Seriousness to all you telecommuters!!!

krisk · 07-20-2009, 02:36 PM

I know we have quite a few telecommuters here at MR. I'd like to know how you made your arrangements? what were the talking points?

since I have been pretty much shut out of the hands on part of my job, 99% of what I am doing is computer and phone based. I am in a remote facility of our unit, and there are days that go by when I don't see anyone. the little contact I have face to face with our customers is when I schedule appointments with them to go over the "health" of their communications systems, do walk throughs and so on.

I find myself missing much more work than I like to for two reasons; the idiot that I work with that I have spoken of often, makes my life such hell, that there are days I simply cannot face coming in. and the second is that my sleep problems are getting worse. I am seeing a doctor, but still have not found a happy solution. often times, like today, I am awake at 0100, and struggle to get back to sleep. I take a pain killer, have a cup of chamomile, if it is still early enough, I sometimes even have a glass of wine. this morning I gave up at 5 (I would have been getting up at 0530) and set my alarm for 0730. at that time I called my supervisor and left a message asking if I had reminded her that I had a Doc appointment this morning, which I did not. had I not had to DRIVE to work, I would have been fine and functional. as it is, the 26 mile drive I knew was to dangerous.

I know I need to do something, but I am not quite certain what. ideas? suggestions?

Sparrow · 07-20-2009, 02:44 PM

I was fortunate - they were closing the building where I used to work, so quite keen to get people telecommuting. We just had to sign off the health and safety guidelines.

Other colleagues who want to work from home tend to have a trial period, when they work from home one or two days a week, and see how it goes. But a lot depends on the attitudes of their line managers - some cooperate, others don't.

There is now guidance here encouraging companies to set up working from home arrangements, to minimise the risks of swine flu taking out a whole department - might that be an approach worth trying?

Good luck! - I hope your situation improves soon.

krisk · 07-20-2009, 02:59 PM

whoo boy so do I! they are encouraging alternate forms of commute and have set up free bus rides. it just so happens that the bus I would take (and of course my route is the only one that does this) leaves at 6, leaving at 7:15 is plenty of time to get here. it gets here 50 minutes early, and does not leave correspondingly early. as it is, I work through most lunch hours (read I just stay at my desk as I have nowhere to go), and can't imagine spending that much extra time here. I have already asked if I could work 4 tens based on all of that. I haven't gotten an answer on that one yet.

BookishDreamer · 07-20-2009, 09:08 PM

Does your office have an established telecommuting policy? Or do people telecommute when needed? Do you live someplace that has a smog season or a time of year when everyone in the area is encouraged to work from home?

Everyone in my building was required to take telework training even if we thought we might need to work from home for a single day, like while waiting for a repair person or delivery or a DBA who needed to apply an upgrade in the middle of the night. We signed paperwork certifying that we had a safe work environment at home and indicated what equipment we were taking home (i.e. laptop). Most of us can do our job as long as we have a computer and phone. Although I live close to the office, I work from home one day a week just to get away from the interruptions in the office. I get much more accomplished when I don't have someone saying "hey, do you have a minute to come help me?" at least once an hour. I'm still in constant contact with everyone via e-mail, phone, and IM. We also have an online group calendar where the telework schedule is kept as well as all scheduled leave. This makes it easy for the boss to see how many people will be physically in the office at any given time. I e-mail my group as soon as I get online in the morning, when I'm headed for lunch, back from lunch, and when I'm logging off at the end of the day. Even without the e-mails, they know when I'm at the computer by my IM status. Since my office phone can't be forwarded, I call and check for voicemail on a regular basis throughout the day. Luckily, very few people call me. At the end of the day, I submit a detailed report of my day's activities. This system works for us. And that daily report comes in handy for my weekly status report as well as annual reviews.

I'm not sure my situation helps you much.

I didn't have to lobby for a telework day. In fact, I hadn't even planned to do it, but after the training, the boss went around the room asking which day each person wanted. I just shrugged and picked a day. There's even a virtual office group in our organization. They work from home full time and only come to the office for certain meetings.

Dreamer

ahammer · 07-20-2009, 09:13 PM

saidy this will not work for you..

me: "im under payed for being a programer let me work from home some days of the week"
boss: "ok"

krisk · 07-20-2009, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahammer

saidy this will not work for you..

me: "im under payed for being a programer let me work from home some days of the week"
boss: "ok"

I didn't get any of that?

fugazied · 07-20-2009, 09:51 PM

Some bosses are suprisngly open to telecomuting once you lay out the advantages to them (and there are some). You can even simply say "If you save me spending 1 hr driving to work each day, I'll do 30 mins of actual work from home for no pay". You might have to work longer, but no commute makes it worth it.

There's also no need for office space for you, you aren't using power at work, you are available more frequently for emergencies (not in the car without internet).

http://www.google.com/search?complet...bosses&spell=1

doreenjoy · 07-21-2009, 01:53 AM

I think your second paragraph lays out your case quite nicely.

You might consider not mentioning the rest.

Elsi · 07-21-2009, 12:59 PM

My company had embraced telecommuting for most jobs, but they have changed some technical support jobs to now require the employees to report into an office. I believe that one reason for this is that they need to bring younglings into the job and those guys need to learn from the senior folks in the jobs and they might not have the discipline to work in an isolated environment. Whereas the longer you've been in certain jobs, the easier it is to work from your home with only electronic contact with your peers.

One thing that the company did that I think is brilliant is that they set up "mobility centers". I can walk into any office in any location, log in with my network ID, and be assigned a desk and phone. So, regardless of why you're away from your normal work location, you can put your laptop right onto the corporate network and have a quiet place to work.

Alphapheemail · 07-21-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krisk

I didn't get any of that?

he meant that you can state it as an alternative to getting a raise...

krisk · 07-21-2009, 04:05 PM

I'm off to a training seminar next week and will talk to a lot of those folks and see how it stands in the industry and then start contemplating it.

since nothing like childcare would be dependent on whether or not I am home, I could indeed be very flexible about coming in for emergencies. after all, we do have a guy telecommuting from D.C.!

07-20-2009, 02:36 PM	#1
krisk Wizard Posts: 2,148 Karma: 8229 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: on the road again Device: kindle	to all you telecommuters!!! I know we have quite a few telecommuters here at MR. I'd like to know how you made your arrangements? what were the talking points? since I have been pretty much shut out of the hands on part of my job, 99% of what I am doing is computer and phone based. I am in a remote facility of our unit, and there are days that go by when I don't see anyone. the little contact I have face to face with our customers is when I schedule appointments with them to go over the "health" of their communications systems, do walk throughs and so on. I find myself missing much more work than I like to for two reasons; the idiot that I work with that I have spoken of often, makes my life such hell, that there are days I simply cannot face coming in. and the second is that my sleep problems are getting worse. I am seeing a doctor, but still have not found a happy solution. often times, like today, I am awake at 0100, and struggle to get back to sleep. I take a pain killer, have a cup of chamomile, if it is still early enough, I sometimes even have a glass of wine. this morning I gave up at 5 (I would have been getting up at 0530) and set my alarm for 0730. at that time I called my supervisor and left a message asking if I had reminded her that I had a Doc appointment this morning, which I did not. had I not had to DRIVE to work, I would have been fine and functional. as it is, the 26 mile drive I knew was to dangerous. I know I need to do something, but I am not quite certain what. ideas? suggestions?

07-20-2009, 02:44 PM	#2
Sparrow Wizard Posts: 4,395 Karma: 1358132 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3	I was fortunate - they were closing the building where I used to work, so quite keen to get people telecommuting. We just had to sign off the health and safety guidelines. Other colleagues who want to work from home tend to have a trial period, when they work from home one or two days a week, and see how it goes. But a lot depends on the attitudes of their line managers - some cooperate, others don't. There is now guidance here encouraging companies to set up working from home arrangements, to minimise the risks of swine flu taking out a whole department - might that be an approach worth trying? Good luck! - I hope your situation improves soon.

07-20-2009, 02:59 PM	#3
krisk Wizard Posts: 2,148 Karma: 8229 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: on the road again Device: kindle	whoo boy so do I! they are encouraging alternate forms of commute and have set up free bus rides. it just so happens that the bus I would take (and of course my route is the only one that does this) leaves at 6, leaving at 7:15 is plenty of time to get here. it gets here 50 minutes early, and does not leave correspondingly early. as it is, I work through most lunch hours (read I just stay at my desk as I have nowhere to go), and can't imagine spending that much extra time here. I have already asked if I could work 4 tens based on all of that. I haven't gotten an answer on that one yet.

07-20-2009, 09:08 PM	#4
BookishDreamer Cultural Artist Posts: 1,128 Karma: 12829 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Georgia Device: Sony 505, Kindle 2	Does your office have an established telecommuting policy? Or do people telecommute when needed? Do you live someplace that has a smog season or a time of year when everyone in the area is encouraged to work from home? Everyone in my building was required to take telework training even if we thought we might need to work from home for a single day, like while waiting for a repair person or delivery or a DBA who needed to apply an upgrade in the middle of the night. We signed paperwork certifying that we had a safe work environment at home and indicated what equipment we were taking home (i.e. laptop). Most of us can do our job as long as we have a computer and phone. Although I live close to the office, I work from home one day a week just to get away from the interruptions in the office. I get much more accomplished when I don't have someone saying "hey, do you have a minute to come help me?" at least once an hour. I'm still in constant contact with everyone via e-mail, phone, and IM. We also have an online group calendar where the telework schedule is kept as well as all scheduled leave. This makes it easy for the boss to see how many people will be physically in the office at any given time. I e-mail my group as soon as I get online in the morning, when I'm headed for lunch, back from lunch, and when I'm logging off at the end of the day. Even without the e-mails, they know when I'm at the computer by my IM status. Since my office phone can't be forwarded, I call and check for voicemail on a regular basis throughout the day. Luckily, very few people call me. At the end of the day, I submit a detailed report of my day's activities. This system works for us. And that daily report comes in handy for my weekly status report as well as annual reviews. I'm not sure my situation helps you much. I didn't have to lobby for a telework day. In fact, I hadn't even planned to do it, but after the training, the boss went around the room asking which day each person wanted. I just shrugged and picked a day. There's even a virtual office group in our organization. They work from home full time and only come to the office for certain meetings. Dreamer

07-20-2009, 09:13 PM	#5
ahammer cybershark Posts: 314 Karma: 2227 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: AZ Device: none	saidy this will not work for you.. me: "im under payed for being a programer let me work from home some days of the week" boss: "ok"

07-20-2009, 09:51 PM	#7
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	Some bosses are suprisngly open to telecomuting once you lay out the advantages to them (and there are some). You can even simply say "If you save me spending 1 hr driving to work each day, I'll do 30 mins of actual work from home for no pay". You might have to work longer, but no commute makes it worth it. There's also no need for office space for you, you aren't using power at work, you are available more frequently for emergencies (not in the car without internet). http://www.google.com/search?complet...bosses&spell=1

07-21-2009, 01:53 AM	#8
doreenjoy 01000100 01001010 Posts: 1,889 Karma: 2400000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Polyamorous	I think your second paragraph lays out your case quite nicely. You might consider not mentioning the rest.

07-21-2009, 12:59 PM	#9
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	My company had embraced telecommuting for most jobs, but they have changed some technical support jobs to now require the employees to report into an office. I believe that one reason for this is that they need to bring younglings into the job and those guys need to learn from the senior folks in the jobs and they might not have the discipline to work in an isolated environment. Whereas the longer you've been in certain jobs, the easier it is to work from your home with only electronic contact with your peers. One thing that the company did that I think is brilliant is that they set up "mobility centers". I can walk into any office in any location, log in with my network ID, and be assigned a desk and phone. So, regardless of why you're away from your normal work location, you can put your laptop right onto the corporate network and have a quiet place to work.

07-21-2009, 04:05 PM	#11
krisk Wizard Posts: 2,148 Karma: 8229 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: on the road again Device: kindle	I'm off to a training seminar next week and will talk to a lot of those folks and see how it stands in the industry and then start contemplating it. since nothing like childcare would be dependent on whether or not I am home, I could indeed be very flexible about coming in for emergencies. after all, we do have a guy telecommuting from D.C.!

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