Ask Slashdot: Would You Take a Pay Cut To Telecommute?

coondoggie writes "IT pros want to telecommute — so much so that more than one-third of those surveyed by Dice.com said they would take a pay cut for the chance to work full time from home. In a survey conducted by the careers site, 35% of technology professionals said they would sacrifice up to 10% of their salaries for full-time telecommuting. The average tech pro was paid $79,384 last year, according to Dice's annual salary survey, which means a 10% pay cut is equivalent to $7,900 on average."

Comments

Yes

[fadethepolice]

When you factor in commute time, gas and car maintenance, the need for 2 cars for family ,child care and office politics it's definitely a pay raise.

Re:Yes

[adonoman]

Why not? They're at school most of the day, and once home they spend the rest of the afternoon doing homework. Rather than having to find childcare for a couple of hours before and after school each day, I can just make sure they know I'm in my office downstairs if something bad happens. Days when I work from home are significantly quieter than days when I go in to work and have to deal with all the people at the office.

Re:Yes

[LordNimon]

Why not? They're at school most of the day, and once home they spend the rest of the afternoon doing homework.

You obviously don't have children. Your plan only works if all children are at least 10 years old. I have a six-year-old, and there's no way he can entertain himself for three hours every day, unless he watches TV or plays video games the whole time.

Re:Yes

[bhagwad]

They should pay me to work from home! After all, if there's no need for a huge office and staff etc. they save a shitload of money

Re:Yes

[Neil Blender]

Well, for people smart enough not to have kids, and live close to work, it adds up to less than 2%, at least in my case. And I live in a fairly large and not exactly cheap city. Also, if office politics has got you down, find a new job.

Re:Yes

[Strange Ranger]

Not sure I'm reading you right but fyi my 5 year old goes outside to play with the neighborhood kids throughout the 4 seasons. In winter they make snow forts, etc. They run and play through our typical suburban neighborhood all afternoon. I whistle when it's time for dinner. He also toasts his own waffles, and makes his own simple lunches (half day kindergarten) picks out his own clothes to wear, helps watch his little sister when I'm working at home, and generally has a lot of independence. He turns 6 this week. You say your kid is 7 and can't play outside by himself??
You really really need to check out FreeRangeKids.com. Do him a favor that will help him his whole life and go there now.

Re:Yes

[stephathome]

I have to agree with you. My 5 year old gained so much confidence when I started letting him go to his friends' houses on his own, not even accompanied by his big sister. Best thing ever for kids is to teach them to roam without your direct supervision, neighborhood conditions permitting.

Having friends over works pretty well too so long as they aren't the sort to constantly argue. I love finding ways for my kids to have fun without me so I get peace and quiet to get some work done.

FRK is a great resource.

Re:Yes

[n3r0.m4dski11z]

"typical suburban neighborhood" ... "You say your kid is 7 and can't play outside by himself??"

Do you even lock your doors? Do you realize that most cities are not like this, and statistically, most humans live in cities?

I dont think anyone who lives in the country has anything to worry about letting their kids play out side. You do realize you are the exception here dont you? Im not sure how it is in USA but here you need to be 12+ to be left home alone, legally. A kid playing in the parking lot of my condo tower is quite far away from my home indeed.

Do you think people want to live in cities? do you think they want to live in condos??? with a family? You are living a charmed life so dont be hating. hell you get to work from HOME...

Sounds like they have the wrong priority

[Fallen Kell]

Really, I would think that the company themselves should be willing to pay more for someone who telecommutes, due to needing less facility needs (space, cubicles, utilities) that would be saved from allowing telecommuting. And there is the added benefit of making sure all the equipment can be administered via telecommuting as you can then simply call up the IT group(s) and they can fix the problem from home without waiting the upwards of a hour that it would take to bring someone in to flip a switch/enter a password.

Re:Sounds like they have the wrong priority

[Locke2005]

The problem is that most organization have no way of actually tracking productivity, so they pay people basically for being on site for X hours a day. Meaning that anybody who isn't filling a chair for X hours a day will be suspected of not pulling their own weight. Pay people for what they actually accomplish, instead of just for being there, and telecommuting looks a lot better.

In IT, there is another problem... ever try rebooting a server while logged into it remotely? Hint: All the connections go away the moment you reboot it. A lot of sites require that you either physically be on site, or take home with you thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

Depends on company

[mlts]

In some companies, telecommuters tend to be forgotten about. This means that Jack Brown-Nose who comes in and does almost nothing will always be seen by the boss and keep an impression, while the co-workers who are at home actually working are invisible. End result: Jack tends to have an edge when it comes to promotions, or even keeping the job.

Careful what you wish for

[Anonymous Coward]

Pro tip: If your job can be done from your house, it can be done from India.

No

[Rurik]

You save money on time and logistics, but you also have to create a work area in your home. Certain organizations have sqft requirements. You also need to establish locked areas to hold files and documents. And, ultimately, you're no longer allowed to check-out. With a standard job you are expected to be responsive during your normal work hours (say 9--5:30). With telecommuting the work hours shift and you will easily find yourself on call 12 hours a day. Additionally, you lose camaraderie with your coworkers, a chance to hunker down and drive through projects faster, and possible extensive delays in communications.

Then factor in the possibility of children banging down the door to play, and the guilt you feel by having to shuffle them out to finish a project. Then a spouse who takes advantage of you "being there" for babysitting, phone calls, emotional chats, and I'd rather be at work during the day.

Re:No

[Fulcrum of Evil]

"Honey, I'm not here, I'm at work".

How will we communicate?

[burris]

I'd love to work at home but then how would I communicate with my co-workers?

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