I also have been telecommuting for more than ten years and heartily agree with Seumas' comments. One point not mentioned is the fact that the opposite (feeling left out of the team, weak, etc.) can happen to those who telecommute. You have to be an independent person who can work with minimal or no supervision, in order to succeed in a global work environment. This means that one has to make an extra effort to help team members "remember" you exist while telecommuting from some remote location. This is not too difficult these days with all of the technological advancements in place to help do that!
If I wasn't that sort of person, there's no way I could handle having my team spread out over several continents and timezones. The thing people who telecommute may miss out on is the "watercooler talk" or "kaffeeklatsch time", where talk may turn to non-work-related topics or rumors on the company grapevine. Quite frankly, I don't really miss that too much, since there are always ways to get the dirt on what's happening from the rumor mill if you really want it!
The bottom line for me is that I would not be able to hold the job I do with all of its benefits if I wasn't able to telecommute. The cost and time of traveling to and from work (110 miles r/t) would be financially prohibitive to me, and I'd end up having to take a different job that would probably be for less pay and benefits so I'd be closer with less travel.
The bottom line for my company is that I save them money by telecommuting, rather than occupying real estate space in a building somewhere. It is cheaper for the company to pay for all of the logistics and equipment to set my workspace up to handle remote work than it is to pay the current per sq. ft rate in the Chicago 'burbs for every employee. The company doesn't feel there's a problem with this setup, and you can believe if it didn't work, they'd yank me back to a cubicle so fast my head would spin. Therefore, it goes without saying that for ten years, the company has benefitted / saved money by letting me telecommute.
I just wish (and would have thought) that more companies would have embraced telecommuting by this date. Old ways die hard, and it may be another generation must pass out of the workforce before it truly becomes reality.
Slashdot Mirror
I also have been telecommuting for more than ten years and heartily agree with Seumas' comments. One point not mentioned is the fact that the opposite (feeling left out of the team, weak, etc.) can happen to those who telecommute. You have to be an independent person who can work with minimal or no supervision, in order to succeed in a global work environment. This means that one has to make an extra effort to help team members "remember" you exist while telecommuting from some remote location. This is not too difficult these days with all of the technological advancements in place to help do that!
If I wasn't that sort of person, there's no way I could handle having my team spread out over several continents and timezones. The thing people who telecommute may miss out on is the "watercooler talk" or "kaffeeklatsch time", where talk may turn to non-work-related topics or rumors on the company grapevine. Quite frankly, I don't really miss that too much, since there are always ways to get the dirt on what's happening from the rumor mill if you really want it!
The bottom line for me is that I would not be able to hold the job I do with all of its benefits if I wasn't able to telecommute. The cost and time of traveling to and from work (110 miles r/t) would be financially prohibitive to me, and I'd end up having to take a different job that would probably be for less pay and benefits so I'd be closer with less travel.
The bottom line for my company is that I save them money by telecommuting, rather than occupying real estate space in a building somewhere. It is cheaper for the company to pay for all of the logistics and equipment to set my workspace up to handle remote work than it is to pay the current per sq. ft rate in the Chicago 'burbs for every employee. The company doesn't feel there's a problem with this setup, and you can believe if it didn't work, they'd yank me back to a cubicle so fast my head would spin. Therefore, it goes without saying that for ten years, the company has benefitted / saved money by letting me telecommute.
I just wish (and would have thought) that more companies would have embraced telecommuting by this date. Old ways die hard, and it may be another generation must pass out of the workforce before it truly becomes reality.
- nite0wl