Becoming a big fan of working from home

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

Andy — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 21:15:16 GMT

Answering e-mail in sweats, no make-up, ponytail (please don't try to visualize, OK?). - Heather

Why not? Given what you look like that would be hot as h3ll! ;)

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

stewart_whaley — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 21:20:54 GMT

I'd agree. After a while one needs to periodically go into the 'real' office. I think you'll enjoy life and work a lot more by working at home. My only advice after trying it for a while is at least get dressed. You don't have to put on 'office' cloths but at least change out of your sleeping cloths.

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

brad — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 21:27:24 GMT

The trick to making this work long time is continue to have seperation between "home" and "office", but it's time time and office time, not physical location. Don't put a TV or other distractions in the "office" and keep goint to work every once in a while (otherwise you start having conversations with your dog, which is ok, but they'll start to answer, which is not).

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

HeatherLeigh — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 21:29:40 GMT

Andy-you might be surprised! Nice of you to say though ; )

Stewart-I agree. I hate to admit, but I have "good" sweats and sleeping sweats. Working at Microsoft means my work clothes most often include jeans so there's not a HUGE difference in formality between work and home, but you are right in that there's a mindset difference when you put on different clothes. I have to have the shower and getting dressed routine just to feel human ; )

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

Jonathan — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 21:51:37 GMT

Glad to see you're enjoying the benefits of telecommuting. I've spent the past seven years telecommuting for three different technology companies (full-time employee, not a contractor) and I love it! It's funny, but as you said, it depends on the company and the person doing the telecommuting. There are those who say "it's not fair for some to work from home and some can't" or "how can I see if you're actually working if I can't see you?"

The reality is that the companies that "get it" are the ones that are results oriented. I have less distractions working from home and I have my kids 1/2 the week. You can screen your calls AND you don't have to worry about people "popping into your office for a chat". Also, one of the biggest time wasters are many of the meetings, since people use them as "social hour or hours". I'm all for crisp, clean meetings that get to the point and then let everyone get back to getting results, which is one of the only ways that workers should be judged, rather than "work attendance".

* I found that starting at the same time each day has been beneficial, yet I have the flexibility to take breaks without concern about "what about the "clock watchers".

* I use MSN Messenger to let co-workers get in touch with me if I'm in the middle of a project and am call screening.

* I use the Task List and Journal, along with the Calendar function to track my projects, completion, notes, etc. I refer to them during meetings and throughout the day. This is also a huge benefit for performance reviews and "is telecommuting working justification"

One of the impressive traits of Microsoft that I've always loved is that they aren't "keep the office chair warm", rather they are "results oriented". Many companies would do well to leverage telecommuting and in fact, it would be great if there were more consultants contacted about how to make telecommuting work, rather than pooh-pooh it.

Enjoy riding the telecommuting train and we look forward to hearing about your experiences and thoughts about the same.

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

Lucy — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 22:51:04 GMT

I totally agree! I work from home full time in Chicago. My company is based in Austin, TX and I was fortunate enough to be able to set up remotely while my husband went back to b-school. Even just little things like being able to run an errand at lunch or take something out of the freezer to thaw are so much easier when working from home. IM is used a lot internally at my company, and so even when I sat in my cube we all IM'd even though we sat 10 feet from each other. So I really don't feel out of the loop from co-workers. I used to hate my drive to and from work. It would seriously put me in a foul mood if traffic was bad, so overall I am just less stressed this way. Anyway, I think flexible work options are great! And so does my dog. :)

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

Tim — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 22:53:36 GMT

I don't know, Heather. Whenever I try to work at home these two kids keep bugging me. You don't hear/see those kids? The only way I can keep them quiet is by saying stuff like, "Hey, if I hear that anymore I'm coming in there!!"

You may want to get your hearing checked.

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

HeatherLeigh — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 23:03:31 GMT

Lucy-I'm with you on that!

Tim-perhaps if you hadn't had your young son tattooed during the holidays, he'd be quieter. OK, I will admit that I did just yell at the little yappy dogs behind my house to shut up, but we both know that wasn't necessarily for the dogs' benefit (some neighbors have called the police, I can only muster a "shut up already!").

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

jorge — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 00:48:18 GMT

I trust you were not the inspiration for Dilbert's strip today

http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/images/dilbert23663640060220.gif

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

HeatherLeigh — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 01:48:40 GMT

Uh no. I'm a stickler for the whole work ethic thing.

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

Jeff Hunter — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 02:31:26 GMT

Nice. Although Peet's Garuda is even better.

Interesting Finds

Jason Haley — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 16:36:24 GMT

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

Adam — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 00:26:53 GMT

you touched on the fact that there is not that much diffrence between your work cloths, which includes jeans...is that pretty common practice for employess to dress casual?

Devin Reams | Working From Home | devinreams.com

Devin Reams | Working From Home | devinreams.com — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 06:52:45 GMT

PingBack from http://devinreams.com/2006/02/22/working-from-home/

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

Philena Rush — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 22:38:54 GMT

I thought it was a lit weird at first too. But it does help to still have that morning shower, do your hair and stuff. It really makes you feel like it's a job. Now when it comes to the kids making noise, I don't have that problem. If anything, it's helped my business. When I'm talking or training someone on the phone and they hear my son crying, it's actually makes great conversation, and they feel more comfortable with me. So, they are even more interested because now they don't have to worry about that if they can hear my kids and I'm working at home. But there is a difference between a work at home business and a job. I know a job requires more strict rules for that.

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

HeatherLeigh — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:44:15 GMT

Adam, it's the norm at Microsoft. Many people wear shorts in the summer. Jeans are pretty much what you see most. Many tech companies are like this. It's a far cry from my first recruiting job where not only did we have to dress up, but it had to be a skirt suit (don't even get me started on that) where both pieces came on the same hanger (no separates). Nylons in summer in Chicago...what fun!

Philena, you are right. Most companies would want yuo to have at-home child-care if you were going to work from home regularly (since the intent of working from home is to focus on work still), but an at-home business, I'm sure, adds some extra flexibility.

re: Becoming a big fan of working from home

Thor M — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 04:23:50 GMT

Interesting thread, and particularly relevant to my current situation. I live in Oklahoma, and received a tempting offer from MS. Although I haven't had the conversation yet, I expect the position is expected to reside in Redmond.

That said, my family is very interested in staying where we are. I wonder whether my manager would be amenable to a work-at-home arrangement.

I do not consider this haphazardly. I have worked for a Fortune 100 company for many years as a telecommuter, as have many of my peers. I effectly executed tactics and built relationships with partners, customer, vendors and the like. I managed a team, most of who were remote reports. I say this for no reason other than to point out (to myself, anyway!) that I am well acquainted with what it takes to succeed. Plus, I am willing to travel as needed, even go to Redmond for a few weeks or more to get things going in the new role.

Do those of you with MS experience think this will be acceptable? Is there precedent? It differs somewhat from Heather's situation, in that most (all?) of the team at MS is based in Redmond. Love to hear others' thinking on this.