Re: The Telecommuting myth

[Dave Whelan <dwhelan -at- PANGEA -dot- CA>]

On the subject of telecommuting, Jill asks:

While there are certainly unscrupulous people who are less productive at
home and who do abuse it, how do honest people fight the perception that
this is the rule rather than the exception?  And how do managers find ways
to evaluate this objectively?

I am a professional technical writer working for my own one-person company.
I work at my company's own site using my company's facilities. My company
offers services to clients in the same way that other companies offer goods.
A manager who buys goods from a supplier has ways of making sure that the
supplier lives up to its contractual obligations. Companies supplying
services undergo the same scrutiny as those supplying goods. Dishonest
companies do not last. My company has been in business for 7 years.

Now for a good rant...
Employees have a different problem according to some of this thread's
posters. It is apparently not enough to do a professional job for their
employer, an employee is now expected to "share the vision" and
enthusiastically join in (or better, lead) the constant fun-filled,
team-based, pumped-up excitement. It is no wonder that an employee willing
to be beguiled in such a way would not be permitted to work at home: how
could they demonstrate a suitably high level of excitement if they can't be
seen? I wonder how many of those employers who are only too willing to share
their vision are as willing to share their company with their devoted
employees by giving them equity ownership.

Now I've got that off my chest, I feel doubly blessed that I no longer have
to put up with all that rubbish.

Regards,
Dave.

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David P. Whelan, Whelan Technical Services
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (204) 334-1339
mailto:d -dot- whelan -at- ieee -dot- org
http://www.pangea.ca/~dwhelan
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