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Subject:Re: The Telecommuting myth From:Lydia Wong <lydiaw -at- FPOINT -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 8 Jul 1999 15:30:36 -0400
Dave Whelan says:
<snip>
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?
<end snip>
I can't resist replying to this somewhat cynical statement, Dave, in part
because you used a very important word there: team. I've never been a big
"joiner," and that hasn't changed in my adult years, but let's face facts:
few software products are created by a single person, working alone in a
room. Most products are created by teams, plain and simple.
Yes, sometimes there is a smarmy, "rah rah" quality to teams, but at their
best, teams provide a supportive group of professionals who respect each
other's talents and work toward a mutual goal: a good product.
If we technical writers want to be included as part of product development,
and be considered an integral part of how software is produced, we have to
suck it up and admit that means a commitment on our part to work with other
team members, sometimes beyond using e-mail and phone calls from off-site.
We can't have it both ways: "I'm important to the team, but I don't really
need to be in the office for ad-hoc meetings, informal discussions, or
mini-workshops on new features for the product." That just doesn't cut it,
in my opinion.
Just my 0.02. I'm off now to play well with others. (Or is that "to be
beguiled"?) ; )
Lydia
------------------
Lydia Wong
Technical Writer
FarPoint Technologies, Inc.
www.fpoint.com
