I've been telecommuting for a while, and it's been great for both my productivity and quality of life. It rox

Most of the problems related to telecommuting are managerial, not technical; many companies simply have not trained their management staff to supervise out-of-sight employees. The current tendency to the compressed work week in lieu of telecommuting reflects this.

mjo

Right now, I am a college student and my work (for school) takes up a total of about 60 hours per week. And guess what- only 20 hours of it is under any sort of direct supervision. The rest is done from home (in my room). Yet it all gets done, because how well I do my work is reflected in measures that matter- my grades. Employers have the same power but would use raises and promotions. It is true, they just need differently-trained management.

The student analogy is good. Thanks, I never thought about it before.

It's indeed mostly about finding a new way to do things that works, instead of doing things exactly the same except from a distance.

As long as you have metrics, you should be able to do it in a significant portion of the "service' workforce.

Here's the real problem with telecommuting for employees.

If you can do it 8 km from your desk at work, what's to stop you from doing it 80 km from your desk? Or 800? Or 8000? Or ah, someone else doing it, from say, India, for 1/16 your salary?

If you can telecommute effectively, you're better off finding some dirt-cheap real estate in Mozambique or the Gold Coast and working from there. Because if you don't, you'll soon be replaced by someone who already has.

Telecommuting doesn't help me write drivers for equipment that isn't fit to leave the factory yet.

Ernie,

That's why you should done something of value and not something that anybody can do.

I have nothing against jobs going to poorer countries. I don't discriminate on people based on their passports, and doing easy jobs elsewhere frees up labor to do higher value jobs here, as well as being a downward inflationary pressure (who loves expensive computers, cars, t-shirts, etc? certainly not the poor).

Besides, despite what politicians say, US manufacturing has actually gained millions of jobs since NAFTA and other trade deals.

I've come across this in my recent job search. I've applied for jobs in Philly that I'm qualified for, but have been turned down because I want to telecommute. This is in spite of my offer of doing the job for 1/3 less than they'd pay someone who commuted.

Many employers have been burned by telecommuting and now don't want to give anyone a chance, especially new hires.

Luckily for me, I've got three interviews this week with employers within walking distance of my home.

"Telecommuting doesn't help me write drivers for equipment that isn't fit to leave the factory yet."

Of course. Nobody said it worked for all jobs. But it certainly could work for many..

"Here's the real problem with telecommuting for employees.
... Or 8000? Or ah, someone else doing it, from say, India, for 1/16 your salary?
...
Because if you don't, you'll soon be replaced by someone who already has.
"

In theory yes. In practice not so easy.

Software and engineering have found out the following:
1) the quality is lower, requiring more quality control checks and rework, decreasing the expected savings
2) salaries are rising in India and China, and the better the employee the more pricing power they have, or the more likely they are to move to a country where they can increase their pay and standard of living. this exacerbates my point 1)

I've often wondered how much off shoring was really due to health care and taxes, and not with salary per say.

Make yourself educated and flexible, and be willing to retrain and you'll be a valuable employee.

Some US-based employers are targeting any remote workers for elimination. The question they ask managers is why can't this job be done in India or China if it is done from someone's home.

The main issue with telecommuting acceptance is the first level of management is rarely trained to manage properly. Most entry level managers see themselves as people who make the work schedule and make sure that seats are kept warm. Most people in this type of position I have met have never been able to tell me how much work is being done except for 8 hours worth. Better mentorship at the Director and VP level for new managers would help enhance their skills and create a metrics driven department rather than a question mark.

I'm a 3+ year telecommuter (I call myself a WFH or Work From Home employee). My company, Sun Microsystems, has about 19,000 of us telecommuting either full or part time and the benefits are great for both company (cost savings from real estate, energy use, etc) and employees (quality of life enhancements, fuel savings, can wake up later, can wear pajamas to the office).

Obviously there is a huge technology need to make this work. Because Sun actually produces our own systems, workstations, software, etc, we have an advantage of owning and improving much of this technology ourselves (including internet appliances called SunRays - thin clients that export a users desktop through a VPN network over the internet securely). For many companies I imagine the IT infrastructure just doesn't exist to support this sustainably, but for my company the technology is not an issue at all.

As others indicated, part of the problem is people taking advantage of such a setup - not performing when at home. This is a management issue and I agree that some managers are not prepared to manage at distance. I find I am more productive at home, have less distractions and accomplish way more than I do in the office where I am more distracted. Honestly, the major negative I deal with is the old "out of sight, out of mind" issue where I might be forgotten because I am not visibly making an appearance in a staff meeting or delivering a presentation to management in person. This can be combated by letting my work speak for itself, but even in my company which does encourage this practice of working from home, you do encounter the old school mindset of management that desires you be in the office.

As for the comment about distance from the office (I think it was "8k or 80k or 8000k away"). It's about making yourself valuable to the company that matters not how close or far away from it you are. The simple fact is I can make more money going elsewhere, but I choose to remain with Sun because I get to do my work at home, in my pajamas, and I see my kids grow up before my eyes instead of sitting in a cubicle looking at pictures of them.

The world needs more forward thinking companies like Sun Microsystems.
However, I think once employees start asking for pay rises to cover the cost of gas a few more companies will relax their vice like grip on their employees and start to relax and reap the benefits of not having to heat or air-condition offices for people who can work just as productively from home.