As a result of the blog I have been getting more and more emails weekly regarding potential topics, advice and questions. Here is one of the emails that I thought I would share with you.
Dear Merrill’s Blog:
I’m a research telecommuter now after a long stretch as a research 9-5er. My former company was quite opposed to the practice. As a manager and salesman, I think this is the best thing ever. What I’ve I found, honestly, is that mentally I’m at 50% or so work-wise, but I’m on duty 100% of the time. What makes it work is that can ‘turn it up’ to 100% work mode at any time. This approach allows me to communicate smoothly with clients and colleagues all over the world and I’m much more productive overall than I ever was.
But here’s the thing: is there a risk I might become addicted to work?
Sincerely,
Fred Tele-commute-a-holic
Are you in the same situation?
What advice do you have for Fred?
Both of us look forward to hearing your comments.
P.S. – the name has been changed
David Adams says:
I am in this role – have been for 2 years now, after being in an office for 15 years. There is no way you can be 100% for 8+ hours working in this manner, but I find coming into/out of 2 hours ‘peek performance’ times throughout the day (and I go from West to East timezone – so my day is really 7 to 7) works best. I would find it tough to go back to ‘being visible’ in an office. You will be addicted to this ‘lifestyle’ but I do think more and more companies are coming around to this reality – and therefore finding future jobs which are o.k. with this practice should be easier.
Paul Kirch says:
My first year of working from home was a real eye opener. All together I have telecommuted for 4 years of my career. I’d say they were some of the most productive times as well. The hard part about working home is learning to walk away from work at the end of the day. Your office is always there and it’s hard to turn it off. I often went in my office at night to address one email and spent several more hours working. It is not the same as someone working from home occasionally or having a home office in addition to their corporate office. When all of your files, papers, notes and other information are right there, it’s a different experience. It’s not for everyone, but those that can be self-driven, it can be a very positive and productive experience. In fact, going back to a corporate office was difficult. The number of meetings and distractions really can be a damper on productivity.
My advice to Fred is find balance. I forced myself to go for a walk to to get out for coffee at least once a day. If I didn’t there were days I would never leave the office or my house. That part is not healthy, so balance is the key. In addition, I traveled a significant amount, so that helped keep things in balance. When I was home, I got to a point where I’d set a stopping point at the end of the day and try to stick to it. It’s hard, but if you don’t you’ll become consumed by work and probably burn-out. Home is supposed to be a sanctuary, but when it’s also your office it can be come a challenge to feel positive about being home if work is not going well. All of that being said, I miss working from home and think that more companies should support it.
Anne Hedde says:
With mobile phones, Blackberries and a global economy, we are all at risk of losing out on our personal time away from the office and becoming one dimensional workabees. But you can be proactive and try to plan what you want your work/personal life goals to be. The important thing is to develop a routine – and stick with it! Set some “core” work hours and other standard (and opportune) times to “check-in” on messages. Know that everything doesn’t have to be done right now. Do prioritize – the company is not going to fail if you don’t answer every email everyday – so be prepared to walk away from the little stuff.
Honestly, there will always be exceptions – those late night projects that need to be done or that unexpected issue that arises. But if you reach 80% of your work/personal life goals, you are probably doing quite well.
BTW Merrill – that’s quite a look for you!
Jeremy Bromberg says:
I started working from home seven months ago, and I love it, big time. I agree with Fred about the 50% / 100% behavior, but frankly I’m ok with that. I also agree with Paul’s sentiment about the importance of getting out some each day. (My approach involves taking the dog for a long walk each morning.)
I suspect that the hardest part of this is the isolation – it’s always nice to know you can just walk over to someone else’s cube to chat, or having folks drop in to yours. Similarly, in some perverse way meetings provide social outlets, especially if you like to make fun of your colleagues like I always did. But I make a point to meet people for coffee or lunch, and now I can even go to my son’s soccer games and see other parents there.
I don’t think working from home / telecommuting is for everyone, so it’s important to be honest with yourself about what really matters to you and will make work more enjoyable and productive.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Anne,
Good advice. Glad you liked my new hairstyle!
See you in a few weeks.
Merrill
Merrill Dubrow says:
Fred,
This is a very good topic. I have worked out of a home office for 3 jobs spanning almost 10 years. During that time I have always had a hard time separating the office from my home. When I think of something that I need to do I would go and do it – it never mattered what time I would take care of it as opposed to know I arrive in my office and have a few index cards of notes that contain a bunch of “to do’s” When I worked out of the office I never had those to do’s. I always took care of them when I thought of them. For me there were a few things that I tried to adhere to so I didn’t get into a workaholic mode…….
Try to get outside for a few minutes a day – it didn’t matter if it was to walk around the house, go get a newspaper, pick up lunch. Put the work down and take 20 minutes and get outside.
Try not to work after a certain hour. call it a day at 6:30 or 7:00 or whatever you feel comfortable with.
Since you are in sales the other thing that i would suggest is after pounding the phone for a few hours – call a friend or a relative. Sometimes that would really help me and I found it cleared my mind and got me a little re-energized for round 2 or 3.
Good luck.
Merrill