Commute/Flex work options a Deal breaker?

["kelly keck" <kelly -dot- keck -at- imagine-one -dot- com>]

Melissa wrote:

>In the last position I had where I attempted to work from home, my
>manager's only stipulation was that I was available by IM from 8:30 to
>5:00pm and that I sent an IM when I left the house for lunch and if I
>stopped working before 5pm. I was always on IM, the problem was he was
>NEVER on IM. :) 
> 
>I do think that IM is a great way to handle remote work. In fact, I am
>amazed at how often we use it in the office, seems a tad silly when the
guy >in the cube next to me IMs me instead of talking...but he likes it
and it >does keep the noise to a minimum.
 
That sounds very reasonable.  I think that the key is establishing
whether "working from home" means having a flexible schedule or set
hours. And if the schedule is flexible, is the worker responsible for
still having a core time to be available by phone or IM? Either way, the
expectations need to be clear between the supervisor and the
employee--as well as anybody who needs to get a hold of that employee.  

I really dislike the "webcam" idea, because for me, part of the appeal
of working from home would be working in PJs, or being able to stretch
out on the couch or sit outside.  

There's also the issue of trust.  I don't think people perform best when
they're micromanaged, or when it's assumed that they're slacking off.
Unless a supervisor is (physically or electronically) standing over your
shoulder, they can't tell every minute of every day whether an on-site
employee is working either.

To me, the relevant question is not "Is Bob sitting at his computer from
8:00 to 12 and from 1 to 5?" but "Is Bob accomplishing the things he
needs to accomplish and providing the other team members with what they
need from him to do their jobs?"  Whether he's slacking off should be
easy to determine.  Either things are getting done or they're not.

Kelly
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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