[Cialug] Programming telecommute

[Zachary Kotlarek]

On Oct 24, 2014, at 1:29 PM, Todd Walton <tdwalton at gmail.com> wrote:

> But I’m not sure that's a good idea if both the employer and employee are new to it.


I have in my last two jobs essentially just ramped my way up into work 90+% from home on my own volition and found that both companies eventually found a away to adapt to me. The first one started a “pilot program” that included me and one of my co-workers (who also essentially gave the company no choice in the matter). I don’t think that ever expanded to anyone else, but it was an official acknowledgement that they were okay with what I was doing. At my current job I haven’t changed company policy yet, but I convinced my direct boss I could work from home and to protect me from execs that care she moved my desk into a corner on another floor and asked me to leave my monitors on all the time (which is more effective than you’d probably like to believe — inquiries about my whereabouts dropped to 0).

So you can, at least in theory, just start doing it. In my experience, which may or may not be typical, it’s harder than you think to get fired for not showing up. And while risky it does provide direct experimental evidence of the impacts of your telecommuting in the job, which gives you some help if and when someone challenges you (assuming there aren’t significant negative impacts, obviously).

But as others have warned, you will almost certainly have to do all the work yourself, and take responsibility not only for your own work but for all of the challenges and changes that come with telecommuting, including overcoming generations of culture that equates sitting in a cube or a meeting with getting work done. So if you’re not up for that risk and responsibility starting a telecommuting program may not be the thing for you, and I think that’s exactly what you’re doing whether or not you ask for permission first.

	Zach

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