Do you have an office to which you commute each and every day? Do you need one? Personally, I haven't had a desk in an office building for more than five years, and have been able to work from any place on the globe where I am able to plug into the Internet. I personally love the flexibility it affords and it fits my lifestyle with perfection. Though this may work for me, is it practical for everyone? Does your professional situation lend itself to being able to work remotely?
According to a recent Cisco study "The Cisco Connected World Report", I find I have a lot of company, as three out of five employees believe it unnecessary to be in the office and contend they can be just as productive working outside their traditional brick-and-mortar workplace, as within. So let's assume that your employer agrees with you. What should they expect from you, as you leave the "office" and move to the "mobile office?" First and foremost, I think they need to be assured as to your level of understanding of the environmental differences. You are no longer within the four walls of the employer, and you no longer have that physical security surrounding you and the assets. Your mobile environment by definition is physically outside their ability to monitor for the physical security threats which every office addresses.
In addition, there is the technological side of the equation. When you work remotely, how are you collaborating with your colleagues who are also working remotely or those who are still within the company's offices? If you are using a laptop, do you use a virtual private network (VPN) connection to your employer so that your information is protected at the same level of security afforded to you prior to becoming mobile? If you don't, but rather use virtual third-party collaboration spaces, is the connection between these service providers and your laptop secured by a secure socket layer (SSL)? How is the information secured? Can the service provider or another subscriber of the service see or access your data? These are all questions that your information technology team will be asking as they work their way through the equation and solution to enable you to enjoy the benefits of being a mobile worker.
Then there is the expectation of when you, the mobile worker, will be available. Being connected from your home does not necessarily mean that you are available 24/7/365. For example, I tend to close my office door on Friday evening and not open it again until Sunday evening, to only confirm the time and location of Monday's first appointment. This is something you absolutely want to iron out so that expectations are fully managed at the outset.
Then there is the home/mobile office environment. What if you lost your laptop or smart-phone? Would you lose sensitive company data? Would you lose personal data? Would you lose customer data? I have a number of thoughts for mitigating the damage when or if a device is lost or stolen.
I am a strong advocate for the ability to work from any place at any time. The items previously mentioned are those that I addressed early on in my engagement, and I encourage you to do so as you pursue your desire to work remotely.
The only problem is that it is too close to the refrigerator.
As someone who is unemployed, I have had a good number of phone interviews with prospective employers both near where I live while others farther away. If companies are relying more on the phone interview to place and recruit prospective workers, then wouldn't these same companies be more adaptable to the telecommuting/virtual/remote workplace?
Just wondering.
I had to be available 24/7, and was compensated for that. I was exempt.
I've been researching remote access software for Windows, and found two so far:
https://secure.logmein.com/
LogMeIn - Remote Access and Desktop Control Software For Your Computer
LogMeIn handles Window and MAC systems.
https://www.techinline.com/Home.aspx
Techinline Remote Desktop - Browser-Based Remote Support
Anybots need to have an arm to press power switches for the ultimate reboot. :-)
so that's four hours of "work" time not working. then eight hours of work (maybe more), eight hours of sleep (maybe less). that leaves you with perhaps four hours for your personal life. 1/6th of the day. take back those first four hours and find some balance!
Was I able to throw in an extra load of laundry or work in my PJ's on occasion? Sure. But the company and clients felt they owned you 24/7/365 because you weren't in an office. Didn't matter if you had the flu, the phone rang and people wanted what they wanted from you regardless of how ill you were. It's very difficult to set boundaries when you don't have a prescribed location with prescribed hours or anyone else who can act as back up if you need to take any time off for anything.
But telecommuting will never take off in America, for the simple reason that too many middle-management types will oppose it. And they will oppose it because the UPPER management types might see a successful telecommuting operation and wonder just exactly why we need to pay so many MIDDLE managers to "manage" grown ups who are perfectly capable of managing themselves.
In short, telecommuting makes managers feel anxious about their own jobs. So, it won't be allowed to take off. I speak from experience working for some of the bigger tech shops in the country (Microsoft, Expedia, 3Com, etc.) -- in large companies, telecommuting is always praised in theory, and then privately shut down. Hard.
I am beginning to wish I'd become a plumber instead of going to college. They can't send that job to India.
I find myself most productive when I am physically at the office.
I like the new technology for collaboration extremely useful for dealing with clients, however, I get a lot more done by face to face interactions with my colleagues at work.
I guess this depends on the person as well as the type of work they do.
Kudos to the author for finding the right balance. However, not all employees can or should be remote workers. It seems far more ideal than it actually is.