Is Telecommuting for You?

I do primarily telecommute. My job also requires I travel occasionally and take my work with me so I have a company laptop, cell phone, etc. My personal belief is a company computer and high speed access to the company network are the minimum requirements for effective telecommuting. Remember all the recent fuss over use of company devices for personal use? It's not a good idea to do company business on a personal computer either.

That said, I am not completely satisfied with this status. I would prefer, in my line of work as an applications engineer, to be in the same facility where the projects are built more often and be more involved in the day to day operations of my company. This is partially a function of how convenient it is for me to go there, due to distance, but the point is that for some professions telecommuting is better if it is only part time. Telecommuting full time can lead to isolation that takes conscious effort to overcome. If we are in a creative job, then we need the personal contact with others that generates and nurtures ideas.

I'm not in the engineering field but in a paper pusing field. I have in the past worked from home very efficiently and effectivly. I would again in a second if permitted. The problem most often encounterd is that managment doesn't think you're working if they can't see you working and they seem to have a real problem with their employees actually enjoying themselves while they work.

The company I work for is over 100 years old and some of the concepts they base their decisions on are too. They bill themselves as one of the most technologically advanced in our field and started to computerize operations back in the sixties. Unfortunately we are still working on the same computers they bought back then.

My intenet connection at home is faster than I have in the office, my computer is bigger and better, I have more than 4 time the screen space at home. I would be much more productive there than here. Please let me work from home.

I've worked from a home office for hundreds of years and, like Apothicus, can be very productive in this environment. I wouldn't trade it for a commuting, 9-5 position for any amount of compensation.

The only downside is that the office and the work are always here, and it's tough to put aside sometimes. Luckily I greatly enjoy what I do.