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I would LOVE to work from home, I could do so much more with my day If I was working from home (more productive stuff) and leave my work knowing I was actually

I would LOVE to work from home, I could do so much more with my day If I was working from home (more productive stuff) and leave my work knowing I was actually able to get something finished for a change even lunch with my dog is a better prospect that lunch with some of the people I work with at the moment. Not to mention that my home office is better equipped, quieter and I cant tell you how much better I would feel without someone watching over my shoulder all the time or my boss practising his micro management techniques on me. I would even take a slight cut in pay for the privilege of working at home.

wallflower 18y ago
I agree. I've asked several times over the years to be allowed to work from home one day a week. Always denied. People who list complaints about working from home don't know how good they have it - they have freedom to work the way they want. Working from home takes discipline and should be seen as a privilege, not as an entitlement. A big drawback I can see of working from home is that, regardless of where you are, you have to call in for a daily 9:30 (Eastern) scrum call. On the West coast, that means 6:30 call-in.
- BigZaphod 18y ago
  "People who list complaints about working from home don't know how good they have it" I work from home, but I put in my years in soulless cube farms - as did everyone I know (besides farmers) that work from home now and I know how nice it can be by comparison. That said, working from home is not a holy grail. It has it's downsides - like everything else. It's unfair to say that those of us who work from home somehow don't have valid complaints about it.
  - wallflower 18y ago
    Fair enough. Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees. Did you buy a nice (Polycom) speaker phone or headset for call-in meetings?
    - BigZaphod 18y ago
      Not yet - but I'm thinking about it. :) We don't do many voice calls, though, so I haven't felt a strong enough need. Mostly we use IM/Email since that is less disruptive while working and more conducive to our mobile lifestyles. (Not all of us work from home, there's a small core group of friends who started the company that work together in an office in person, but they do so by choice and it sounds pretty fun. Sorta wish I could drop in now and then without having to board a plane to do it.)
- iuguy 18y ago
  We try to have work from home friday each week in the winter and move it to work from home thursday for the rest of the year (for after work drinks on friday). More than 3 days a week at home and you start to lose the benefits.
  - BigZaphod 18y ago
    "More than 3 days a week at home and you start to lose the benefits." As someone who has been exclusively working remotely for several years, I'm not so sure about that. I guess it depends what you consider the benefits to be and from which side of the employee/employer fence you're on. Are the benefits that you have a more relaxed and free adult life - in both work and play? Or are you looking for a hack to try to forcibly increase worker productivity beyond that which is attainable with a full time in-office approach? When working just a couple days a week or month remotely, it can feel like a nice break from the distraction-filled office life and so it's natural to treat it as such - maybe you work harder/longer to get the most out of it so as to not squander the special time and privilege. When you're home all day every day, you have to pace yourself or else you'll burn out in a matter of weeks - same as if you worked sun up to sun down in the office everyday. That self-pacing could feel/look like suddenly it becomes less useful to work remote all the time, but I think the reality is that people can only work so hard for so long no matter where they physically locate themselves. (And each person has a different threshold.) If the "work from home 3 days a week" thing is really nothing more than a piece of "aren't we an awesome place to work" cheese dangling in front of the employees noses, I think eventually that backfires and people burn out more completely (and cynically) - so they begin to slack off on those days at home and think of them as a good time to take a "much deserved" break by "sneaking" out to have fun during the day. Inevitably the company responds by requiring phone checkins during regular office hours, demanding you be online/IM/email/webcam at certain hours, snidely pointing out how long it takes you to reply to a message, etc. At which point, you might as well go into the office everyday because, frankly, you are getting none of the true benefits of working from home anyway.
    - kragen 18y ago
      Not having to commute is a big benefit, but of course it's possible for a company to make it so much of a hassle that it's not worth it.
BigZaphod 18y ago
If you're married, working from home suddenly means you apparently have time to do the dishes, laundry, take care of the kid(s), let the dog out, run "quick" errands, etc. One of the tougher things about working from home is dealing with all the other people who don't. :)
- stern 18y ago
  At first I had that problem, people stopping by in the middle of the day because they thought 'working from home'/'self employed' was a pseudonym for early retirement. I have since created solid work hours (9:30-6:30ish) that I treat just like working for an employer. My family knows that within those hours I am as available/unavailable as I was when I worked for a corporation. I find that this puts me back on the same page as the rest of the world so during the evenings I am no longer running off to check up on something and whoever I am with has my full attention.
- bocalogic 18y ago
  you need a work space and the understanding that no one can disturb you when the door is closed or your headphones are on.
- cubicle67 18y ago
  I'm married (plus four young kids), and I work from home and I love it. My current contract allows me to work only four days a week (30 hours), and the remainder of the week goes to the family. No travel time, no meetings, plus I'm here if needed and the hours are flexible.

wallflower 18y ago

I agree. I've asked several times over the years to be allowed to work from home one day a week. Always denied. People who list complaints about working from home don't know how good they have it - they have freedom to work the way they want. Working from home takes discipline and should be seen as a privilege, not as an entitlement. A big drawback I can see of working from home is that, regardless of where you are, you have to call in for a daily 9:30 (Eastern) scrum call. On the West coast, that means 6:30 call-in.

BigZaphod 18y ago
"People who list complaints about working from home don't know how good they have it" I work from home, but I put in my years in soulless cube farms - as did everyone I know (besides farmers) that work from home now and I know how nice it can be by comparison. That said, working from home is not a holy grail. It has it's downsides - like everything else. It's unfair to say that those of us who work from home somehow don't have valid complaints about it.
- wallflower 18y ago
  Fair enough. Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees. Did you buy a nice (Polycom) speaker phone or headset for call-in meetings?
  - BigZaphod 18y ago
    Not yet - but I'm thinking about it. :) We don't do many voice calls, though, so I haven't felt a strong enough need. Mostly we use IM/Email since that is less disruptive while working and more conducive to our mobile lifestyles. (Not all of us work from home, there's a small core group of friends who started the company that work together in an office in person, but they do so by choice and it sounds pretty fun. Sorta wish I could drop in now and then without having to board a plane to do it.)
iuguy 18y ago
We try to have work from home friday each week in the winter and move it to work from home thursday for the rest of the year (for after work drinks on friday). More than 3 days a week at home and you start to lose the benefits.
- BigZaphod 18y ago
  "More than 3 days a week at home and you start to lose the benefits." As someone who has been exclusively working remotely for several years, I'm not so sure about that. I guess it depends what you consider the benefits to be and from which side of the employee/employer fence you're on. Are the benefits that you have a more relaxed and free adult life - in both work and play? Or are you looking for a hack to try to forcibly increase worker productivity beyond that which is attainable with a full time in-office approach? When working just a couple days a week or month remotely, it can feel like a nice break from the distraction-filled office life and so it's natural to treat it as such - maybe you work harder/longer to get the most out of it so as to not squander the special time and privilege. When you're home all day every day, you have to pace yourself or else you'll burn out in a matter of weeks - same as if you worked sun up to sun down in the office everyday. That self-pacing could feel/look like suddenly it becomes less useful to work remote all the time, but I think the reality is that people can only work so hard for so long no matter where they physically locate themselves. (And each person has a different threshold.) If the "work from home 3 days a week" thing is really nothing more than a piece of "aren't we an awesome place to work" cheese dangling in front of the employees noses, I think eventually that backfires and people burn out more completely (and cynically) - so they begin to slack off on those days at home and think of them as a good time to take a "much deserved" break by "sneaking" out to have fun during the day. Inevitably the company responds by requiring phone checkins during regular office hours, demanding you be online/IM/email/webcam at certain hours, snidely pointing out how long it takes you to reply to a message, etc. At which point, you might as well go into the office everyday because, frankly, you are getting none of the true benefits of working from home anyway.
  - kragen 18y ago
    Not having to commute is a big benefit, but of course it's possible for a company to make it so much of a hassle that it's not worth it.

BigZaphod 18y ago

If you're married, working from home suddenly means you apparently have time to do the dishes, laundry, take care of the kid(s), let the dog out, run "quick" errands, etc. One of the tougher things about working from home is dealing with all the other people who don't. :)

stern 18y ago
At first I had that problem, people stopping by in the middle of the day because they thought 'working from home'/'self employed' was a pseudonym for early retirement. I have since created solid work hours (9:30-6:30ish) that I treat just like working for an employer. My family knows that within those hours I am as available/unavailable as I was when I worked for a corporation. I find that this puts me back on the same page as the rest of the world so during the evenings I am no longer running off to check up on something and whoever I am with has my full attention.
bocalogic 18y ago
you need a work space and the understanding that no one can disturb you when the door is closed or your headphones are on.
cubicle67 18y ago
I'm married (plus four young kids), and I work from home and I love it. My current contract allows me to work only four days a week (30 hours), and the remainder of the week goes to the family. No travel time, no meetings, plus I'm here if needed and the hours are flexible.