Luke Hayler - SQL Server developer

There have been a few blog posts lately about telecommuting, with some advocating it, others not and some even going to lengths to tell why you’re not.

I’m a big fan of telecommuting. Sometimes.

Brent Ozar (Blog | @Brento) wrote a great post on Why You’re Not Telecommuting (as well as several others which are all listed at the bottom of that post). In it, Brent details a number of reasons why you haven’t landed that telecommuting job yet. But he also goes into three things that you can do to get one. Brian Kelly (Blog | @kbriankelly) tells us why he doesn’t look for a telecommuting role. It’s a great read and all his points are all relevant, some maybe more specific to his particular situation, but they are all good points.

Is it too much to ask to have a role that has both a telecommuting and an on-site element? I don’t think so. It’s what I strive for. While I don’t know what the rest of the population has for a commute, mine is somewhere between 50 minutes up to 2.5 hours. One way. That really burns you out. So I try to avoid it if I can. Telecommuting does away with the ‘commute’ altogether. Being able to wake up, shower, breakfast & coffee, more coffee and ‘commute’ (aka walk) to a dedicated office space, all in under 30 minutes is frikkin’ awesome. If your on-site option does happen to be a 5 minute walk from your residence then you have what I want.

Since I can never seem to land a role that is just five minutes from my humble abode means that I have to come up with other options. So, after I have been in a role for a while (a couple of months) and an opportunity presents itself, I request a day to work from home. On my latest project we were asked to work over a bank holiday and were given the option of working remotely. I call this an opportunity because that exactly what it is. It is a chance to prove what you can accomplish when you are not on-site. If you can prove to your superiors that you can deliver results when you are at home, then you stand a much better chance of the ‘opportunity’ presenting itself again. And again. And if you work hard and deliver the results, then this can lead to a standing arrangement to work remotely. Of course this all depends on what management style is enforced where you work.

There’s a key sentence on Wikipedia about telecommuting:

“A successful telecommuting program requires a management style which is based on results and not on close scrutiny of individual employees”

If your boss is not results oriented, you may need to understand Why Your Boss Doesn’t Want you to Telework first, then go find out how to Convince Your Boss to Let You Telework.

So what’s my ideal situation? Well, having a home/office like Rob Farley did (admittedly only for a client visit) would be nice, but barring that my ideal situation would be one where I can work on-site for 3-4 days a week and at home 1-2 days. This, I feel, gives the best of both worlds. You get the interaction of colleagues and ‘office life’ and you also get the solitude and productivity of working from home. Yes, productivity. I seem to be much more productive when I work from home.

Everyone loves a list. So here’s three about working from home:

Advantages

• Productivity - I get more done at home than I do at work, primarily because (for me) there are less distractions at home than there are at work. On-site there always seems to be someone at my desk asking me a question, which switches my focus for a period of time. At home I have a dedicated office hideaway that keeps me isolated from distractions (my son).
• No commute – how long does it talk you to walk from your kitchen to your home office? No time at all. This also means that I get to have breakfast, lunch & dinner with my family without having an impact on my work. Since my boy is an early riser, I also get to spend a couple of hours with him before my day even starts.
• More flexible ‘Flexi-time’ - working from home may allow you to be even more flexible with you working hours, although this needs to be negotiated with your boss before hand. You may for example need a couple of hours to look after your kids which you can make up for later in the evening once they have gone to bed.
• Online resources at your disposal – Having access to the all the online resources (blogs/twitter/forums/etc) you need can be a great help, especially when you need help ASAP. Some companies are so locked down that access to the web is reserved for a handful of cherry picked sites and nothing else.
• More time with your family - outside of working hours, of course.
• More sleep - intrinsically linked to ‘No Commute’. Go figure.

Disadvantages

• Limited interaction with teammates (can also be an advantage) – but if you have organised your remote day(s) properly, then you’ll have a list of things that you need to do, not what someone else needs to tell you how to do. If you need more interaction, and your organisation allows it, then use of an instant messaging system may be some help. As are telephones.
• Dependent on ISP - if your internet connection goes down, and you are working on your own pc through a portal, then you are pretty much screwed. Being on-site means that you will still have access to the resources (files/folders/systems/databases/etc) you need should you not have an internet connection. If you have a work laptop then this might be a non-issue as you may well have a local copy of what you need.
• Less ‘face time’ - if your organisation’s ladder-to-success requires you have a lot of face time, then this is probably not the best option for you.

Set the Ground Rules 

When you work from home it is important to set a few ground rules, with yourself and your family, so that you have boundaries to work between. Without them, it’s too easy to keep doing the things you want to do instead of the things you need to do.

• Ensure you have a clearly defined list of things to do. Each item should have a duration and a deadline attached to it. You should really have this already, no matter where you work.
• Let your boss know what you intend to accomplish while you are at home – this commits you to the tasks. 
• Define your working hours & stick to them as a minimum – if you manage to finish your tasks for the day earlier than you expected, get cracking on the ones for the next day. Being more productive than anticipated means you may get more time to work from home in future. Remember, your day is not done until you cross off that last task for the day, even if this means working longer than expected.
• Set clear boundaries with your family – you need to let your family know that when you work from home it’s a luxury. One that can be taken away if it’s not working out. And if they keep interrupting you during your work hours, impacting your productivity, this luxury can be taken away. The incentive is to have these work-from-home days, so that you can be with them for more time than would otherwise be possible.
• Get a time tracker to keep a note of what you are doing and how long it’s taken you. Actually something like this is handy where ever you are based.
• Have a break after each task, or set of tasks.
• Ensure you are contactable – if your boss/colleagues can’t get hold of you during the day this sends the wrong signal and you may have your ‘privileges’ revoked.
• Send updates throughout the day, letting your boss know that you are on top of things.

Further reading on Telecommuting/Working-from-home/Telework/Working-Remotely/#Whadeveryawannacallit

• Lifehacker – Set up a Persistent-Video Portal for Telecommuting camaraderie
• Brent Ozar – How to Telecommute: Status Reports
• Brent Ozar – How To Telecommute: Staying Motivated 
• Gina Trapani – Master the Art of Working Remotely

Do you have any thoughts on telecommuting? Let’s hear from you.