get it. But it's a big leap for a lot of companies. It requires placing faith in employees and hopi

Employers that understand the concept of flex hours seem to get it. But it's a big leap for a lot of companies. It requires placing faith in employees and hoping for the best from them (i.e., that they'll tailor their schedules to their peak performance hours), rather than mistrusting them and fearing the worst (i.e., that they'll just slack off). Incidentally, companies entrenched in that latter mindset -- those that fear the worst from their employees -- usually end up getting the worst from their employees. So it becomes a vicious cycle: company treats employees like dirt; employees feel demotivated; company sees demotivated employees and decides its lack of faith in them is justified; rinse and repeat.

mashmac2 15y ago
It is a big leap for a company... Does anyone know where I could find resources (case studies, testimonials, etc) to promote remote work? 'Hard' data would certainly help convince the boss. Stories like this are great, but they'll need more concrete evidence to back it up.
- allwein 15y ago
  It's not directly on remote work, but I just finished reading "Why Work Sucks and How To Fix It", written by two of the people that helped institute Best Buy's Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). It's a great summary of ROWE, a lot of the troubles they had with corporate culture and perception, as well as ways to make an argument for ROWE in your own workplace. Amazon Affiliate Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591842921/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=keysofgeni-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1591842921 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591842921/ref=as_li_ss_tl?...
- robertpateii 15y ago
  lately there's been a big push in the US government for an increase in teleworking. if you need specific examples, a 2010 telework report is available on this page: http://www.telework.gov/ http://www.telework.gov/. There may be other public studies too with some hard data in them. There's also a white paper linked on this page http://www.lifesize.com/Industry_Solutions/Government_Solutions/Telework_Solutions.aspx http://www.lifesize.com/Industry_Solutions/Government_Soluti... (but you have to register for it.) full disclosure: i work at www.lifesize.com and we do eat our own dog food. One of my team members has been working remotely in another state for several months and many of our team often work from home.
rick888 15y ago
The problem is that most people will slack off. To work remotely, you almost have to have the same discipline that you do when you work for yourself. Most people don't have this type of discipline.
- bmj 15y ago
  This is true. So it requires managers who, well, manage their teams and allow flex-time/remote privileges appropriately. That's how my employer works--do you get your work done while working remotely or at different hours? Great. Keep it up. Does it seem you're slacking off? In that case, you are going to be asked to adjust your schedule for awhile to get back on track.
- matwood 15y ago
  This isn't much different than many people who go to an office each day. The problem is the management/job that puts attendance over performance. If employers would put performance over all else, it wouldn't matter where someone worked as long as the work was done.
- marknutter 15y ago
  Not a problem if your employees actually enjoy what they do.
  - rick888 15y ago
    You won't always enjoy what you are doing, even if you are really passionate about your work.
- jonnathanson 15y ago
  True, but that's why flex time and/or remote work should be a two-way street. Almost an unwritten, social contract of sorts. In exchange for the flexibility and freedom to work in a self-directed fashion, the employee must demonstrate that he or she performs under self-direction. Flex hours/location isn't for everyone. Personally speaking, I believe companies should offer it to everyone and not necessarily restrict it...BUT...let the buyer beware, so to speak. If an employee wants to take up a customized schedule, he or she had better be prepared to do good work under it.
jdunlop 15y ago
How do you deal with tightly coupled projects, where there needs to be a lot of back and forth communications between team members? If everyone is working all random hours, wouldn't that create unnecessary overhead and a lot of delayed decision making?
famousactress 15y ago
It requires placing faith in employees and hoping for the best from them This seems completely ridiculous to me, as do some of the replies. The idea that you don't know whether or not you're getting the employee's 'best' or if the employee is 'slacking off' is frankly your problem at best. More accurately, it's irrelevant. I think this is one of the ideas that remote work can help improve. I'd like to be paid for the value of my work, not for your impression of the amount of my potential that I appear to be exercising in your favor... and that's what it is, right? If the employee is in the office you determine whether he/she is 'slacking off' by whether you see them browsing facebook (or HN?)... That's a flawed way to evaluate someone's worth as your employee. I find it interesting and compelling that remote employment forces us to change that dynamic.
- jonnathanson 15y ago
  I don't think you and I are in any general disagreement here. Perhaps I should clarify: when I say that adopting flex time requires a leap of faith for certain companies, I'm simply making an observation. I don't condone that mindset. In fact, I think it's every bit as ridiculous and antiquated as you do. But a lot of employers are old-school that way: they don't trust their employees, and opening up to a concept like flex time is inherently going to require a bit of a leap of faith for them. My entire point was that such companies -- as it so happens, a lot of companies -- still view their employees from an inherent place of mistrust or wariness. Yes, it's their problem. And yes, it will prevent them from getting the best and brightest. No argument there. I was simply pointing out that such a mindset exists and that it is still fairly prevalent. I was not in any way justifying it or lending credence to it. In a perfect world, I agree: it should not have to be a leap of faith. But in the world as it exists, it's still a big jump for many, many employers.
  - famousactress 15y ago
    Gotcha, totally. Sorry for misinterpreting your observation as agreement :) You're right, it's rampant and in some markets it's hard to find an opportunity to work for a company while avoiding this kind of attitude. Shame. I've thought a lot about turning to contracting to 'solve' this problem. I'd rather have a dispassionate agreement based on what I think an hour of my time is worth than a personal one about how much of my available time I'm giving to an employer incapable or uninterested in evaluating my work product. Fortunately, at present I'm on a ridiculously amazing team at an awesome startup and this isn't a problem I'm currently faced with.. but I've seen quite a bit of it in the past, and I expect to come across more in the future.

mashmac2 15y ago

It is a big leap for a company... Does anyone know where I could find resources (case studies, testimonials, etc) to promote remote work? 'Hard' data would certainly help convince the boss. Stories like this are great, but they'll need more concrete evidence to back it up.

allwein 15y ago
It's not directly on remote work, but I just finished reading "Why Work Sucks and How To Fix It", written by two of the people that helped institute Best Buy's Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). It's a great summary of ROWE, a lot of the troubles they had with corporate culture and perception, as well as ways to make an argument for ROWE in your own workplace. Amazon Affiliate Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591842921/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=keysofgeni-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1591842921 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591842921/ref=as_li_ss_tl?...
robertpateii 15y ago
lately there's been a big push in the US government for an increase in teleworking. if you need specific examples, a 2010 telework report is available on this page: http://www.telework.gov/ http://www.telework.gov/. There may be other public studies too with some hard data in them. There's also a white paper linked on this page http://www.lifesize.com/Industry_Solutions/Government_Solutions/Telework_Solutions.aspx http://www.lifesize.com/Industry_Solutions/Government_Soluti... (but you have to register for it.) full disclosure: i work at www.lifesize.com and we do eat our own dog food. One of my team members has been working remotely in another state for several months and many of our team often work from home.

rick888 15y ago

The problem is that most people will slack off. To work remotely, you almost have to have the same discipline that you do when you work for yourself. Most people don't have this type of discipline.

bmj 15y ago
This is true. So it requires managers who, well, manage their teams and allow flex-time/remote privileges appropriately. That's how my employer works--do you get your work done while working remotely or at different hours? Great. Keep it up. Does it seem you're slacking off? In that case, you are going to be asked to adjust your schedule for awhile to get back on track.
matwood 15y ago
This isn't much different than many people who go to an office each day. The problem is the management/job that puts attendance over performance. If employers would put performance over all else, it wouldn't matter where someone worked as long as the work was done.
marknutter 15y ago
Not a problem if your employees actually enjoy what they do.
- rick888 15y ago
  You won't always enjoy what you are doing, even if you are really passionate about your work.
jonnathanson 15y ago
True, but that's why flex time and/or remote work should be a two-way street. Almost an unwritten, social contract of sorts. In exchange for the flexibility and freedom to work in a self-directed fashion, the employee must demonstrate that he or she performs under self-direction. Flex hours/location isn't for everyone. Personally speaking, I believe companies should offer it to everyone and not necessarily restrict it...BUT...let the buyer beware, so to speak. If an employee wants to take up a customized schedule, he or she had better be prepared to do good work under it.

jdunlop 15y ago

How do you deal with tightly coupled projects, where there needs to be a lot of back and forth communications between team members? If everyone is working all random hours, wouldn't that create unnecessary overhead and a lot of delayed decision making?

famousactress 15y ago

It requires placing faith in employees and hoping for the best from them This seems completely ridiculous to me, as do some of the replies. The idea that you don't know whether or not you're getting the employee's 'best' or if the employee is 'slacking off' is frankly your problem at best. More accurately, it's irrelevant. I think this is one of the ideas that remote work can help improve. I'd like to be paid for the value of my work, not for your impression of the amount of my potential that I appear to be exercising in your favor... and that's what it is, right? If the employee is in the office you determine whether he/she is 'slacking off' by whether you see them browsing facebook (or HN?)... That's a flawed way to evaluate someone's worth as your employee. I find it interesting and compelling that remote employment forces us to change that dynamic.

jonnathanson 15y ago
I don't think you and I are in any general disagreement here. Perhaps I should clarify: when I say that adopting flex time requires a leap of faith for certain companies, I'm simply making an observation. I don't condone that mindset. In fact, I think it's every bit as ridiculous and antiquated as you do. But a lot of employers are old-school that way: they don't trust their employees, and opening up to a concept like flex time is inherently going to require a bit of a leap of faith for them. My entire point was that such companies -- as it so happens, a lot of companies -- still view their employees from an inherent place of mistrust or wariness. Yes, it's their problem. And yes, it will prevent them from getting the best and brightest. No argument there. I was simply pointing out that such a mindset exists and that it is still fairly prevalent. I was not in any way justifying it or lending credence to it. In a perfect world, I agree: it should not have to be a leap of faith. But in the world as it exists, it's still a big jump for many, many employers.
- famousactress 15y ago
  Gotcha, totally. Sorry for misinterpreting your observation as agreement :) You're right, it's rampant and in some markets it's hard to find an opportunity to work for a company while avoiding this kind of attitude. Shame. I've thought a lot about turning to contracting to 'solve' this problem. I'd rather have a dispassionate agreement based on what I think an hour of my time is worth than a personal one about how much of my available time I'm giving to an employer incapable or uninterested in evaluating my work product. Fortunately, at present I'm on a ridiculously amazing team at an awesome startup and this isn't a problem I'm currently faced with.. but I've seen quite a bit of it in the past, and I expect to come across more in the future.