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Working from a Third Place
Krishna Dagli writes to mention a USA Today report on the social and business ramifications of working from a third place - somewhere that is neither home nor office. From the article: "An estimated 30 million Americans, or roughly one-fifth of the nation's workforce, are part of the so-called Kinko's generation, employees who spend significant hours each month working outside of a traditional office. This rootless army is growing 10% annually, according to Gartner Dataquest research. The reason? Corporations are increasingly supportive of teleworking for reasons that range from saving money on office space to needing a backup in the event of a natural disaster or terror attack."
WiFi and 3G cellular networks are a huge reason; they're also a huge security whole. While (I hope) most enterprises have taken security precautions for working in public WiFi networks, I doubt most small and medium sized companies (esp. non-technology ones) are aware of how risky it is. It would be an interesting experiment to park next to Starkbucks and leave a laptop running ethereal, dsniff, etc. on for a couple hours -- something tells me not everyone there is connecting through VPN's, SSH, etc.
Sadly, PS/2 was yet another victim of USB, which doesn't care what you plug into it, the electrical slut.
"Corporations are increasingly supportive of teleworking for reasons that range from saving money on office space to needing a backup in the event of a natural disaster or terror attack."
Now even more places for data to leak.
Hole. The word is "hole." Like the one in your head.
If you want to be able to work from a new location on short notice, a laptop's the only way to go. Set up its networking so it always tunnels to the company's server and runs all communications through that tunnel.
I've heard of a lot of so-called solutions based on USB drives, even bootable ones, but the fact is they all have serious problems security-wise. Even if you're booting - or think you're booting - off the flash drive, by using equipment that's owned or accessible by other people puts your company at risk. The only solution is to also bring your CPU, keyboard input and video output with you; in other words, a laptop PC.
"This rootless army is growing 10% annually" In fact, in a few years more Americans will work outside of traditional offices than there are working Americans.
I'm a teacher and I like to do work after school at Panera because there are less distractions there. No colleagues/students/parents stopping by to discuss/chat & no temptation to pick up the phone when it rings (& I live out of my district, so I don't bump into people I know there). So many people, like teachers, work longer than their contract indicates, and places like Panera offer a chance to get a great deal of work done during that overtime in a nice environment without distractions & without making your home into a workplace.
:P )
(And yes, the state of the US education system is my fault. We give people what they pay for
It's funny, it didn't dawn on me that spending all day in my apartment would drive me crazy, so quickly. But after a week at home, I was ready to go back to working from my office cubicle :)
Don't underestimate just having people around you all day.
I still "work at home", but I go tour local coffee shops and bookstores. At least now, there's movement in the environment.
Based on upvotes, Ageism is the only "-ism" Slashdotters care about and think isn't SJW
There seems to be 2 kinds of working from home:
1) I'm taking a sickie really and I don't feel like working and look the business has provided me with a good excuse.
2) Legitimate working from home.
Unfortunately the infrastructure at the moment seems to be set up more for type 1, because every employer I've worked for hasn't got their technology right to facilitate type 2. Mind you I'm in IT and require access to a lot more than many non-IT employees might.
I think if you're going to allow work from home, that's a good thing, but for goodness sake unless your business can afford slacking off set some goals that have to be met, and provide the technology.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Those of us in Field Service have been doing this ever since the first carpenter put his sack of tools on the back of a mule to go repair an ancient roof or remodel a cooking pit. The home office is something I visit once or twice a year if that. Most of my work is done at a customer worksite, from my car, or occasionally from home to finish paperwork.
We are just now demoing these for just that issue and they are AWSOME! Basically just plug it into a USB port on any computer anywhere in the world and you get a completely secure work connection that leaves no files locally. Very cool!
"reality has a well-known liberal bias" - Steven Colbert
I've been one of these so called root-less workers for six years now and I can tell you it's not what it's cracked up to be.
#1: My company provided me with a cellular 'broadband' card as my primary connection. It works great in city centers, but is horrible if it works at all outside of major metro areas. I love it when it goes into idle mode as well - drops my VPN login, web pages time out on load, etc etc etc.
#2: My company insists it's important to load bloated corporate spyware that forces updates at inopportune moments and suddenly reboots when it's done - many times in the middle of a large email response. No warning, no choice.
#3: They insist on loading Novell services as they do for internal office workers when everything I need is strictly IP based. I got my hand slapped for backing it out, since that also reports back to the mothership daily.
#4: Many cafes that offer WiFi have minimal electrical outlets, so if you don't vulture other laptop users, you don't get to plug in. Not to mention, these environments are not conducive to making business calls with the grinders and blenders singing their harmonious tune - not to mention the vocals: "DECAF VENTI NON FAT SUGARFREE VANILLA LATTE!"
#5: Recipients of my calls complain of noisy backgrounds, so I have to go out side and talk. Winter sucks for this.
There is some luxury to the practice of being a rootless worker - the scenery does change frequently, I avoid bad coffee/snacks and the people working at these places get to know you and eventually hook you up with a freebie once in awhile.
Shame on companies who try to get off cheap and don't provide proper resources or financial compensation for lack of a decent working environment!
The wireless technologies you mention could enhance rather than degrade security. Without connectivity, you have to carry all your information with you whever you go. That's dangerous. Having connectivity means you can access only what you need, when you need it, reducing the risk. Think of that VA laptop that got stolen with millions of SSN's. If the guy had just been using the laptop for remote desktop over VPN, no information would have been compromised.
I've been telecommuting for 3 years now and before that I was on a plane every week traveling to client sites ... so I've experienced both extremes of the white collar work environment.
... etc - This is a massive benefit, actually like a salary increase. ... start again at 2:00 to 5:00 then start again at 8:00pm to midnight. I'll see email timestamps from my coworkers at 3am. Other than conference calls you have free reign.
... even seriously depressed.
Telecommuting benefits:
* Minimal fuel, vehicle upkeep, shaving, suits, home lunches
* You have the whole day to get in your time. So I might start at 9:30 break at 12:00
* No distractions so I can often complete projects in a matter of hours rather than days
* Plenty of time to day trade stocks or work on side projects.
Telecommuting disadvantages:
* If you're not married, involved or have a good set of friends then you can seriously get lonely
* You are at a disadvantage for career advancement because the people at the mothership have first dibs.
* It can get REALLY lonely
That's actually a good point. I'm going to ask my boss if I can "telework" so that I won't be bothered by the constant terrorist attacks at the office.
Another reason is some cities give tax breaks to companies who let some of their workforce work without commuting into town, where the air is full of commuter exhaust fumes.
Another reason is it's cheaper to not have to rent space for those employees, if they're willing to work elsewhere.
Another reason is because the economy has been tanking somewhat, with loss of a lot of work to "outsourced" workers, the off site workers are easier to gradually let go, and replace them with outsourced workers in other countries.
I started a new job after being laid off for a bit working from home - aka telecommuting full time. Infact my employer isn't even in the same state i'm at nor within driving distance for a days work!
The secret to telecommuting is community. The people i work with are very friendly and technically savy people - in the community way. They know how to pickup the phone and call, drop me a sametime request and schedule meetings and conference calls to get that person to person chat going.
You have to be organized and willing to work to make it "Work" but it is well worth it. I find myself relaxed, invigorated and the days flying by like no tomorrow.
It does take some getting used to of not having "cube mates" but honestly after working at banks, small shops, development houses, BIG shops and such the small talk isn't exactly worth the hassle of going to work and the real talk i had with people i would consider myself as friends usually ended up getting me in trouble and distracting myself from "working".
I've got a laptop, cable modem, desk, home office (above detached garage) so i even have a place to go to work to and come home from - even though its only 25 feet from the house that can make a difference.
I went from driving an hour each way to walking out my front door and i couldn't be happier. If i want interaction i go hang out at Barnes and Noble, Panera or the local coffee shop and use the wifi to login and get some work done and sip a hot coffee and talk to people often on something that isn't work and the healthy type of distraction that can keep you thinking and out of the day to day drone type work that most of my previous 12 years in IT has been like.
Most importantly, if you work from home or out of the office find a place that respects you for that. Don't accept less money, don't accept less benefits, don't let them treat you like your not part of the team. Places that do that, just don't understand telecommuting, never will and you will hate it.
I have a detached garage and above it i have a 600 square foot room that used to be a toy-train shop that has slowly been remodelled to my "dude room" and now my office. Its great. I have my own private bathroom and everything! i wired the room before i fixed up the walls. I put in a kitchenette with a microwave, fridge, stove, sink, COFFEE MACHINE! and other nice"ities". Its a place i'm fully functional in without having to distract myself but yet a place i can be in for those days when we have upgrades and i need to push the clock to work odd hours. (i'm a database administrator..)
I've got comcast, upgraded to the "pro" account for 8mbit/768k, i've got a Vonage voice line, Vonage fax line, my Cell phone, a company laptop, an extra monitor and plenty of space to work, stretch out and be myself.
I bought a nice speakerphone, got a headset for when i simply want to use Skype and layback during a call (hey its still free for the rest of the year!). Headset can travel with me if want to work from Panera, Barnes in Noble, Borders or other local joints with wifi.
I couldn't ask for more! I drop my daughter off at school, pick her up, make it to her activities, i get to see my wife during lunch and for more than 2 hours in the evening. My car went from seeing 25,000 miles a year to seeing about 4,000.
I find myself closer to my friends, i find myself closer to my community, i find myself more invigorated to do more, achieve more and get more work done. I find myself doing more training, i find myself working on furthering my education, i find myself INTERESTED again.
It takes the right company to know your potential and let you live up to it. Believe me they take security measures that can be annoying but after pushing time at a bank sitting around because i was paid to do one thing and nothing else to busting my balls at places i thought were fun but were just beating me into the ground with work an excuses and getting poor results because of it i'm glad to be here.
My life isn't work, its what i do. Now i do it really well because my work is part of MY Life!
I meant VPN using two-factor authentication of course :)
They sell coffee not Internet.