As a freelance consultant, I spend my days in front of a computer occasionally shifting around the house to the couch, kitchen table, or porch when I need a change of scenery from my home office. I have a kitchen instead of a lunch room, a phone instead of a conference room, and no water cooler in sight. While the solitary web worker life can get lonely occasionally, most of us have found ways to engage with communities of our peers in less traditional ways outside of an office.
There have been many posts about engaging with coworkers and clients via Twitter, IM, Facebook, and other social networking sites. Those are a great first step to keep in touch with real people throughout the day, but what about those times when you just need to get out of the house?
I’m lucky to live here in Portland where we have a large number of freelancers, consultants, telecommuters, and other remote workers. We frequently get together during the week for coworking sessions at coffee shops where we each work independently, but by meeting in groups, we have people to watch our computers when we go to the bathroom, share quick stories, or get feedback on a tough issue. There are a few coffee shops where my web worker friends regularly congregate, and I can almost guarantee that I’ll see someone I know wander in during my visit. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s nothing like being able to work from home. But even what so many people strive for can end up being less than ideal. I enjoy the freedom I have to work on my own schedule, however, working from home doesn’t mean you always get more time to do your work. I also find that working from home instead of in an office setting can be isolating. I am not within earshot of peers who I can bounce ideas off of or hear the latest industry developments firsthand.
I’ve been fascinated by businesses popping up around major metropolitan areas that create a shared workspace for independent workers. Imran Ali wrote about the trend of co-working spaces back in April, and I’ll be exploring the trend further as I look to set up a co-working space in my town.
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This month’s Economist, in an article called Home warriors, explores some fascinating issues around the implications of telecommuting and its implications on energy, policy and employment…not simply the availability of connectivity and email.
The writer argues that though technology and infrastructure has long been available, only now are the economic and commercial drivers unfolding that’s making teleworking an attractive default position for many employers, not just employees.
Here’s a few key items from the piece…
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One of the great strengths of the global coworking community is the willingness to share knowledge and best practice without restriction and with openness wired into the very values of this community.
Recently a member of the global coworking mailing list, Joseph Holsten) recently created what’s essentially a recipe book of ‘how to’ guides for those seeking to setup a coworking community, coworking space or simply better operate the communities and spaces they’re already running.
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The New York Times continues its love affair with the notion of coworking with last Friday’s Working Alone in a Group by Lisa Belkin.
Quickly realizing her home is not conducive to a productive working environment, Belkin experimented with coworking at Stamford CT’s Soundview Coworking, (actually a little more formal than regular coworking spaces, probably due to it’s location inside a lounge at the local Marriott).
Belkin goes on to explore some of the downside of coworking, relating the story of Cubes & Crayons founder M. F. Chapman:
“I wasn’t getting any work done when I was there,” because clients wanted to stop and chat. When she has real work, she now heads home.“
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WWD’s Mike Gunderloy recently commented on Sun Microsystem’s study of the impact of telecommuting on a worker’s carbon footprint. Coincidentally, on the same day policy changes in the UK may mean that telecommuting sees a sharp increase as the options for actual commuting rise in cost and narrow the ability of people to travel into urban centers.
Following the success of London’s congestion charge, launched in 2003, other UK cities such as Leeds, Cardiff, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol have begun to explore similar schemes. The UK government approved a congestion charging programme for Manchester - the country’s defacto second city - which would charge inbound morning commuters the equivalent of $4-6 and outbound evening commuters around $2. I guess that’s around a gallon of fuel each day by US standards!
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In this week’s edition of John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman’s hilarious podcast, The Bugle, Zaltzman offers his own solution to the isolation of working from home…
Do you work from home but miss the office atmosphere? Then simply hire a group of people you don’t really like and would never otherwise spend time with, to mill around your living room for nine hours a day.
Priceless! Download the full episode (28mb) and skip ahead to 1m:20s…
