mculbert
Macbot3000
join:2001-04-11
Clive, IA | Zombies
Maybe it's more like the IT managers don't want their employee's virus ridden zombie email blasters on the corporate network.
I sure as hell don't. |
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David
No,there is another.
Premium,VIP
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL
clubs:
 ·DIRECTV
 ·magicjack.com
 ·AT&T Midwest
| Well
if it is that bad of a hinderance why not have the boss show up on a suprise visit?? I mean true there are some advantages to telecommuting (I could do this job with telecommuting)
I figured it up one night, if I telecommuted I could save about $5k-9k a year alone!!
But like any business, especially one like ours, security is a big issue..
--
If you have a topic I have not responded to in the direct forum please be sure to reply to me... I get an e-mail when you do that so I know you updated your thread... Thanks David.. |
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FutureMon
OW My Eyes
Premium,ExMod 2002-05
join:2000-10-05
Colorado Springs, CO
clubs: 
| Not just trust, but...
It can also be said that if you are not seen in the office, your boss might have a harder time justifying your position when it's time for budgeting.
The perception at a lot of places is, if there is enough work to do, then they should be here doing it. At my place of work, there is someone who lives almost 90 miles away - and they refuse to allow her to telecommute - even though 90% of her job is on the phone doing support. Another person, a developer, is allowed to telecommute.
- FM
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DCExec Member, Member of 'StarFire Seven' & Undisputed BBR Karaoke Champion! |
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Tikker_LoS
join:2004-04-29
Regina, SK | reply to David
Re: Well
It would be pretty sweet to work from home, but it's a lot harder to ensure that people are working =\
A huge portion of people, (I wouldn't go as far as to say the majority) will do as little as possible to keep their jobs |
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B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| Yeah, and?
This has been the story since well before the "telecommuting" term was coined.
Little has changed. VPN's are slightly easier to deploy, but managers are as scared as ever of losing control over their employees (and therefore over THEIR OWN jobs).
Saying that neglecting telecommutng costs businesses money is a bit weird; it's like saying that being stupid costs businesses money, or that not pursuing new markets costs businesses money, or that retaining loathed managers costs businesses money, or tha giving jobs to the President's niece costs the company money, or that creating a hostile workplace costs money, or that failing to train employees or listen to them costs businesses money.
It's all out of Business Consulting 101, and it doesn't change anything... Smart people run smart companies (or countries), and scared people run mediocre ones.
-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function |
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King75
King Of All And Nothing
Premium
join:2004-07-31
Stevensville, MD
clubs:
| Oh Please
I know when my mom telecommutes that she isn't always doing work. Sometimes she just does nothing. On the other hand there are times when she takes conference calls at home when she isn't suppose to be working she checks her e-mail everyday including vacations and weekends so I guess in the end since verizon doesn't pay their managers OT that it is all fair. |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs: | reply to mculbert
Re: Zombies
That happens with traditional commuters too. You don't have to be a telecommuter to bring your laptop home, get an infection, and bring it to the office the next day. |
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JTRockville
Data Ho
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join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs:
·LINGO
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
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| reply to Tikker_LoS
Re: Well
How is that different when you're at "the office"?
Does your manager stand outside your office door all day to be sure you're at your desk? Does she monitor your calls to see if they're work-related or personal?
If managers don't have any way to measure performance other than "time served at the office", they're not doing a very good job.
Meanwhile, I know plenty of people who goof off at "the office" far more than any telecommuter would ever even dream of. |
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JakCrow
join:2001-12-06
Palo Alto, CA | reply to mculbert
Re: Zombies
You might want to check your corporate network for zombies and email blasters. You're not the only one surfing the net from work. |
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DataDoc
My avatar looks like me, if I was 2D.
Premium
join:2000-05-14
Greenville, NC
 ·Suddenlink
| reply to King75
Re: Oh Please
said by King75  :
I know when my mom telecommutes that she isn't always doing work. Sometimes she just does nothing...
Great job of outing your Mom! Once Verizon tracks her down using your post and member info, she really will be doing nothing. 
--
Strappin’ the ol’ yowza-pow milk truck to grampappy’s riverside wikka-wokka. |
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JakCrow
join:2001-12-06
Palo Alto, CA | Gosh. How about checking their performance?
If they're not actually working from home, they wouldn't be getting anything done, now would they? Perhaps these managers could actually do their jobs and actually gauge their employees performances instead of thinking irrationally. |
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vic102482
Premium
join:2002-04-30
Upper Marlboro, MD
| reply to mculbert
Re: Zombies
said by mculbert :
Maybe it's more like the IT managers don't want their employee's virus ridden zombie email blasters on the corporate network.
I sure as hell don't.
There is software out there that scans if the machine has the latest patches and virus definitions before connecting to the VPN and it can be made maditory. Symantech and other providers make it.
--
I tie a rope around my penis and jump from a tree, don't you wanna grow up to be just like me!!!! |
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mrchris
We don't miss you Bush
Premium
join:2002-10-01
North Babylon, NY | reply to mculbert
Blame the IT managers for not securing each computer properly |
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amw5g
join:2001-06-14
Kissimmee, FL
| As I see it
I've been a full-time telecommuter for over 3.5 years now. I worked for the employer in the office for about 2.5 years and then relocated quite far away. Since my move, I've gone through two new bosses- both of whom I've never met.
I do indeed feel that there is a belief that because I'm not seen, then my contribution to the company gets marginalized. Consider that the person I hired and trained and who has the exact same title as I do in the physical office makes more than I do. Consider that I've been told that since I work from home, I can "stick around" after hours on Fridays to clean up work that my counterpart didn't complete before he left. My belief is that I can't get away with not returning emails promptly and not answering my phone.
All that being said, they've kept me on this long without ever making an appearance so I must be doing something right. It's just a matter of how much paranoia is justified . |
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Musicscom
Premium
join:2004-08-24
Washington, DC
| How can I get one of those lazy butt jobs?
This topic is so great; there's so much to add to it.
Telecommuting: [Dune]: working without laboring, travelling without moving, surfing the Internet without paying.
Aren't most of those "working at home on their computers" actually the managers?
And if that's true, they are not getting any work done, because they don't do any! They're just there to spy on everyone else. |
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normljoe
Premium
join:2004-08-11
Arlington, TX
| reply to JTRockville
Re: Well
After working from home for nearly 3 years, I get far more work done then I ever did going into the office. I haven't had one "sick day" since working from home and usually put in 9 - 10 hours /day.
As for security, that's a bogus argument. With VPN, good anti-virus software and practicing the same level of responsibility you would if you went into the office, you'll never have a virus.
The crux of the problem is managers who don't know how to manage people or projects. |
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TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Brooklyn NYC
·Verizon Online DSL
| Productivity is the key
I telecommute, and find that I end up giving far more time to the job than I would otherwise give, if I had to show up at an office.
There are several reasons for this:
One, I feel that I have to constantly prove that I am working, and working well; so my output is up, and my communication with superiors is far better.
Two, I make better use of my time; get up in the morning, make coffee, and while awaiting that state of compus-mentus, I am clearing out my mailbox, and looking at the state of the network..... I may get out to the store at times, but find that I more than make up for it in the evening or on a rainy week-end day.
Finally, accountability, much of the work arrives in email or other electronic form, making it easier for all to know the state of the work completed and yet to be done.. this puts more pressure on the worker. How many times have I gotten up in the middle of the night and remembered something I promised to do and didn't... so, since there is no commute, I get it done, and go back to sleep.
Productivity can not be measured in terms of how much time one spends at ones desk! In fact, I have binged on jobs getting them done fast so I can "skate" on that Friday and go fishing, something I would not do if I had to be physically present! I can work 18-20 hours for 3 days, and have an easy 2 days, and all the time getting more done.
American businesses are for the most part Neanderthal when it comes to telecommuting (and most other worker-oriented issues), and are missing out on the most important benefits; productivity, worker loyalty, worker satisfaction and quality of life. You get far more work out of someone with honey than with salt; and a worker will bend over backwards to remain a telecommuter by putting out more and better work, while feeling better about their jobs and their life situation in general. Isn't that what technology is supposed to do??
Bob
--
Motor Vessel - Tamara B.
43' Long-Range Trawler
Cape Elizebeth ME.
See her Here. |
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Goober
Premium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
·Comcast
·WOW Internet and C..
1 edit | reply to Musicscom
Re: How can I get one of those lazy butt jobs?
My boss says that he thinks the work poduct isn't as good when working from home. He says, "even though you may be working just as hard and putting in the hours, I believe your work product suffers and isn't as high of quality as work done in the office."
My work seemed to get very high grades when I was working for a private firm and commuting 3 days a week.
All of a sudden I do crappier work on easier projects?
This thread nails it on the head. It's all a matter of trust and control. |
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nshulga
join:2002-06-06
Morrisville, PA
| reply to normljoe
Re: Well
said by normljoe :
After working from home for nearly 3 years, I get far more work done then I ever did going into the office. I haven't had one "sick day" since working from home and usually put in 9 - 10 hours /day.
Pretty much the same here for the last 4.5 years. |
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Sunburn
join:2000-10-05
Denver, CO
| bs
Trust?? LoL If you have a job you should be accountable for the work you do. That is the way every telecommuter I know is managed in the REAL WORLD. They are held accountable! WTF is this bs about trust? Either you produce or you don't. Sitting on your ass doing nothing while telecommuting will get you fired just as quick as doing it at the office.
This just another example of BS theory incompetently thought up, employed and perpetuated through popular belief.... Incompetent fools should be executed for filling the world full of this crap logic. |
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