One More Time: Most People Don't Like Telecommuting
from the want-to-go-to-the-office dept
This isn't the first time this has been covered, but it seems that people are often surprised at studies like this. Despite high gas prices, plenty of people don't want to telecommute -- even if they have the option of doing so. Believe it or not, plenty of people actually like having a bit of time between work and home that let's them separate the two things. Of course, that doesn't seem like a good reason to ban telecommuting, but to realize that it's just not something everyone wants to do.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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I'm not surprised by this.
Personally, I offset that by having a group of people I work with over IM and VOIP, speaking at conventions, and joining the local volunteer fire department -- but one way or another, you cannot turn into a hermit and be healthy.
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Telecommuting
Exposure to challenging opinions and real human characters is vital. You can quickly get right up your own ass stuck in the same room day after day no matter how pretty the outlook. If you telecommute it's important to get out or visit the office of the company you're working for at least once or twice a month.
But for me it's just a more productive way of working. I like to get things done. So much so that I developed very efficient work methods over the years that mean I can get whole weks off to do nothing but roam the countryside, or play video games or gas my opinions on the internet :) To do that I have to create long periods of undisturbed peace where I can code or document without interruption and distraction. You don't get that in an office.
The office is a horrible place imho. People who work in offices run at about 10-20% efficiency maximum. They spend their days engaged in pointless shirking, jobsworth games, office politics...
In fact some offices are nightmares because of the other people who work there. Bosses who cannot delegate and constantly pester you to satisfy their own insecurities, fire drills, maintainance people crawling under your desk, office jokers, the new girl in her 1/4 length skirt and stilletos... well not everything is bad, but i like to just have a screen and peace and quiet to work hard.
I had to develop theroutine and discipline to work alone, and it wasn't easy. When your work and home life are not separate it's actually easier to become a workaholic and neglect other things because the boundaries are not there.
But I recognise that psychological need for a home away from home in some people. It's just not for me.
With a laptop to take out for fieldwork and a dedicated server in the farm running most of my business I am free to come and go - work is where I make it.
From that base I can *choose* to go and socialise and be around people when I need them, go visit the office on some pretext or whatever.
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what do they mean by "those who can"?
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Re: what do they mean by
On the other hand some employees can be so demanding about it, wanting the employer to buy them a home computer and pay for the monthly home internet connection and phone bills. Its those asses that ruin it for everyone else. If you're gonna ask to work from home, have the equipment. If you don't have it, that's what an office is for.
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Hard to differentiate
I'm a firm believer that two heads are better than one. There are always things that come up that actually take longer to explain on instant messager or the phone than they do in person. Really you waste more time MIS-communicating than is worth it.
Gas prices suck, stop making our cities so spread out.
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best of both
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Networking
2- Also an important part of advancing in any career is NETWORKING, that just can't be done with telecommuting.
Regardless of how skilled somone might be TECHNICALLY, socializing with ones superiors and peers really is essential for advancing.
Also, there may still be a paranoia about NOT being around to constantly access the atmosphere, and to be able to defend oneself if necessary.
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There is comfort being around other people
And for others there is what they call compartmentalization. Work is done in an office. Home is a place of rest. They are separate compartments so to speak. To merge them would upset their balance.
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like it but..kitchen is too close
Besides, the altimate freedom of telecomuting is to become sole proprietor and charge for work done, not hours. Then nobody should care when and where as long as it's done.
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Re: like it but..kitchen is too close
also, i think most here are forgetting that "most" people are not partners, or developers. in most cases workers are service and production. and most service and production cannot be telecommuted.
telecommuting is really a privilege in "most" work enviroments. one that has few professional benifits.
i will agree that "most" management is closeminded about telecommunications. aswell as floating work times. wich by the way, is as effective in "most" industries.
:)
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gimme
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Telecommuting rocks!!
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Help!
Thanks!
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I still like to go into the office most of the time, but on occasion it's great. Especially when you have a chronic health problem that can sometimes keep you from even wanting to go out of the house.
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Networking via telecommuting
Also I cannot tell you how many times someone scheduled a phone meeting with me and they were just a few bays over. Why bother with the pain of the morning commute when most people will not walk 25 feet to meet with you anyways?
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not-so-tele commuting...
I think one of the main reasons I do not telecommute more is because of the lack of social interaction. I'm a people person (kinda) and I cannot see myself work from home full time... I'd go nuts. And calling someone to chat or IM is not the same.
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Telecommuting isn't for everyone just as job sharing or other perks companies offer aren't used by everyone. And even with a flexible option in place, not employees can use it. Further, many managers don't understand it or they question an employee's dedication to the job if they take advantage of telecommuting. Even though studies show that telecommuters are more productive, managers don't think people are working if they don't see them wasting time by the water cooler.
I work from home and sure it has its downsides, but, it beats going to work!!! Still I understand that for some people, the structure or routine of a regular work situation is something they prefer.
Leslie
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It's not healthy
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let vs let's
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Telecommuting isn't always working from home
The best part about it is the fact that I don't have to seperate worktime and hometime. I have taken my children to museums while stopping occasionally to conduct phone business. I completed a project via telecommuting while I was on the AMTRAK. It's all about how to use your time.
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Re: Telecommuting isn't always working from home
I also have worked from church (not during services but througout the week), from family & friends houses on the road, and even while on vacation so to speak. It gives a tremendous amount of freedom. As long as I have high speed Internet, I can work if I need/want to.
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What study was this?
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Re: What study was this?
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Re: Re: What study was this?
"Thus, if everyone who had an employer policy allowing them to telecommute took advantage of this, the share of telecommuters would grow from 11 percent to 16 percent; if everyone who could or felt they could telecommute did so, even if their employers do not currently have a policy, the share would grow to 25 percent."
In other words, of the 14 percent of people surveyed who could telecommute (in terms of the type of job they have), the barrier to telecommuting is not, as this summary suggests, personal adversion to telecommuting, but could in fact be company policy. WAY different message than "Most People Don't Like Telecommuting".
Also, if you add up the percentages here:
o 18% would telecommute less than once a week
o 25% would telecommute 1 day a week
o 17% would telecommute 2 days a week
o 17% would telecommute 3 days a week
o 3% would telecommute 4 days a week
o 6% would telecommute 5 or more days a week
o 14% would still not telecommute
... 32% would not telecommute or would telecommute less than once a week and 68% would choose to telecommute. Sure the highest percentage among that 68% might not choose to telecommute more than one a week, but why throw the baby out with the bathwater? Would it be a bad thing to say "Most People Would Choose Limited Telecommuting, Given the Option"? Esp. since that is more, um, accurate?
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Misleading survey?
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I Love Telecommuting
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Doesn't have to be all or nothing
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telecommuniting
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my GF works from home and wouldn't return to an office setting if you paid her. the difference is, we live in an urban center and she has a wide range of non-work friends and has plenty of human interaction when she is done with work.
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The virtual sex is really good!
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What no one mentions....
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Lots of arguing back and forth...
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Surprised
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There's a term for it
And it isn't healthy. I know, because I've tried doing this for years, and always believed it beat working in an office where you're less than halfway productive when you consider the non-work related stuff that happens all the time. But in the end, humans are, well, humans, and eventually yearn for the companionship or at least being in the proximity of other people.
What they say about being a hermit is true.
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