I WFH two scheduled days per week and other days as needed as well as traveling from four to eight days in any given two-week period.

I prefer to work in the office but since the company moved and my commute more than doubled I WFH mostly to save a few bucks. Now, you may ask, is why would I prefer to go to the office? Simple, there is no adult supervision in the office. If my plan of the day is to goof off, the office is the place. At home I really have to be disciplined and work hard and I have very definite goals for the day. If it's just one of those days I don't feel like working hard, I go in to the office. The people who think that others are only productive in an office environment are woefully off-target. Nobody watches me in the office.

I prefer it. It saves you so much. The biggest thing is time. You have much more time to spend with friends and family and also more time to do the things you like. You save a ton of money by not needing as much work clothes and by not having to pay to commute and for parking. You also don't have to deal with people stopping by your office/cube to ask you to do things. Since you're not in the office, you can better focus on your slate of work for the day.

You still end up on various phone calls and deal with people in that way. Also, given that people here likely travel anyways, you do get to spend time with other people at work. Just the in person stuff happens on the road.

Working from home is also a ton greener. You don't need to drive/get driven from home to work.

Once people work from home even for a short period of time, it's not likely they would want to go back.

"My opinion is that those who work at home and are on a company payroll are usually slacking off without the requisite adult supervision they would normally get at a proper work place."

My opinion is that you don't have the experience or wherewithall to know what you're talking about. You're assuming that people who work in an office work in one with their immediate supervisor/team mates in it. You also assume that because the supervisor is in the same facility that this leads to increased productivity. Neither are necessarily the case. People get assigned tasks and are judged on them. As a manager, it is very easy to judge who is getting things done and who isn't.

Been working from home/road since last August. My company offered me complete flexibility in all travel and work hours, so that was a major bonus. I just transfered within the company to a role that works in the office 3-4 days/week and on the road the remainder. I realize now that I missed being around my coworkers...instead of chatting with them over Skype/email.

My boss is across the Atlantic. I see him a few times a year and we talk every week or two. My staff is spread about the US. Do we really need to be hovering over our employees to make sure the work is getting done?

I have had people who would let me know what they're doing every minute of the day. I put a stop to that in a hurry. I don't car if they answer their phone in the home office, at the garage, in the grocery store, or visiting their extended friends and family out of town. As long as they're available when needed and getting what's asked of them done, that is.

^

It kind of depends on what I'm doing. For a couple of years I commuted to SAN, and would fly home on Thursday night and WFH on Friday. If I've had a heavy travel week I would do the same thing. Getting home at 6pm (or later) on Friday night sucks. I don't really have an option now since I'm site based.

My biggest problem with WFH was that my wife and daughter thought that I was off work for the day, and would get asked to "just take a minute" and help with something.

My employer is a huge fan of WFH and it's the only arrangement I've had in the 18 months I've been here. I personally don't really care for it all that much. I sit at home everyday all day save for going out for lunch most days. My team never gets together and there's alot of mising "connection" if you ask me by only working via phone/email/IM.

The other downside is that the "office" I have built is right at home, so I can sit down at any hour and talk to people, and I often do sit here at night talking to my team in India when they come in.

That is TOO funny! You are saying people don't slack off in a regular office?

I worked from home for 12 years before finally retiring (my boss died and I didn't want to have to break in a new one) but I wouldn't have kept that job very long if I hadn't produced the work product. Producing has nothing to do with "adult supervision" and everything to do with motivation. Personally I've always found a pay check to be sufficient motivation.

I did not say that. In fact, they are slacking off at the office and slacking off even more at home.

Given the concupiscent nature of man, the many will always leave to the few that which needs to be done ~ Thomas Aquinas.

Cheers,

M8

Sounds like you need to get aquainted with some actual professional people.

Been there, done that. See the quote above from Thomas Aquinas.

M8

WFH is not for everybody

Since I am one of those few that does what needs to be done......I would much rather enjoy the peace of my home office instead of being distracted by everyone at the office and been dragged into political power trips/ ridiculous and useless meetings etc etc

Quad Erat Demonstratum ~ Wolfie_CR

Ah, but you see if one is not involved in the politics and prevailing in those politics, then one can not "succeed" ;)

True Liberty, whether physically located at the company, away from the company, or the best yet ==> being self-employed, comes when you know you have indispensable skills where you command your own worth and where it is not determined by whim of those who know less and who seek to dominate because of their inadequacy.

M8

I work out of my home and far prefer it. Totally out of choice. I do find that it's really important for me to get out with people, so I eat a ton of meals out -- some business, plenty just to get out. I think it's a very personal thing. I've always liked working on my own, so it suits me.

I think some of you hit on the big drawbacks of working at home. There are some steps that people really need to follow to make it work.

- Setting boundaries. Make it clear that when you're working in your home office you're considered working and disturbances should be limited.

- Setting boundaries. Your home is your home and just because you live in it doesn't mean you should work 24/7. I had a very wise manager who said he has a 69 rule. He doesn't take calls or check email from 6 to 9 at night...ever. His motivation is to stay married.

- Office setup. You need to have a really good functional office space. You don't need a $6000 desk, but something that gives you all of the space you need. Also, you need things setup ergonomically and have good peripherals for your PC.

In the end, your company still needs face to face meetings. Even if you're remote, this pretty much has to happen. If its not, then they really don't know what they're doing.
- Get out as much as you need. If you are someone who needs more contact than you get at home go out for lunch. Network with people and meet others for lunch. Exercise at lunch.