Would You Forfeit a Raise to Work From Home?

harryk asks: "There seems to have been a fair amount of talk about new jobs, telecommuting, and fair pay recently, so I pose this question: Would you forfeit some or all of a potential raise to work from home? My company is notoroisly bad about giving decent raises so I have been contemplating offering an alternative to receiving a raise, or a reduced raise with an expense reimbursement for telecommuting? What are your thoughts?"

Comments

Would I?

[Jhon]

Not only would I, I have.

I currently work about 60/40 (60% at work, 40% at home). I also live about 5 minutes away from my work. My current employer also allows me to get up and leave in a moments notice (barring anything nasty or important going on at the time).

I've been offered (by another lab) up to twice what I currently make to move out of state and I've also been offered significantly more by other local businesses -- but would require more 'face time' and more than an hour commute. (Yeah, one hour drives (or more) are LOCAL in LA).

Frankly, I'm not in it for the money. Well, that's not entirely true. I'm in it to be able to comfortably be able to take care of my family and myself. I earn enough to pay for a home, put my kids in a private school, buy myself or my wife the occational "toy" or "trinket" and save for our retirement.

Between my wife and myself, my kids have never been picked up from school by ANYONE other than us. Other than medzmama (grandmother), they've never had a baby-sitter. I CAN work crazy hours, but I also get to spend a lot of time with my children. I actually get to RAISE my kids! You can't pay me enough to lose that.

An extra benefit has been the ability to aid my sister (who recently had a stroke) in her recovery. I'm able to take a half-day off once a week and help her read her mail, fill out her bills and make what ever calls she needs to make. So, would I give up a raise for this ability? In a New York minute.

As Scott Adams once wrote

[Safety Cap]

"Sometimes the cream rises in a different jar."

There are jobs out there that offer decent raises along with the ability to telecommute. If you current employer doesn't see the value in keeping his employees happy, then that's his tough luck.

BTW: no one is going to give you anything. You have to negotiate it. If you don't have good negotiating skills, well, maybe that's what you need to work on.

No, not at all.

[HotNeedleOfInquiry]

I'd go nuts without cow-orkers to talk too, different scenery and the social aspects of the office. I did work out of my house for a couple of years so I do have something to compare it to.

Remember that you're going to have to have your books, files, and possibly more computers at home, running up the power bill, causing wear and tear and taking up space. Think hard before you do this.

Re:No, not at all.

[bladesjester]

Don't forget one other very important thing -

If the managers don't see you, they don't think of you nearly as often. While this may not seem like a bad thing at times, it has one major downfall. If they don't think about you, they also don't think about your contributions to the company.

This is bad because when the time to cut people comes around, you aren't seen as being necessary (what does that guy do, anyway?). The same also applies to future raises and promotions...

Not all telecommuting is flexible

[Fished]

I have been telecommuting for over 5 years now. There was a time when I had the kind of flexibility you describe. However, a year and a half ago my position was sold to a major IT outsourcer (whom I will leave nameless). I'm still telecommuting, but I no longer have even the flexibility that one would expect in a normal, professional office environment. I even have to get permission to leave my house for lunch! (And, yes, the manager DOES check.)

Not saying that every telecommuting situation is like this - like I said, I spend four years in a situation much like you describe. But don't assume that telecommuting implies anything relaxed about the work environment.

(BTW, if anyone needs a top-flight, alpha geek UNIX geek with programming and network skills and over 10 years UNIX and linux experience, who HAS to telecommute because he lives in the middle of nowhere, send me an email. :)

Re:not compensation

[jm92956n]

Many people I've worked with have found that it's more difficult to work from home (especially when it comes down to motivation).

This is a problem that is difficult to overcome. One piece of advice that I once heard is that those who work from home ought to do this every day:

At 8:55am, step out of your home and take a quick five minute walk around the block. Arrive back home at 9am and go straight to a room (home office) that has been specifically set aside for working. At lunch, take another walk, and at 5pm, take yet another walk around the block. Once back home, do NOT go back into the "office" until 9am the next morning. It's very important to distinguish one's home from one's home office.

I realize this is impractical for many system-admins, as they're often "on call," and, while I don't work from home, I still think it's still a solid piece of advice.

I never want to work from home!

[ageoffri]

If you can work your job from home there is a very good chance that someone from another country can do your job. I'm thinking about working from home but only for one day a week.