jp1
2-29-12, 10:13pm
My company has instituted a goal of getting a fair amount of staff to telecommute. For my office the goal is getting rid of 25% of our office space by getting people who realistically can to work from home 2-3 days/week. My dept is slated to be pushed in this direction sometime within the next year. However, people who want to start now are being actively encouraged to discuss it with their bosses and begin sooner.
I'd never really thought about telecommuting since I live in the city, have a fairly easy and cheap commute, and enjoy work, my coworkers, etc. But after thinking about it I’m considering the possibility. I've been looking at how I work and the things I do that need interaction vs. those that don't, etc.
I've also tried to come up with lists of pluses and minuses of working from home 2 days/week.
Plusses:
-save over 1 hour per day commuting
-no interruptions at home. work that involves reviewing complex stuff, and work that is just electronic filing type work could be done more efficiently at home
-the 'vibe' (or energy or whatever you want to call it) at home is better then the office. My home den is a cozy space, I could put on music without bothering cube neighbors, etc
-wouldn't need to dress for work. we're already biz casual, but for me that just means not putting on a tie. I still wear slacks/suit pants every day, which cost money to dry clean. Working at home I'd probably just wear jeans and a t-shirt.
The first two are probably the biggest. People stopping by my cube are not a huge annoyance, but I counted 10 interruptions one day and 7 the other day on the two days that I was tracking how I work.
Minuses:
-I regularly interact with boss regarding my work. Both just to get his opinion about things and also because I don't have authorization to make certain decisions and need his official approval. This can be done over the phone/online, but in general I find that it's easier/faster to just go to his office and have a conversation.
-Even though we're 'paperless' I still print out my submissions and work on them in paper form. (I'm a commercial insurance underwriter. I review applications for insurance from businesses). I routinely make notes on my printouts, etc. I could still do this from home but I will have to carry my 'current' account files back and forth.
-I like going to the office. I work in a busy central business district and like going outside at lunch and experiencing the hubbub of people milling around doing stuff
-I like the social aspect of being in the office. For instance my dept's assistant is a great guy. We chat over our cube wall often and sometimes go to lunch together, etc.
-I live on the foggy side of town and the office is in the sunny part of town. Often during the summer I leave home in the fog, come out of the train station at work to sunshine all day, then get on the train home and pull out of the tunnel near home to yet more fog. I like sun, and the idea of having yet another couple days/week of no sun might be a problem.
Neutral:
-work would provide me with a Wyse dummy terminal, 2 monitors and a phone. The only purchase I’d need to make is a new desk. (we already have cable internet, so no cost there) Currently my home computer is in a non-computer armoire. Fine for surfing the ‘net. Not fine for actually working. I already have a good desk chair.
So I guess my bottom line is that I certainly could work from home. And I likely will be expected to in the relatively near future. My question: Should I actively pursue starting now? My biggest plus is that I could do certain parts of my job more efficiently. My biggest minus is the useful interaction with my boss, but if I’m still in the office 3 days/week that’s not really a huge issue.
I’m curious what other people’s experience has been working from home, and transitioning from working in the office to telecommuting.
I'd never really thought about telecommuting since I live in the city, have a fairly easy and cheap commute, and enjoy work, my coworkers, etc. But after thinking about it I’m considering the possibility. I've been looking at how I work and the things I do that need interaction vs. those that don't, etc.
I've also tried to come up with lists of pluses and minuses of working from home 2 days/week.
Plusses:
-save over 1 hour per day commuting
-no interruptions at home. work that involves reviewing complex stuff, and work that is just electronic filing type work could be done more efficiently at home
-the 'vibe' (or energy or whatever you want to call it) at home is better then the office. My home den is a cozy space, I could put on music without bothering cube neighbors, etc
-wouldn't need to dress for work. we're already biz casual, but for me that just means not putting on a tie. I still wear slacks/suit pants every day, which cost money to dry clean. Working at home I'd probably just wear jeans and a t-shirt.
The first two are probably the biggest. People stopping by my cube are not a huge annoyance, but I counted 10 interruptions one day and 7 the other day on the two days that I was tracking how I work.
Minuses:
-I regularly interact with boss regarding my work. Both just to get his opinion about things and also because I don't have authorization to make certain decisions and need his official approval. This can be done over the phone/online, but in general I find that it's easier/faster to just go to his office and have a conversation.
-Even though we're 'paperless' I still print out my submissions and work on them in paper form. (I'm a commercial insurance underwriter. I review applications for insurance from businesses). I routinely make notes on my printouts, etc. I could still do this from home but I will have to carry my 'current' account files back and forth.
-I like going to the office. I work in a busy central business district and like going outside at lunch and experiencing the hubbub of people milling around doing stuff
-I like the social aspect of being in the office. For instance my dept's assistant is a great guy. We chat over our cube wall often and sometimes go to lunch together, etc.
-I live on the foggy side of town and the office is in the sunny part of town. Often during the summer I leave home in the fog, come out of the train station at work to sunshine all day, then get on the train home and pull out of the tunnel near home to yet more fog. I like sun, and the idea of having yet another couple days/week of no sun might be a problem.
Neutral:
-work would provide me with a Wyse dummy terminal, 2 monitors and a phone. The only purchase I’d need to make is a new desk. (we already have cable internet, so no cost there) Currently my home computer is in a non-computer armoire. Fine for surfing the ‘net. Not fine for actually working. I already have a good desk chair.
So I guess my bottom line is that I certainly could work from home. And I likely will be expected to in the relatively near future. My question: Should I actively pursue starting now? My biggest plus is that I could do certain parts of my job more efficiently. My biggest minus is the useful interaction with my boss, but if I’m still in the office 3 days/week that’s not really a huge issue.
I’m curious what other people’s experience has been working from home, and transitioning from working in the office to telecommuting.