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Subject:Re: The telecommuting myth From:Damien Braniff <Damien_Braniff -at- PAC -dot- CO -dot- UK> Date:Tue, 6 Jul 1999 11:14:00 +0100
Like others have said it's a question of control, or at least the allusion of
control. I've worked from home on occasion (while staff - e.g. waiting for
arrival of addition to the family) and I found that, generally speaking, I got
more done at home than at work - quiet and no interruptions. As Andrew said
it's generally with smaller comapnies where everyone knows everybody and they
KNOW that you'll get the work done. In larger companies the person making the
decision may not know you at all.
Working at home is also a very individual thing - some people can do it easily
while for others it's a slog and they need to effectively create an office for
themselves that's separate from the home to avoid any temptations to have too
many breaks etc.
Where I work at the moment (and other places) we work flexi and I tend to come
in early and leave early (ish). I find I get more work done early on (again
less interruptions) than during the rest of the day. Over the years I've
notices peaks and troughs of productivity during the day (fairly standard for
me) and assume everyone is the same. Problem is when others are on a different
"pattern" and want to talk when you're working and vice versa.