My first experience with telecommuting was in 1989 using a borrowed laptop from work where I dialed into an Informix database and developed a prototype of an engineering system. Since that time I have periodically worked from home with some success. Seems that times have changed alot since those days.. with broadband speeds and creative teleconferencing it is easier than ever to work from home.What kind of experiences do you have with telecommuting to work from home? What are the tools that you have found to be most effective in your telecommuting? Are you a full time worker from home or do you also go to the office? Any recommendations for others?
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI telecommuted before I ever heard the term telcommuting. As soon as I got my first PC back in the early 90s, I realized I could just as easily make phone calls and do email, etc. from home as from my office.
Now, that I run an internet company and all of my clients are over the 'net. I guess you could still call this telecommuting.
Bob, I started telecommuting about 4 years ago and was easily able to take my job with me when we moved from TX to NH. I don't love it, and I feel guilty about that since I know other moms that would love to work from home. I am a very social creature and it's really tough to work in isolation - I think that's why I embraced blogging a couple of years ago. I also have a LOT of difficulty with boundaries between work and home life. It's a really terrific opportunity, but I don't think it suits my ENFP personality very well. I work my best in a "team" environment.
ReplyDeleteMy primary work with the tax biz let me go last week - some higher up was possibly embezzling so they closed the business. I can't tell you how giddy I was with the news it was over! They thought I was crying, but I was giggling with relief. I still do some contract admin work and online training, but that's the stuff I enjoy the most.
Great thoughts about balancing family, home life and work Missy.. some kinds of work can totally consume us and our time if we do not have pretty firm boundaries.
ReplyDeleteI telecommute once (sometimes twice) a week and am in the office the other days, which I've found to be a nice balance. My company is really flexible about it, and I've been doing it since my son was born four years ago. Even though my son is in preschool while I'm working, the days I'm home allow me to have extra time with him before and after work. Plus, I'm able to run laundry and clean in between work, which is great.
ReplyDeleteI mainly just need e-mail for work, so I access our web-based email. And, when I need to work on shared files, I log into our terminal servers or we use Google Docs. We also use IM a lot to talk to each other. I keep in touch with most of my employees that way.
One of the most important things I've needed is a phone that has both speakerphone and mute capabilities on it. Trying to participate in conference calls when my son was an infant (before he went to daycare) was challenging without that mute button. Same goes for now because of my cat. Nothing says professionalism like a cat meowing during a meeting!
LOL Kristen - I have been on those conference calls with babies crying and dogs barking :)
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