Web Worker Daily

Abhijit says: July 27th, 2007 6:16am

Video calling should be as good as it gets. Stay at home, talk only as long as necessary.

Ryan Richards says: July 27th, 2007 6:47am

I have been web-working for almost 2 years now. Before that i was always immersed in meetings, group coding sessions, cube-farms etc. To this day I still have not become accustomed to zero social interaction. When people I know tell me how bad they wish they could work from home like me I tell them to be very careful with that consideration because many do not realize what you are giving up. Of course working from home has its benefits and I do not plan to change my arrangement anytime soon but I believe if you are a social person by nature it can be difficult. I agree with the poster above, video conferencing helps.

Ryan

Adam Ostrow says: July 27th, 2007 8:29am

I’ve been working from home for about 7 months now and am starting to get a bit of cabin fever. If I could afford it, I think I would definitely get a small office that is outside my home. That way, I’d still have the peace and quiet of a private work space, but have some human interaction at the water cooler, coffee machine, etc. My dad is a sole-proprietor and has never worked out of the house.

Brad says: July 27th, 2007 8:40am

I’ve been working from home for almost a year now. For the most part it’s been great, because I can focus on my work more easily when there’s no people around to distract me. But it’s nice having people from your old job to talk to after work.

Now that I’ve moved to a new city, I realize that making new friends when you don’t leave the house very often isn’t that easy. Luckily as a freelance journalist, I spend a fair bit of time meeting and talking to people, so I have some human interaction, but not with “friends,” per se.

If my wife and I didn’t already have friends in the city, I’d probably spend more time working out of the local coffee shop than I do.

Serge Lescouarnec says: July 27th, 2007 8:47am

I attended the last “Jelly” session.
As much as what you highlight (escaping isolation), I think the co working experience can help you find collaborators, exchange ideas, test them.
There is something of the barter economy to it.
There is more to gain from the co working experience if participants come from different professional backgrounds.
Unfortunately I could not stay more than a few hours.
I plan on attending the next “Jelly” session and if the opportunity arises start a space here in my corner of New Jersey.

Take care
Serge
‘The French Guy from New Jersey’
http://www.sergetheconcierge.com

George Mandis says: July 27th, 2007 10:02am

You should never over-estimate the value of human interaction on a daily basis. I just recently started renting and sharing a small office space with a long time friend of mine who is also into freelancing, though in a different field. To me it offers all the benefits of working “with” someone and working by yourself. Sometimes it’s nice to have a real person to talk to when you take a break.

Pete Johnson says: July 27th, 2007 10:26am

On avoiding isolation, in the 10 years I’ve been doing this, a key for me has been to actively build into my work day informal interaction I would normally have with my work group as I made my way, say, to and from the coffee machine in a traditional office environment. Sometimes that’s over IM, sometimes over phone, but I found I had to force myself to do it so that I had interaction with other people that wasn’t completely work related. A lot of people need non-verbal interaction to avoid that feeling of isolation, but for me, it worked pretty well to take 30 minutes a day to talk about kids, vacations, and all the other things listed in the original post. That made me feel more connected to people and less on an island by myself.

On why is there a movement to get web work back to the office, I think a big reason for that is that not everybody is responsible enough with it. I made a comment on a post here a few weeks ago pointing out that if you were a poor performer IN the office, you aren’t going to magically become a great one OUT of the office. Given that, I think the source of the movement is that employers are finding not everyone can be productive in a setting where they have great flexibility. Some people need the structure of a more traditional office environment in order to be productive while others can do without it.

Pete Johnson
HP.com Chief Architect
Personal blog: http://nerdguru.net

JTPRATT's Blogging Mistakes says: July 27th, 2007 11:19am

I think it’s more than that, I think that (if you have kids and a family) you might need to get out of the home to get more done! Sometimes there can be many more distractions at home and your family may believe that you can drop anything anytime you want (because you work for yourself).

Raymond says: July 27th, 2007 12:48pm

I work in a two man office. While the atmosphere is generally jovial, I find myself envious of my friends who have a large group of work friends. At times I find it can get lonely.

GigaOM What’s On GigaNET: Friday P.M. Edition « says: July 27th, 2007 3:23pm

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Anil says: July 27th, 2007 4:53pm

About 8 months ago, I moved from the Bay Area to Denver, while maintaining my position at a startup there. It was great being in a new area, while, at the same time, not having to worry about a work transition. Working in a coffee shop was cool. Of course, over time, I started realizing that I couldn’t talk on the phone as much so I ended up spending more and more time at home. And that gets lonely after a while.
I still get my social interaction by making sure that I talk to my colleagues on the phone and by making it a point to come back to the Bay Area just to sit in my old cubicle. And I guess that the best way is just to consolidate the days being on the phone and spend the other days in the coffee shop.

Dave Seah says: July 27th, 2007 5:17pm

I’ve been freelancing for a few years now, and have found that I’ve been needing to get more of the regular interaction. One thing I started doing about six months ago was to starting going to a coffee shop every morning and meet a friend who did the same thing before work. I did some planning in the morning then, which helped focus the day, and just idly chit-chatted. Over time, though, this morning interaction has become part of the anchor of my sense of local community. I’ve slowly gotten to know the staff there, and they’re starting to sit with us on their breaks and just jabber. It’s actually pretty cool. When 815 rolls around, my friend has to leave for work and I either go home or hit the gym. It’s sort of like waiting for the school bus.

What I am missing most right now is the shared sense of mission with people. I think the solution for that is just to be more chatty with my clients, now that I think about it.

Nathan says: July 27th, 2007 6:56pm

Oh yeah, absolutely. I’m not a web worker… but I’m a grad student working on my dissertation from home. If I don’t get out for some air or go to the grocery store, at the least, for anything, I get a little depressed. It’s lonely up there, isolated in my home office. Sniff. Now play the violins.

that dismal science :: linkdump for 28 jul 07 :: July :: 2007 says: July 28th, 2007 6:29am

[...] Avoiding Isolation when Working from Home from Web Worker Daily [...]

Eideard says: July 28th, 2007 7:26am

No problem. Already a world class hermit.

Need company? Get a dog. You win most of the arguments because you have an opposable thumb and can open the refrigerator,

Meltin' Posts says: July 28th, 2007 8:57am

On isolation, web working and work-life balance

Web-workers isolation is a well known problem, and triggered a lively discussion @ Web Worker Daily: this post deals with feelings I have started to feel myself since I decided to dive into the GSoC madness.
Working at home is not always a piece of cak…

matt says: July 29th, 2007 9:00am

i work from remote and love it. since i use multiple communication and collaboration tools, i don’t feel isolated. i’ve actually started running into the office that when i do fly into the office i can’t get the same level of work done. i’ve solved the working all day and all night problem by disciplining myself to treat working at home as if it were just an office, i.e. i wake up, shower, “go to work”, then come home. i get my human interaction through friends and family.

LiamH says: July 29th, 2007 12:14pm

I have been working from home for 2 years.

If I were to offer someone advice about web working it would be “know thyself”. No seriously I would.

Why:-

1. My social circle was, once, very wide. I was once very gregarious but nonetheless I was a bit “sad inside”.

Now, as a web worker, I do not have much of a social life in fact it is almost non-existent. I think the reason for this is that, for me, being social is not natural but practiced. I am a fairly loud person and I guess my response if not perhaps as good as someone who is quieter in a social setting.

2. I have lost friendships as I increasingly do not return phone calls from non work colleagues. I have no idea why this is; other than I am so used to my own company that intrusions on me and sy own space are somewhat inconvenient.

3. I go out once a month or so with a large group of friends and I tend to get drunk quicker and be more of nuisance than everyone else – I call this my pressure cooker – that drives people away.

Anyway I like working from home and I am hoping I will find a better balance at some point. And I have to say that the negatives of how I am are perhaps outweighed by not having a boss.

Dr J says: July 29th, 2007 12:19pm

I would agree with one of the above posters. If you can manage/afford to rent out a small office space with another freelancer or “work-from-home” friend, it really does help quite a bit.

Web Worker Daily on “What is Your ‘Third Place’” - No Mention of Libraries « informationatrix says: July 29th, 2007 12:42pm

[...] open thread, primarily discussing where telecommuters/web workers go in order to counterract the feelings of isolation that working from home can sometimes cause, and I was a little sad (but not incredibly surprised) that no one in the comments section [...]

Mary-Ann Horley says: July 29th, 2007 12:49pm

Yeah, I’ve never minded working in an office, it’s being told what to do while I’m there that I have the problem with. And the commuting, and the lack of freedom to have a life. So I’m looking for other freelancers in my area to go halves on an office with.

circuit_breaker says: July 29th, 2007 1:34pm

If I didn’t have the isolation, I don’ know how I’d get -ANYTHING- done…

Sometimes you have to turn the phone off too.

Michel says: July 29th, 2007 2:36pm

Nothing beats working at home for me.
Networking is not friendship.
Colleagues are not always friends. In my experience, most are not. One more stab in the back and I would had to buy a knife case. There’s a lot of competition involved.
Friendship shouldn’t be a result of circunstance like a job, then you get fired and you never see each other anymore.
If you miss people, it’s not because you work at home, it’s because you don’t have real friends.

Drunk and Unruly says: July 29th, 2007 8:17pm

There is a very real issue of becoming anti social and forgetting basic social interaction skills just a bit. I’ve been working from home for 8 years now. When you are behind the computer for weeks on end with no actual human contact you can become very awkward when you are around others.

It’s a real danger that you have to avoid. Even though I have fixed that I know that it would take me several months to get accustomed to being in a large corporate office situation. I’m no longer “housebroken” so to speak. heh

But to get used to the work from home thing I made a few changes that really helped:

1. I joined a Gym.

I had a full gym in my house but I found the interaction with other people not only helped fill my real people quota it also made me work out harder thanks to the opposite sex that is always watching. I look better than ever in my 30’s! Who coulda guessed working at home would have made that possible.

2. I go shopping more often.

It’s so easy to click and buy online but instead of doing that treat finding the items you want like a treasure hunt and search for them offline once or twice a week. Unfortunately this still hasn’t stopped me from having the UPS guy drop off something new almost daily. :/

3. Go out to eat for lunch or dinner.

Time flies when you are working from home. If you don’t make a conscious take some of that time to step away from the computer for a personal you never will. What better reason is there than to get something that you have a craving for? Today, for me, it was Chipotle Burritos. It got me out the house, I ate well and got to think about what I had to do from a macro standpoint.

Also, here’s a novel idea for some… make an effort to meet those people you talk to online but you have never met in person. Whether it be the message board communities, blogs, business networks, remote workers etc. They are all real people on the other side of the monitor. Thanks to the internet we have associates all over the world! Don’t forget to pack your laptop, get out and take advantage of that!

mopepom says: July 30th, 2007 4:06am

Working from home is highly productive, but it does encourage excessive work behaviour. It is economical of scarce resources (time and money) but it lacks the synergy of direct face-to-face problem solving.

I suspect the Starbucks crowd are more interested in their self-images as Hip and Cool, and less interested in doing any work – they just sip their horribly expensive spanish-titled beverages and are seen by others, with similar conceit.

Site News: Moving to Dedicated Hosting says: July 30th, 2007 5:26am

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Mark Regan says: July 30th, 2007 6:45am

I have been on my own at home for all of five weeks now and I am dearly in search of a solution to this very problem. While I do not miss the painful hall-talk of the office, there were just too many nuggets to gain every day. Plus you could bounce ideas off of people and get immediate feedback.

Four weeks ago I started asking around for a cross between a startup and a virtual office. I want the comraderie of working elbow-to-elbow (even if for different companies) combined with the pay-as-you-go model of virtual offices.

I haven’t found it yet, though.

Mark Regan

Matt says: July 30th, 2007 7:06pm

I have been working from home for 5 months now. My wife also works from home (different fields). We started when we moved to a new state, her family’s home state. We don’t have any local friends except her relatives. It’s tough to meet people when you have no coworkers.

I have found that being cooped up at home all day turned a guy who was once a homebody into a more sociable person. Now when it’s 5pm I can’t wait to get out and go somewhere, anywhere. Even to Walmart, lol.

dH says: July 31st, 2007 11:07am

I did this webworker style for a year or more – I think after a while it’s just boring and makes you feel depressive (especially in winter). I’m also surprised but this is why I prefer corporate style / separated office – it’s important to separate work / home to give real meanings to these places.

felix says: July 31st, 2007 4:55pm

Hey! This is an interesting point – I blogged about a similar topic in my 8 survival tips post in my notes from the virtual office series. I think everyone has to come to their own way of dealing with working from home – but there’s a bunch of tactics that can be used to make working from home work for you.

Technology » Blog Archive » Home Office: Work at home isolation - good or bad? says: August 1st, 2007 2:56pm

[...] If you work from home, what’s your happy medium? Let’s hear in the comments. Avoiding Isolation when Working from Home {Web Worker [...]

Ann says: August 22nd, 2007 6:05pm

I work at home in a full time position and I am feeling very unhappy with the situation. The problem is that I have too much work and not too little, but–NO human contact. All close friends have moved away and other friends are so busy with their lives that they don’t have time to get together.

I have the NEED to connect with a person in person–even just one would do–I don’t need a crowd.

I am not sure what to do at this point to improve my situation. I feel I may need to try to change my job to work at it part-time. This would reduce my income quite a bit but it may be necessary to keep my sanity.

Genesis says: September 22nd, 2007 6:40am

I was never much of a social person, so staying at home for me is fine . . . most of the time. I do find I need interaction once in a while, but I can also do that through video chat with my online friends.

Living in a foreign country has not helped the situation since I don´t really have any friends here and Spanish is my second language. Sometimes it just seems easier to let my husband (native Guatemalan) do the shopping and negotiating! While easier, it does mean that I can end up being in the house, on the computer for weeks at a time without leaving. My toddler is often surprised when I decide to head to the store with him!

I would never opt to work in a group setting outside of my home because I wouldn´t be productive enough. A coffee shop, perhaps, but I don´t have a laptop, so that´s not too practical at the moment! It is important to get some adult interaction, though, especially for at home moms.

Dan Hogan says: January 10th, 2008 1:10pm

I fell into a work from home situation without really looking for it. Unfortunately, I live alone and I bought a 700 sq-foot one-bedroom house before this change happened. (No office.) So, my kitchen table is also my desk for work.

I’ve found that going to coffee shops to be more and more expensive since I find the need to buy something to eat or drink. And… I don’t drink coffee. I do leave the house just about every day to buy lunch which includes a nice 10 minute walk to and from the lunch spots, so I get out of the house. I head to the gym every night, and I do get out of the house often enough.

The big thing is the human interaction. I certainly would tell anyone who is considering working from home to think hard about the day-to-day work environment before jumping in.

CS says: March 18th, 2008 11:47pm

I’m starting to feel a little cabin fever too. At first I ignored it, but after being depressed for one straight week, I though I needed to get some sun and see some friends already.

Web Worker Daily » Archive The New Work From Home Trend: Getting Out? « says: May 30th, 2008 6:00am

[...] reality set in.  Working from your home can be isolating and can result in feeling cut off from the working world.  Co-working is a new trend, as recently [...]

Web Worker Daily » Archive 4 Contacts Every Web Worker Should Have « says: June 26th, 2008 8:08am

[...] working a try. In fact, these people could even be your clients. Web workers often talk about how isolating our work can be, but as long as we keep our connections stable and varied, we’d always have [...]

Aroon says: September 27th, 2008 12:39am

It is always nice to have someone else to share with. I like the idea to join with some friend that work from home to so that you’ll have a chance to share your opinion on the break time