The Joys of Telecommuting

When my first child was born, the company I worked for didn't offer telecommuting, so I quit and worked freelance for 20 years while raising five kids. I could've made more money if I'd worked full-time, but I don't regret the lost income for a nanosecond. The kids learned they couldn't have everything they wanted, but they got what really mattered, and I did too.

Check out this item from the WSJ's Business Technology blog on telecommuting:

http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2008/01/16/telecommuters-make-work-rougher-for-the-office-bound/

The gist is that working with telecommuters can be really frustrating for other colleagues for a myriad of reasons.

I work for the federal goverment, and my agency is extremely family friendly. They support telecommuting, and flexible hours. Currently I work 2 days at my office, 1 full day and 2 half days at home. I get the perfect mix of career and time with my 16 month old, and with another baby due in July, I plan to keep my same schedule after maternity leave is over. I joke that I won't be leaving my job until I retire, because it's that good.

Check today's Wall Street Journal Careers Q&A -

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120154007379922485.html?mod=CarJMain_topleft

It has tips for determining whether a company is family friendly during the interview process. Experts say to wait until the company is interested in you, and ask about the culture and responsibilities. One way to be subtle is ask if the company allows computer log-in access from home.

I also have a family friendly government job - but it's all about who the manager is. I am not going anywhere - even within my agency - as long as I have my management structure because they care about what gets done - not necessarily how or when it gets done. I have a relatively easy commute by city standards - but the one day a week I telecommute I get to let my boys take the bus home - I take 2 hours of "leave without pay" so I'm off the clock at 3:00 even though I monitor my e-mail for urgent issues, and we get some relaxed homework time, dinner before 7 and maybe playground time. I'm sure my kids are just happy that they might get to watch some PBSKids.

Hi Karyn:
I've been telecommuting for more than 20 years. I've also studied the trend extensively and truly believe it could reshape the nation's future. Our research at http://www.undress4success shows that if the U.S. knowledge workers who could work from home, actually did, we could half our Gulf Oil dependence.

Thanks to those of your who already work from home, we collectively avoid spewing 33 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each year.

BusinessWeek has a video called Figuring Out Flextime - check it out at http://feedroom.businessweek.com/

(and right after it is a video on teen spending!)

Thanks to everyone for your comments...