Might have a job offer to work at home on software. I am in NC, company is in CA. I am concerned it might be hard to work that way, only using email and IM and phone to communicate . The upside is no commuting cost.
Anyone here work at home and have opinions?
It’s certainly different. I ended up working from home during my pregnancy. It was certainly more comfortable–better chair, better lighting, better lunch options, private bathroom, and none of the office noises or smells. I was on bad terms with my work group, so being physically separated from them was great.
It is easy to stray from your task and harder to create “synergy” or whatever in meetings. You do need self-discipline and you need to be more of an introvert than extrovert.
I work from home about 50% of the time. Couple thoughts…
For me it helps if you have an office away from everything else. It’s too easy for me to get distracted so I need a separate space.
If you’re married or just live with someone make sure your partner understands that you are working. You will not be doing laundry, starting dinner, walking the dog, picking up the kids ext. If you want your employer to trust you and be happy with your work you must be available, not off doing chores.
If you get a lot of calls at home get a separate phone line and do not give the number out to anyone who is not a co-worker.
That being said it has a lot of advantages - it’s easy to grab lunch/breakfast/coffee from the kitchen, you save money and wear on your car from not commuting, even if your feeling a little under the weather you can still work and not have to burn a sick day or vacation day, and you can work in your jammies 
Distractions are the main problem I’ve encountered while working at most of my 40 year career in computer software. But there are plenty of distractions in the conventional office environment also. I started before there was widespread email or IM, though we did create reasonable substitutes. However, some employers are uncomfortable with the idea of remote employees, sometimes for good reason such as people not actually working when they should be, paying for the costs of communications, travel costs when face to face meetings are a necessity, and some people who just don’t get it.
Also wonder if the 3 hour time difference is going to be a pain. They might call me after hours when they are still at work.
I do my best work from home.
As others have said, the biggest issue is staying on track. You have to be able to put yourself in the mindset that you’re at work. You’re not doing the dishes, playing games, starting some laundry, visiting with the neighbors, playing with your kids, etc. A lot of people think working from home means you can be with your kids while you work, and they’re just plain wrong. One of my clients went so far as to hire a nanny so the kids are on one side of the house and she’s on another from 8 to 5.
It’ll help to dress for work, keep a dedicated space and keep a regular schedule. Give yourself breaks and lunch times just like you would at the office. Make sure you set up deadlines and milestones for yourself, even if clients/coworkers haven’t set them up for you.
In my work, collaboration with other people has been minimal, so I haven’t had too many challenges there. However, I know others working from home who use phone, Skype, video chat, etc. to stay in touch just like they’re in the same office. Other people can see your Skype status and know whether they can “step into your office for a quick conversation” and that’s pretty much how it feels. There’s some adjustment as you develop a new etiquette and get used to the technology, but it should be manageable for most types of work.
I have a true home office with two external screens, serious external keyboard, mouse, and auxiliary computers at the behest of my main laptop, a high quality office chair, and a routine that all my significant others understand and respect so that when I’m in “work mode” I am well and truly dedicated to the sense of being “at work”.
I love it and would have to be bribed with substantial additional benefits to consider going in to someone else’s office to work.
I collaborate via TeamViewer (free remote control / viewing of other folks’ computers), Skype (chat and voice), and email.
7 years of work-remotely-from-home and counting.
I work at home. I think my biggest problem is loneliness. It can also be very hard to network this way. I do it because I have kids and working out of the home would involve huge daycare costs. I’m lucky enough to make a decent salary. But one of the companies I work for nearly full time has some shitty policies. They offer no benefits such as paid time off or health care and they’re jerkish about canceling work on me last minute.
If you do switch to at home work, make sure to stay in the loop with your company. If possible, see if you can arrange to work one day in the office or at least some monthly face to face contact with others in your company.
Freedom! And the lack of it. I can work in whatever outfit I want to (or not to) wear. I can take a nap when I want, with the liability that the phone might ring at any time, and I have to pretend I was wide awake and waiting for it. I can fix a snack, or skip a meal.
The downside is you have to perform anyway. What a bummer.
I like having the flexibility of doing it when I need to wait for the cable guy or something and don’t want to take a paid sick day. And since I’m an engagement manager in a consulting firm managing multiple projects across multiple offices or even countries, much of my job is done via email, webex or phone anyway. What does it matter where I sit if I’m coordinating a call between our office Downtown, the client in Midtown, a vendor in New Jersey and developers in India?
The downside is it can be very lonely and boring.
Also, it’s very difficult if I actually need to collaborate with people. For that, I’d much rather be in a room with people.
It takes a lot of self-discipline and self-motivation, as well as a high tolerance for isolation to work successfully from home or another remote location. If you’re the type who likes to chat with co-workers, celebrate the holidays with co-workers, or participate in any other social interaction with co-workers, you’d probably hate it. Even if you have a messaging relationship with people at work, you’ll still feel isolated and alone. I did very well working from home, but I intensely dislike being around people and found the social aspects of working painful.
You have to be able to completely separate your work-at-home life from your live-at-home life, to the point where you don’t answer any calls but work calls and you don’t do anything but work business during your assigned working hours. There isn’t going to be anybody walking past your cubicle, so it’s easy to think, “I’ll just stop by the SDMB for a while.” If you have kids, they will have to be cared for by somebody else while you’re working, no matter how independent they are. You also need to be able to motivate yourself to get the work done, while on-site workers are able to keep each other motivated and on course.
I loved working from home, but I spend virtually all my time alone anyway and have no particular home life to interfere with anything, so I’m an ideal work-at-home candidate :D.
What AHunter and Musicat said. I’ve been working from home for the past 2½ years and loving every minute of it! No need to worry about what time I’d get home after putting in overtime or the longer commute if I decide to work on a weekend. If my back hurts, I can go from bed right to work as long as I can walk that far and sit.
Just need to make sure I keep my production up. Don’t want to allow myself to get distracted and lose overtime until the bosses see that I’m exceeding goals – six months later.
I live in Durham, NC and my company’s office is close to Charlotte. I’ve only been to the office one time. We have a mandatory meeting every two weeks that is conducted via Go To Meeting. I love staying in my comfy clothes and not having to commute. What I miss sometimes is human interaction and there are times when it seems I don’t leave my house for days.
Reported.
Doing what? Websearches for “work at home” and spamming messageboards? :dubious:
I’m currently working remotely, though not from home: the company I work for is based in Seattle but has a satellite office here in Philly, which is where I work. My boss and the person who handles scheduling for our department (who gives me my assignments though she’s not my boss) are both in Seattle.
I communicate with both of them primarily through IM and email – in fact I had a phone convo with my boss yesterday for the first time in six months. (I’ve talked to the schedule person on the phone I think twice.)
The time difference can actually be an advantage – I may not finish an assignment by the end of the day, but will then have a couple of hours in the morning to finish it up by the time they get in the next day. It’s also important to be a decent planner – to think through what you might need from the other office for the first few hours each day and request it the day before.
I’m usually a freelancer, and in that persona work mostly at home: I love the flexibility of the arrangement, but you really do need to either be disciplined or willing to work more than eight hours if that’s what it takes to get done what you need to get done on a particular day – or both.
I work from home, but I own the companies. I do have to answer to clients, but they all prefer skype or email.
I’ve been working from home for about 12 years now - first while I was living with my parents and for the last 7 years in my own home.
Sucks when there are any other people in the house. Because you engage with them when you’re not busy working, and it’s very hard to not engage with them when you’re busy working…because they don’t know the difference. You’re always just sitting there in front of the computer! So you have to just isolate yourself and not engage with other people during the day.
If you’re alone all day it’s no sweat to stay focused but like others have said, it’s fucking lonely. And some days it’s super boring. I only work with one other person (previously two) and if they’re not in or if I just don’t hear from them during a day…man, it’s like I’m on the damn moon!
Like msmith said it is very nice to be able to do shit that requires you to be home during the day. Friday I had 2 plumbers fix 2 different things, and I am here for every single package delivery.
I’ve never had a problem staying focused on my job while I’m here. I do have a room that is my office but it also is my only computer so it’s not like I’m not in this room after 5. But I do get up at 9, roll in to the office, and other than lunch and potty breaks (for me and the dog) I am here in front of this machine until 5 PM.
At 5 PM I always get the fuck out of the house for a bit and often on weekends I don’t come in to this room at all (I veg in front of the TV with my iPod Touch for Internet).
Anyway, it’s probably way different for me since I’ve been doing this since I graduated college when I was 22. So it’s not like I’m transitioning from a big office. But I do have experience that’s for sure!
I’ve worked from home for many years, first as a freelancer and now a contractor.
I very much agree with those who recommend setting fixed working hours. It’s easy to get into a destructive cycle where you get distracted one day, then work twice as long the next trying to catch up. Pick a schedule something like 9-5 (or whatever fits well with your co-workers) and stick to it.
If you have kids or family at home while you’re working, close the door and remind them that you’re at work. If they want something, tell them you’ll help on your lunch break or after you finish.
Also, if you can, work at least one day a week from somewhere other than home. I go to the local library. Find a co-working space in your area, or rent a desk in an office that has wifi. I don’t recommend working from a cafe if you can help it, they’re noisy and full of distractions.
The biggest problem I find is that you’re always at work. So keep your work in an office, sign off at 5, close the laptop, and put stuff away till the next morning.
Also, do some exercise. At least take a walk before or after work every day.
One other thing: there’s a new book out by Scott Berkun called The Year Without Pants. It’s about his experience working remotely for a tech company. I haven’t read it yet, but I think it’s more about the issues of management and communication than anything else; nevertheless you might find it helpful.
(Full disclosure: I know Scott, and the book is about the company I work for)