Telecommuting: Not Just for Disaster Response
April 30th, 2007 (9:00am) Mike Gunderloy 28 Comments
You may have seen the big news over the weekend: a key piece of the San Francisco Bay area’s highway infrastructure was destroyed by a spectacular gasoline tanker truck fire. Sure enough, the news coverage included the key point that savvy web workers have grown to expect: “Transportation officials…were urging people to telecommute if possible.” This advice gets trotted out after every natural and man-made disaster; when society gets disrupted, it’s telecommuters to the rescue!
But I’m starting to wonder how long we’re going to have to watch telecommuting (and by extension, other forms of web work) be marginalized this way. Implicit in the “telecommute in case of disaster” message is the other message that no sensible person would do this in normal times. Given the choice, of course everyone would prefer to get up an hour earlier in the morning and join all the other commuters in their giant vehicles, jockeying for position in the multiple lanes of a still-intact I-80 to I-580 connector in order to have the pleasure of being tied to a desk, wearing a suit and tie, for eight hours.
What’s it going to take to make telecommuters first-class citizens of the working world, rather than the crazy uncles that most companies don’t really want to talk about? Advances on many fronts, I think:
Business. It would help to have companies and executives who are more concerned with results than with empire-building, to accommodate those who work best in the burst economy. This would help prevent web work from becoming a career killer.
Government. Some basic tax fairness for telecommuters, or even tax incentives, would go a long way towards making the telecommuting option more mainstream. Like it or not, in our society money talks. ($6 per gallon gasoline would have the same effect, but that falls under the heading of “telecommuting as disaster response” again).
Technology. The current tools for maintaining a connection between teleworkers and those back in the home office are crude or experimental. As we move towards the 3D Internet, it will become easier for telecommuters to interact with their peers, and so remain a part of the team even though they happen to be physically in another place.
Personal. Finally, I think we do ourselves a disservice when we respond to “what do you do for a living?” questions with “I telecommute.” In an ideal world (at least in my ideal world) that piece of information would be irrelevant. Instead, try “I’m an architect who telecommutes” if you feel your audience must know that you work at home. After all, you didn’t go to college to become a telecommuter. The more we act like it’s no big deal, the more other people will start treating it like a normal life option.
What do you think? Can or should we do more to make telecommuting and other web work a core part of the work landscape? Or do you like being one of the crazy fringe people?
28 Comments Post your own comment
Brad Garland says: April 30th, 2007 9:53am
Telecommuting will be rationalized as a ‘legit work environment’ once there is a more seamless transition between in-office dynamics and offsite dynamics.
Another ‘less legit’ theory: Once more people, not just anomaly’s, can effectively make good money working at home in a ever increasing connected world.
Bob On Development » Insecure Managers a Major Impediment to IT Success says: April 30th, 2007 10:00am
[...] Worker Daily has a pretty good essay on how telecommute workers are marginalized. What prompted the essay was the story of a spectacular [...]
Mike Gromley says: April 30th, 2007 11:22am
“What’s it going to take to make telecommuters first-class citizens of the working world?”
One word: Trust!
Most employers don’t trust their employees to get work done while they are in the office being supervised. So, trusting them to do an honest days work from home, or somewhere off site, is out of the question.
Nerd Guru says: April 30th, 2007 12:03pm
It seems a tad bit defensive to interpret, “Transportation officials…were urging people to telecommute if possible” as “Telecommuters are second-class citizens.”
There are some people who work exclusively from home (like myself the past 10 years) and others that work exclusively at an office and still others (in the tech-centric Bay Area especially) who do a little bit of both depending upon the situation. I think this was merely a governing body trying to point out to that third group that working at home was probably the way to go under the circumstances.
Maybe I’m luckier than I think I am in the way my company treats me, but I’ve never felt lowly because I’m typing here unshaven in a t-shirt and basketball shorts.
The Way We Work: Telecommuting, UMPCs, and Centralized Computing - PC Blade Daily - Practical News and Views on Centralized Computing says: April 30th, 2007 1:01pm
[...] be true for a lot of people, but for a good number it isn’t anymore. Telecommuting is an increasingly popular option in the modern workforce, and will likely grow more popular in response to rising gas prices, [...]
Paul Dracos says: April 30th, 2007 2:50pm
I’m so glad someone said this besides me!
“It would help to have companies and executives who are more concerned with results than with empire-building…”
Managers need to get over “building an army” and focus on “building results”, but what do I know???
Shaine Mata says: April 30th, 2007 3:21pm
When employers start advertising to hire work at home employees, telecommuting will be mainstream. For now, employers prefer to have people present and only offer telecommuting if they must. It would be nice if things were the other way around.
Brian says: April 30th, 2007 7:14pm
I have telecommuted for the past 18 months, 5 days a week. I am on the east coast and my company is in San Francisco. Prior to that I did it 1-2 days a week while working at Monster.com.
One poster pointed out Trust as an issue. Couple of points, if you don’t trust your employees to get the job done in the office, fire them. I have seen it all too often where people keep their jobs who under perform just so the boat isn’t rocked or time would be wasted brining someone new up to speed. Fire them, today.
Second, I think it is okay to have people start in the office before giving the okay to work remote. Come in prove yourself and then we can talk about it.
Some people are not made to work remote, others thrive. I manage a team of 6 remote. Between desktop sharing apps, IM, teleconf, video chat it works out well.
I have control over my day working from home, I actually put in a lot more hours a day working from home than I would in the office.
Georgia had a telecommuting tax break last year. Not sure how it went but it makes perfect sense. Instead of widening every highway, disrupting traffic, adding pollution as rush hour traffic lasts almost all day give companies an incentive to work from home.
There is a possible business here and that is to create shared office pods of some sort. More “regional offices.”. I live/work 35 miles N of Boston. Office space along the major areas could be converted to shared space. Starbucks on steroids. Desks, meeting room, internet, copier, fax, kitchen. You lease an office by the day and meet there 1 day a week with your region. You get face time, get out of the house etc. As for phone, everyone has a soft VOIP line so it goes where ever you go.
randramble says: May 1st, 2007 8:27am
Good one there, Mike! However, isn’t it sufficient to say “I’m an architect”? Do you even need to add the clause “who telecommutes”?
Interesting thoughts, Brian.
Koby says: May 1st, 2007 9:29am
I telecommute 3-4 days out of the week with my boss’s complete concent. In fact, he encourages it. Though, he does get a lot of funny looks from his superiors over the issue and he’s had more than one argument with them about it as well. I do it so that I can save on gas but I enjoy being able to wake up later. It also helps with my desire to eat in more which is another nice money saving advantage to telecommuting. And honestly, I do not think I would take another job that did not allow me to telecommute 3-4 days a week.
A lot of larger companies are starting to let their employees telecommute regularly including IBM and Best Buy Corporate.
Antje says: May 1st, 2007 10:26am
I have been telecommuting for the past several years. I’m so used to it now, I would have an issue doing the rat race every day (especially when in the bay area or any other traffic heavy commute area).
Downsides: less human interaction, have to be disciplined, and what i didn’t expect: i work more hours. It’s hard for me to pass by my “office” and not check my mail, do a few things here or there. I work much more than if I came to and left a physical office.
However, the benefits far outweight the cons. I am more productive, I work a bit harder to prove myself, and I am more concerned about getting results than I am about making sure my IM is turned on 24/7. I love the flexibility, the working close to my dog, and not having to commute. I help the enivornment, I am less stressed and I really really enjoy my job.
I go into the office or client sites at least once a week to put in some face time, because I think it’s important. I have also managed remote teams; done entire projects where I’ve never met the people, have no idea what they look like, just know their “personalities” thru IM, phone, email and conferencing.
I wish one of the bay area communities would take the lead and instead of being the home to the “most wired” or “most tech workers” be home to the most telecommuters. Are you listening Conta Costa County???
Robin Moffitt says: May 1st, 2007 10:42am
I found your article and responses very interesting. I am trying to get into the telecommuting work force. How do you find a “legit” company to work for? I am looking for full time employment with insurance benefits. My experience is in customer service. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Brian says: May 1st, 2007 12:13pm
Customer Service may be a harder find to work from home. Check out JetBlue, I have heard their people are mostly remote for client services.
Old article: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/82/jetblue_agents.html
Quick search on their site and I see this to be true still
https://jetblue.recruitmax.com/ENG/candidates/default.cfm?szCategory=jobprofile&szOrderID=15580&szCandidateID=0&szSearchWords=&szReturnToSearch=1&cfidc=c2a43
Deirdré Straughan says: May 2nd, 2007 1:05am
I’ve telecommuted with several different companies, and had vastly different experiences. A lot depends on the attitude of the employer. See http://www.beginningwithi.com/whatido/longdistanceworking.html for some long thoughts.
Paul Johnston says: May 2nd, 2007 10:23pm
A big telecommuting challenge is where to physically have a home office. Many people find it hard to work at home because they simply don’t have a quiet place/space to get their work done. Our company, “The Shed Shop” stumbled upon a solution thanks to some creative customers who converted our nicer sheds into home offices. We picked up on the idea about 4 years ago and we now offer completely finished “Backyard Office” rooms. We’re currently installing 3 - 4 per week in the Bay Area. They cost a fraction compared to a room addition, and people love the benefits of working from home, yet in a quiet separate space. The commute to the backyard is typically about 20 seconds… ho ho. If anyone is interested, log on to http://www.shedshop.com/backyard.html.
Paul Johnston
The Shed Shop
Paul Johnston says: May 2nd, 2007 10:27pm
… sorry, I got an extra dot on the web address… it should be
http://www.shedshop.com/backyard.html
Robin Moffitt says: May 4th, 2007 7:53am
Thanks for the information you have provided thus far. I have checked some of the links out. I know customer service/data entry type telecommuting jobs might not be as easy to find (with a legit company) that offers benefits, insurance, etc. versus my “own” online company but I am going to keep looking. I really want to work from home. I feel that it would be good for me and my family.
I already have a private office in my home so I don’t think that will be a problem
If anyone has any more suggestions about good companies to work for I would really appreciate the information.
Thanks again all,
Robin
Merrily says: May 13th, 2007 2:28pm
Interesting post. I operate an integrated marketing communications company (www.corecubed.com) that uses a remote workforce. We don’t even call ourselves telecommuters, because there is no place to work other than wherever we chose to work. That could be home, or anyplace with a connection and not too much distraction.
Since 1998 when I founded the company (except for about a year in the middle) we have been virtual. We are respected, legitimate, and have a seriouis list of growth companies who use us as their outsourced marketing department.
The stigma, in my mind, is in the personal feelings about working from home. Deliver results. Focus on what can be done without loads of face-to-face encounters. And the working world will change.
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