Re: Commute/Flex work options a Deal breaker?

["Suzette Leeming" <suzette -dot- leeming -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Absolutely!

I hate working for companies that are inflexible, whether it's telecommuting
occasionally, or flex hours, etc.

And, as someone else stated, if I was working for an inflexible company, and
another job became available with comparable salary and benefits but also
with an option to telecommuting, I'd be gone in a heartbeat!

Suzette Leeming


On 6/25/08, Collin Turner <straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
>
> I agree.
>
> Doing it full-time is sometimes folly. You can easily "lose" yourself
> or get into an "Out of sight, Out of mind" situation. And yeah, not
> everyone is suited for it. Sites like WebWorkerDaily.com are helpful
> when it comes to keeping things under control.
>
> But if it came down to 2 similar jobs with similar pay and benefits -
> one offers Telework options the other does not...would it influence
> your decision?
>
> > Now that I've changed jobs, I only telecommute 2 days a week, and that
> suits
> > me fine. When I worked all the time from home, the line between work and
> > home became very blurred and I was putting in 12+ hours a day. Not
> because I
> > had to, but when I get caught up in something I'm like a dog with a bone,
> > and won't let go.  It wasn't healthy.
> >
> > Suzette Leeming
> > Stouffville, Ontario
> >
> >
> >
> > On 6/25/08, Collin Turner <straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Susan,
> >>
> >> The past several years I've worked with options to work from home
> >> several days a week. I'm with you. My current job doesn't offer
> >> this...yet. It's been quite a transition!
> >>
> >> On this subject, here's some meat for discussion:
> >>
> >> Sun's Open Work policy
> >> http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/environment/products/openwork.jsp
> >>
> >> Sun Microsystems Study Finds Open Work Program Saves Employees Time
> >> and Money, Decreases Carbon Output
> >>
> http://www.prweb.com/releases/sun_microsystems/open_work/prweb1009224.htm
> >>
> >> Sure...company funded PR....but an eye opener and great fuel for
> >> anyone wishing to approach their employer about creating more options.
> >>
> >> On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 9:37 AM, Susan Park <su_duncan -at- yahoo -dot- com>
> wrote:
> >> > I'm fortunate to work for a company that hires very few on-site
> >> > employees. I've been working remotely for about 2 years now, and I
> love it.
> >> > My work is project based, and at any given time, I have about 2-3
> >> > projects.  No one is standing over my shoulder micromanaging me--as
> long as
> >> > I meet milestone dates and keep my project managers apprised of my
> status,
> >> > it doesn't seem to matter when, where, or how many hours I work per
> >> > week.  My annual salary is probably a bit lower than market rate, but
> it's
> >> > worth it to me to be at home.
> >> >
> >> > Now that I've had this experience, if I had to find another job, would
> >> > the commute/flex work options be a dealbreaker?  I hope I never have
> to find
> >> > another job, but if I did, it would be with an eye toward another
> >> > telecommuting situation.
> >> >
> >> > Susan
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > --- On Wed, 6/25/08, Keith Hood <klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > From: Keith Hood <klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com>
> >> > Subject: RE: Commute/Flex work options a Deal breaker?
> >> > To: "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> >> > Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 11:20 AM
> >> >
> >> > It would depend entirely on how broke I am. As for incentive, I don't
> >> > need
> >> > any more. I always look for chances to work by remote. So far I've
> never
> >> > allowed it to be a deal breaker. But if I were working job A onsite
> >> > every day,
> >> > and job B came along offering remote work at the same pay or close
> >> > enough,
> >> > I'd be out of job A so fast I'd leave a hole in the air.
> >> >
> >> > I have been firmly convinced for years that 95% of what we do can be
> >> > done just
> >> > as well at the end of a phone line as in a cube next door, and most of
> >> > the real
> >> > reason for insisting that TWs work on site is hierarchy thinking by
> >> > people who
> >> > have a vested interest in showing their bosses how many head they have
> >> > in their
> >> > herds.
> >> >
> >> > I've tried for years to promote the idea both where I've worked and in
> >> > general. I've come up with some fairly detailed business cases about
> the
> >> > financial advantages to the companies - less need for physical plant
> so
> >> > lower
> >> > electric bills, less liability; fewer commute miles per head so less
> >> > pressure
> >> > from the EPA, etc. So far it's all fallen on deaf ears.
> >> >
> >> > Remote working would require a major shift in thinking (and
> personality,
> >> > in a
> >> > lot of cases) on the parts of the bosses, and they don't want to be
> >> > forced
> >> > into any changes. For a lot of them it's a visceral thing. A lot of
> them
> >> > see remote working as a challenge to or a reduction of their
> authority,
> >> > so
> >> > they'll resist it to the bitter end.
> >> >
> >> > Plus, I think a lot of companies got burned by telecommuting in the
> late
> >> > 80s/early 90s when the tech stock bubble was building. A lot of
> >> > companies who
> >> > were anxious to build quickly and were hiring frantically let a lot of
> >> > people
> >> > set up telecommuting in order to get them on board quickly, and a
> >> > significant
> >> > number of those people sloughed off too much. I've heard stories about
> >> > workers who would set up batch files that would automatically send
> >> > something
> >> > pointless over the net at set times, so it would look to anyone
> >> > monitoring
> >> > traffic like they were working while they were actually out at the
> lake.
> >> > So
> >> > some companies once burned, twice shy.
> >> >
> >> > To be fair to the employers, making a remote working setup viable
> >> > requires
> >> > workers with somewhat greater than normal dedication. It's hard enough
> >> > finding workers who have the dedication to show up in the cube by 9
> >> > every day.
> >> > Finding someone who's reliable when the boss isn't standing over his
> >> > shoulder is a whole new matter.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > --- On Wed, 6/25/08, Melissa Nelson <melmis36 -at- hotmail -dot- com> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> From: Melissa Nelson <melmis36 -at- hotmail -dot- com>
> >> >> Subject: RE: Commute/Flex work options a Deal breaker?
> >> >> To: "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com"
> >> > <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> >> >> Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 10:58 AM
> >> >> It would depend on the entire work situation. My present
> >> >> boss does not offer flex time. He is of the mode of
> >> >> "it ain't work, if it ain't done in a
> >> >> cube!" Fortunately for me, I live a mile away so it
> >> >> does not really enter into my situation. I did turn down a
> >> >> position in DC (about 25 miles away) that offered no
> >> >> flexibility, and did not even seem to understand that
> >> >> subways break down and sometimes you are just late.
> >> >> Therefore, I think it does depend on the whole job
> >> >> situation and environment! As a born and raised Utahn...I
> >> >> am tickled to see the governor do this, I think it is going
> >> >> to have to happen more and more as gas prices make commuting
> >> >> more and more expensive.
> >> >>
> >> >> Melissa
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> > Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:53:15 -0600> From:
> >> >> straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com> To:
> >> >> techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Subject: Commute/Flex work
> >> >> options a Deal breaker?> > As a Tech Writer, many of
> >> >> us know that our work affords us some>
> >> >> "flexibility" in the normal work routine:> *
> >> >> Tele-work> * Flex Schedules (Four 10 hour shifts/wk,
> >> >> etc.)> * and so on...> > I pose a question to the
> >> >> group...> > On Friday, the Governor of Utah will
> >> >> announce that ALL State offices> will switch to a 4 day
> >> >> work week (10 hour shifts) and close on Friday.> This is
> >> >> to meet the needs of State workers and reduce strain on
> >> >> the> Commute (which is a serious issue in this
> >> >> State).> > Here's the question:> > Would
> >> >> you go to work for a company that refused to budge (with
> >> >> no> proper explanation or reason given) or offer any
> >> >> flexibility in work> schedules? Even with such a
> >> >> precedence being set on a governmental> level?> >
> >> >> Would influence your decision if you were looking for a
> >> >> job?> Would it be incentive to seek out anot
> >> >>  her job with more flexibility?> > Just
> >> >> curious...> > -Collin>
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> >
> >
> >
> > --
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