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Round 3: Benefits: Pets, pjs, peace and quiet From: Lisa Date: Feb. 18, 2000 9:30 AM Hello folks -- Next question: what are the main benefits of telecommuting? From: Heather Date: Feb. 19, 2002 10:32 AM I'll take the first shot at this one. As a writer, I really like being able to control the noise level. On some days, I need absolute silence, while on others, I get a good flow going with some classical music going in the background. I have fewer interruptions, but I'm also free to go for a quiet stroll or put my head down for 20 minutes if I need it. Not that I'm sleeping on the job - being able to "tune out" for a short period of time is going to be refreshing for anyone.
Heather From: Antonia Date: Feb. 20, 2002 16:24 Hello everyone, On the issue of controlling the noise level, I completely agree with Heather.... Up until only a few months ago, I worked for two years at a start-up company that focused on wireless application development. Since I had been with this young company for two years, I was considered a veteran. I worked on a wide variety of projects with many different teams and, at any given time, I was juggling over 10 projects, or more. Besides the obvious challenges, one of the most difficult to deal with was the noise level.... People in the company saw me as a 'go-to' person -- they would often come to me with their questions, issues and challenges. When I look back on it now, I was spending my entire day answering questions about legacy designs, original system architecture, and project reasoning that had taken place over the last two years. I started to arrive very early to work, just to have the quiet morning hours to work on my projects. When that wasn't enough time, I would also stay late at night, just to find a few more hours without interruption. This meant that I was working 12-14 hour days on a very regular basis. Needless to say, I am no longer with that company... Since I have been contracting and working from home, I constantly notice how much I accomplish in a day and I love having the ability to control the noise within my work-area. I am completely focused on my work, and my daily communications are done mostly by e-mail, through a collaborative Web site, and over the telephone. My only distractions are the radio, and Julius -- my cat. He is especially intrusive when it is time to be fed. Another great benefit is the money I am saving by not dropping into the Second Cup on my way to work, or buying my lunch at the cafeteria. It is absolutely fantastic to head down to the kitchen on my lunch break and make myself something to eat. And, okay, I admit it, some days I stay in my PJs for way too long. And, I absolutely love it. I am in complete comfort! Antonia From: Heather Date: Feb. 20, 2002 4:39 PM Right on Antonia! I didn't have the guts to say this, but I love working with my tabbie purring away on the desk! And about the PJs, me, too. The couriers just shake their heads at my old red flannels! Heather From: Luke Date: Feb. 20, 2002 3:35 PM Hi, I completely agree with Heather about noise. In my last office, my employer did not really like to hear much of anything, so I generally sat in mind-numbing silence. Of course, that was often preferable to the mind-numbing sound of blaring New Kids on the Block that was often heard at another place I worked. Now I'm able to listen to my Barry Manilow collection in peace. :) Freedom to get personal things done is good, too. However, nothing beats not having to have face-to-face run-ins with my boss on a regular basis. Instead of being poked and prodded every two seconds for an update on a task I'm working on, I can have a lot more say on when and how we talk. I think this is better for my sanity in the long run. Cheers, Luke From: Heather Date: Feb. 21, 2002 9:16 AM Hi Lisa (and all), I keep jumping back in but I hope you don't mind! Just before I started freelancing (eight or nine years ago), I was working in the marketing department of a rapidly-expanding manufacturer. I shared a small open-concept area with three others. Our area was in the middle of a cubicle farm and I think I counted 10 telephones (and at least as many people) within a 10-foot radius of me. I was responsible for the company newsletter and was constantly missing deadlines. I used to hang signs on the back of my chair saying "please do not disturb". These usually generated wisecracks out of my well-meaning co-workers, which, of course, distracted me. I finally told my boss that I was going to work from home for a day to get the darned thing done. "Telecommuting" wasn't a word at the time, so there was a bit of an argument, but the fact was that I couldn't concentrate with the noise. At the rate I was going, it would take me a couple of days to finish it, so she gave in. The next morning, I was at my desk at eight, the CBC on low, a pot of coffee to my right, and a fat grey cat purring in my lap. The newsletter was done by noon. Heather From: Susanne Date: Feb. 22, 2992 10:18 AM About PJs, I'm totally guilty on this one, too. :) Without totally embarrassing myself, let's just say that some days it's a darn good thing people don't see what I'm wearing (or not wearing) when I answer my phone! And why not? I think if I had to be at a desk every morning by 9 a.m. in makeup and pantyhose, I'd have a nervous breakdown! From: Luke Date: Feb. 22, 2002 12:46 PM Hi all, Am I the only one here who's fighting the "working in the jammies" way of life? When I started working from home, I decided I'd make a concerted effort to keep things as office-like as I could. So, every day, I dress as I would if I worked in an office. I also keep myself clean shaven. As much as I hate to shave, I just don't want to feel like I'm regressing since I don't have to present myself to co-workers on a daily basis. Maybe it's my own way of protecting my sanity. Perhaps I just heard too many cracks from friends about me ending up sitting around in my bathrobe, a foot-long beard on my face and half a bagel hanging from my chest. Cheers, Luke From: Craig Date: Feb. 22, 2002 3:11 PM Barry Manilow collection??? Luke, you admit to having a Barry Manilow collection??!! (LOL) You're a wild man, Luke. Anyway, hi, folks. I'm back and sorry I didn't jump in earlier on this one, but I was in T.O. and at Deerhurst Resort in Muskoka from Monday to Wednesday night this week, and things got backed up at the ole day job. For me, the main advantage to teleworking - and it seems for you, Heather, and maybe others - is the peace and quiet to work creatively without interruption at home. For me, it's speeches, articles, long sets of guidelines, policy documents and articles for the Ottawa Citizen like the one that appeared today. I prefer to write early in the day when I feel refreshed and, to me, it's just such a waste to spend so much of my most productive time in traffic or on a bus, or walking from my home to the bus and from the bus to my office and then the inevitable chatting with colleagues, and on and on. As for style of dress, we are on "business casual" code of dress at my office (actually, since it's Friday, I'm in jeans and a Senators sweatshirt now, sitting at my desk), so when I telework I wear pretty much what I always wear. Another advantage, which I find important to me personally, is the ability to keep an eye on my kids more. As a single dad with three teens full time, I can be home some times when they get off school so they can't eat me out of house and home and feed all their friends ALL THE TIME. Also, I have more time to be a "good parent". What that means in the year 2002 is that I can have some privacy to sneak a peek at their computer trails and snoop in their wastebaskets to see what they are REALLY up to (ha!). From: Heather Date: Feb. 22, 2002 4:10 PM Hi, During quiet times, or if I'm not feeling so hot, I hang around in my flannels for a while. When I'm busy, though, I'm up, showered and at my desk as early as 6 or 7 a.m. If I have to go to a meeting, I wear a suit or whatever is appropriate to that meeting. The other thing is that I feel guilty shuffling around in my pyjamas when my husband has to put on business clothes and get out the door to a regular job. Showering and changing (even into casual clothes) is a way of showing him I'm pulling my weight. He's never questioned it - this is just my own neurotic view of things. Heather p.s. Clothing is one thing, but Barry Manilow? ;=) From: Antonia Date: Feb. 24, 2002 11:55 PM I was just thinking some more about this... Right now, since I have only been working from home for about 2-3 months, it is still quite the luxury to work in my pyjamas on the odd occasion. I have noticed one pattern though, I have to be ready and in 'work clothes' when I have a teleconference call - I would never do this in my PJs. It is not like people would know, but it just makes me feel better... Antonia From: Susanne Date: Feb. 25, 2002 8:19 AM Maybe some gender issues enter the picture here-while I see Luke's point of making an effort to dress appropriately, I wonder, Luke, if you'd feel the same if you had to put on makeup and pantyhose and style your hair everyday. (OK, I personally hate pantyhose; I don't speak for all women, I suppose) In any case, I think you should dress in whatever manner that helps to maximize your productivity during your day. I am, in fact, in my pajamas and bathrobe right now as I answer this e-mail, because I got up at 6:30 a.m. and rolled out of bed to do some work before my kids wake up. As soon as I get them off to the babysitter in the next half hour I'll go get dressed. Cheers, Susanne Round 1: Meet and greet Round 2: Challenges: That long-distance feeling Round 3: Benefits: Pets, PJs, peace and quiet Round 4: Tools of your trade: technology Round 5: The work-life balance: setting boundaries Round 6: Motivation: Making fear your friend
Photographs All Rights Reserved © CBC, 2002
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Photo by Taras Kovaliv
