Working From Home.....

[DangerUXD]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21588760
Could You, would you?
I can work from home and on occasions have been known to but I much prefer going in. I like the segregation of home and work life and find it difficult to actually get on with work at home. However I can see how it could save millions of journeys to work so should the government be offering incentives and encouragement to employers to allow it?

[snags]

I work from home and prefer it to 'going in' every day. Only drawback is knowing when to stop as often I find myself working late in to the evenings on jobs that really could wait until the next day.

[Barmaid]

It takes discipline. But I find it works for me. There are far fewer distractions here - whereas if I go into work there are always folk stopping by for a chat or to ask you out for a coffee or something. I NEVER get anything done at work.

Plus in the summer I can sit in the garden and work, which is great.

[ummmm]

I used to work from home. I much preferred it.

[MadMen]

I work from home and prefer it to 'going in' every day. Only drawback is knowing when to start as often I find myself still on Answerbank late in to the evenings doing stuff that really could wait until the next day.

:-)

[mccfluff]

i'd rather work from home but i don;t think i'd ever get out of bed so its probably not a good idea

[DTCwordfan]

What is fir for the goose isn't necessarily ok for the gander.

I used to operate my UK sales teams from home, our regional offices being attics, studies, garages, corners of dining rooms. By and large, folk liked it and the successful ones were those that established the house ground rules with their family. I didn't mind when they operated as long as clients were happy and there were no data-filing issues in what was a highly complicated procedure to set up supplies and account monitoring. The two that failed dismally did not establish there working rules.

I would travel to them and stay in a local hostelry and then that also allowed for client visits......I only expected to see them once a month in HO for rations and overheads work. Twice a year I would put some beano on for them to help team-bond, such as karting or defensive driving and a reasonable dinner.......

The one thing I would encourage anybody to do is also to attend a few networking events locally, could be in the industry or trade at large, also to counter the "isolation" - back then we didn't have the technology of Skype etc so today I would suggest that it is even easier to network at distance and maintain a corps d'esprit.

[snags]

Depends what job you do eh...

[MadMen]

Oh definitely!

[Zeuhl]

I'm working from Home right now...




...I think I might have identified a drawback

[China Doll]

I would love to work from home... unfortunately I'd then have to tell the docs where I live as they like to come and see me. The flats not big enough for that many personalities.

[DTCwordfan]

As to working myself, I love it and always have done so, much more productive and creative, particularly when it comes to putting together plans, or in writing reports, presentations and all the rest, as BM put it re idle chat etc etc, a house rule being never work later than 8.30pm.

[Barmaid]

DT you've identified quite an important issue. Doesn't how many times I tell Mr BM or his son that when I am here during the day I am generally working, doesn't stop them asking me to find things, or asking me questions or wanting me to do something!

[MadMen]

That can be a major problem, yes. Especially if you have young children who don't seem to grasp that the office is not a play room.

[andy-hughes]

I work for BT which went through a phasae of offering suitable staff homeworking - they build an office in your designated space - computer, internet, phone line, the whole nine yeards.

I have been offered it, and always refused. i enjoy the demarcatiob between work and home, and i enjoy the social interaction of an office. I have been here for thirty-nine yearsw now, so the idea of swapping to home working does not appeal at all.

Plus, the present Mrs Hughes works from home when not away working, so we would probably get on each others' nerves after a while - there is not space for two separate offices so she uses our home office in the day, and I use it in the evenings to write, and that works out fine.

[DangerUXD]

My job lends itself very well to working from home and when I'm on call I often have to log in and do things at home so there is no reason that I couldn't although my employers is not universally in favour at the moment. However I'm similar to Andy, I like going in and have the separated work life.

[keyplus90]

I work from home and quite like it. After working for over 12 years in the city (London) now I am at home and happy.

[sp1814]

It all depends on your levels of self discipline. I work from home occasionally when I need to be in, say, to let a gas engineer in (like yesterday), but I can't have any distractions. Television has to be off, with just background music playing.

The problem that we have in our place is that management like to see people 'on the floor' so that they can be sure they're being productive. With me, it's the opposite. I actually do far more at home than I do at work, because a) I start work pretty much after I've had a shower and a coffee (ie. no travel time) and b) I work through 'lunchtime'.

Home-working (especially for people like me, in IT, where all of our work comes through electronically) would save so much in travel costs, pollution etc etc. we need a change in cultural attitudes for it to really take off though...

[craft1948]

I used to work for BT from home in York. My staff were in London so there was no need for me to go into the York office.
However, I have been known to still be in my 'jamas at lunch time.