Slashdot Mirror
Mobile Workers Work Longer Hours
Qedward writes "Last month it was reported on slashdot that a third of workers at a British telecoms company were 'more productive' working from home during a telecommuting experiment to prepare for the London 2012 Olympics. A more recent study reveals almost two-thirds of mobile employees say they are working 50+ and 60+ hour weeks, with most also working weekends. It also has security implications, with most mobile workers saying they will do anything to get an internet connection, including hijacking unsecure networks. The problem of needing a connection has also led to an increase in workers waking up through the night due to stress."
I had a friend work at a large company that began moving to working from home. He jumped at it, rented his house out, and rented a place out in Hawaii with his girlfriend. He loved it. Not too many others jumped in. He was baffled and started asking why. No one wanted to be at home all day. Some found being at home too stressful; spouse, small kids, noise, etc. Others simply liked being around other people they know for a part of the day. Others were too programmed with the office/home mentality of work/not-work.
Yeah, that's about it. Just turn off the power of your gadgets and ignore everything outside business hours. Only way to remain sane.
What the hell are firms doing even making it possible to connect to their systems on unsecured servers? I've worked from home for years (well, 3 days at home, 2 in the office) and the only way I can connect is via my work laptop which has an encrypted hard drive and connects via VPN and an RSA keyfob thingy. Trying to connect any other way means you'll just get rejected by the servers and rightly so.
As for hours, yes, I work longer hours at home but I can work them when I want (more or less, meetings permitting) so can be around for the school run, making dinner for the family in the evening etc.
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil