I’ve been telecommuting frequently for about a year and a half now. Some weeks I’ll do only one or two days at home, and the rest at the office. Other times, I’ll spend very few days in the office. There’s no fixed schedule and it depends on things like meetings and events. For the most part, it’s an arrangement that has worked extremely well.

My commute is roughly 50 kilometres – a little more than 30 miles – which is, looking at averages, not out-of-line with a lot of other people who do drive in to work every day. If I got into the habit of slogging through it every day I’d probably adjust and get used to it. It would just become part of my life. Like so many others, I’d spend two hours of my life on the highway every day.

But I made a promise to myself that I would never do that. If I was in another field – something that required the use of specialized equipment or demanded person-to-person interaction every day – maybe I would do it. But my job generally involves little more than me in front of a computer answering email, writing documents and creating concepts.

I challenge anyone to logically explain why that kind of work – the kind of work that millions upon millions of people do every day – would ever require people to drive to some arbitrary building every day.

So I won’t do it.¹

Telecommuting, like any other mode of working, presents its own unique set of challenges. Over the past 18 months I’ve developed a pretty good groove, but there were definitely obstacles to overcome. As a service to all those who telecommute, manager telecommuters or who are considering giving it a try, here’s a quick list of five things I’ve observed while working at home.

1. People will think you’re ‘cheating’

It doesn’t matter how productive you feel you’re being at home, there will inevitably be people in your workplace who think you’re somehow ‘cheating’ by working-at-home. Often they’ll make subtly snide comments, insinuating that you’re not working, that you’re sleeping in, watching TV or getting household chores done. The under-the-skin message seems to be that if you were REALLY committed to work, you’d be AT work.

Combatting this is hard. When I started, I used to be so aware of this kind of attitude that I’d specifically send emails to people before the start of work hours (so people knew I was awake) and would literally dive to make sure I answered my phone on the first ring. The goal was to let no one think I was doing anything BUT working.

2. You’ll work longer hours than you would otherwise

In an office, the people around you kind of set the tone for your day. If they’re working, you’re working. If they’re by the water cooler chatting, then maybe you’ll join them. When lunch comes, you eat because everyone else is eating. When people start to pack up for the day, so do you. It’s very much a herd mentality, and it’s effective in setting an underlying schedule to your work day.

At home, there’s nobody but you. Instead of having a quick chat with your co-workers first thing, you’re diving right into email and projects. And why would you stop for an hour at lunch? Might as well keep going as you’re eating your sandwich. There’s nothing to break up the day.

My biggest bad habit lately is pushing certain items into the evening. I’ve started setting aside 11 p.m. to midnight as a ‘work hour’ and using it to do things. Often I like this strategy – no one’s emailing or calling during that hour, so I can focus and complete work faster than I would otherwise. The downside is when I end up accidentally working to 1 a.m. and then need to get up the next morning.

3. People will get jealous

This one is hard, especially if your workplace doesn’t have any kind of ‘telecommuting policy’² – inevitably co-workers will start to quietly resent that they’re in the office every day and you’re not. They’ll start wondering why they can’t work at home too.

Of course, there are lots of reasons why someone wouldn’t be able to work at home. Maybe they’re a receptionist. Maybe they’re a teachers. Maybe they’re a firefighter. These are not long-distance jobs. Maybe their manager hasn’t developed enough trust with that employee yet. Maybe the manager just flat out DOESN’T trust that employee because they’re irresponsible. Maybe the manager is an old-school jerk who defines ‘management’ as walking around catching glimpses of employee computer screens. Maybe the employee just hasn’t asked yet.

Whatever the case, it’s not your fault. Don’t dwell on this one.

4. It helps to be a computer nerd.

If you’re considering telecommuting, it’s important that you don’t become the telecommuter that everyone hates. The one that’s always calling in every 20 minutes asking if someone can email them a file they need to work on. Or that you’ve forgotten your VPN password again. Or that your laptop is just sooo slow. Or that your Bonzi Buddy isn’t dancing as well as he used to.

Cardinal rule of telecommuting: your doing it cannot create MORE work for people in the office. You need to make it effortless for all your co-workers, which means knowing how to troubleshoot your own networking problems, shelling out for a faster home internet connection if you need to and making damn sure you have access to the files you need to get your work done. Being a tech nerd is absolutely an asset.

5. You’ll feel left out sometimes

Even though I’m a bit of an abolitionist when it comes to the traditional office, I can’t deny that offices – when they’re staffed with good people who like each other (and isn’t that always the dream?) – can lead to great camaraderie. Even friendship. And no matter what kind of allowances you try to make for yourself as a telecommuter, the very act of removing yourself from the office on some days is alienating. Suddenly you’re not there for the hilarious thing that happened at lunch yesterday. Or for so-and-so’s birthday cake. You miss out on the moments, both large and small. And that kind of sucks.

So, is telecommuting worth it?

Is it worth it? Again, that depends on the kind of person you are, and the kind of office you work at. For me, it was worth it – without this arrangement I’m not sure I’d have stuck with the job as long as I have. And I’ve definitely learned how to mitigate the negatives and focus on the positive: the stuff that makes the work I do fun.

The take-away? Don’t be knee-jerk about telecommuting. Just because one person can’t do it doesn’t mean everyone can’t. As we move forward into this crazy new generation of mine, recession-addled as we are at the moment, the managers who success will be the ones who stop obsessing about the modes of work and instead direct their energies toward quality outcomes delivered on time.

Photo by langui. Licensed under Creative Commons

1. It was a lot easier to make sweeping, declarative statements like this when the job market was better and unemployment wasn’t at 1-in-10 people, but screw it – we must not sacrifice career principles just because the stock market is slumping hard.
2. And I’m not sure your workplace should have a telecommuting policy. Every person is unique and has a different work style – stop pretending otherwise.

• Why Gen Y workers bypass IT usage policies
• How Gen Y workers turn CIOs into IT watchdogs
• Gen Y workers: We know all about this IT stuff
• CIOs: Learn the wireless workaholic ways of Gen Y
• One in five choose relaxed IT policies over money

Shane also followed up with a really good blog post about the series. He asks:

Much in the way we try to encourage bookworms to take up sports, and get the jocks singing and dancing in high school musicals, wouldn’t employers prefer a Gen Y that was a little more well-rounded in their approach to work and IT? There could be young employees who tap into social networking services, but who also keep a log of what they’re doing for potential audit purposes. There are those who use mobile computing devices, but who also demonstrate leadership in backing up data and ensuring antivirus software is updated. Imagine a Gen Yer who not only thinks they’re computer-proficient but can identify areas about technology they still need to develop.

To which I responded:

I really like your last point, and I think it’s an important one. Am I, as a 25-year-old guy in the business world, fully developed? As much as it’s tempting to throw to the ego and say ‘Hell yeah; I’m the best at everything there is!’ I’ve been smacked down enough times in my three years on the job that I know that I still have a lot of things left to learn and a lot of skills to acquire.

It’s a bit of a cop-out answer: but the solution here really is a matter of balance. Gen Y will try to convince managers to throw out all their policies and just go with the groove. The other side will just tell Gen Y to shut-up and be thankful they even HAVE a job. There’s a ton of value in the middle: in questioning long-standing probably nonsensical policies, in exploring new technologies and ways of working (’going with the groove’), and, then, synthesizing all of that into something that can work, and make money, and be tracked, and shared vertically.

I’m biased, sure. And I have a strong voice. But I think strong, sensible voices in organizations are always valuable, even when they’re wrong. Or thought wrong.

Lots of interesting stuff here — and much of it very positive. There wasn’t even any real, solid examples of someone saying “Let’s ban all fun websites from work!!! For productivity!!” Granted, I think that might be because IT companies are a few steps ahead of other sectors when it comes to understanding these kinds of things, but it’s good to know that the leaders in the race are running in the right direction.

1. He even spelled my last name in a couple of totally awesome ways — it has too many l’s and t’s as it is.

I’ve been sick for a month. Ever since I vomited on New Year’s Eve. This wasn’t your normal ring-in-the-new-year ten-shots-of-tequila vomiting, though: this was hardcore “I am mostly sober – why is this happening to me?”-type vomiting. It was the first major sign that something wasn’t right.

So I tried to ignore the fact that my body was rebelling against me for a number of days afterwards, but that ended up being futile. I went to the doctor and the doctor said ‘pneumonia’. And that has been my story for January 2009.

Pneumonia.

I’ve had worse things happen to me, medically-speaking. But this was definitely the most frustrating. Just when I’d start to feel better, the symptoms would come rushing back. It’s an illness that will actually trick you by playing dead, only to wait until your back is turned and then it strikes. Again and again and again.

Through the fevers and the coughing and the general aches all over, I missed a number of days of work this month. And that got me thinking: if my workplace weren’t so wonderful that it allowed me the flexibility to take the time I need to get better, what the hell would I do? From the people I’ve talked to, it seems that the majority of HR policies out there these days dictate some sort of fixed number of sick days per year. For most people, it’s a number between five and ten. These are, apparently, separate from vacation days. (And sometimes there are also ‘personal’ days – which makes me wonder what happens if you get sick while on vacation and THEN something personal comes up.)

There are a lot of HR policies in effect in a lot of businesses today that I find ridiculous, but this whole limiting sick days thing is near the top of the crazily-insane list. It’s akin to trying to set a limit on the number of snow days employees are allowed per year¹ or how many times the office server is allowed to crash in any given week. You can’t count things that are beyond anyone’s control.

The bottom line is this: when you’re sick you’re sick. There is nothing an HR policy can do about that.

Limiting employee sick days sends two very dangerous messages. The first is actually a message employees subtly hear all the time from HR policies. It’s the we don’t actually trust you kind of message. It comes from a place where employees will always – always – lie to their superiors for their own benefit. And that if you give your employees some sort of “carte blanche” to take as many sick days as they want, they’re bound to just take HUNDREDS of them.

The ironic part about this is, of course, that employees are way more likely to lie to their superiors if they’re put in an environment where everyone expects them to lie. It’s self-fulfilling.

The second message this sort of policy sends is more dangerous. It’s one that calls on employees to be TOUGH. Seriously, it says, so you got a little cold? A little sore throat? Your temperature a widdle bit above a hundred? Boo Hoo! MAN UP. We got work to do!

People often think this at an almost visceral, subconscious level. I think it dates back to hostile gym classes in elementary school when the person who couldn’t do a chin-up was destined to failure in life and love.

The problem here — and I know the logical part of everyone’s brain KNOWS this — is that sicknesses tend to be CONTAGIOUS. And so the “TOUGH IT OUT” attitude tends to lead to whole offices of people passing sicknesses around-and-around like some sort of demon carousel for months on end until finally the summer hits and people start going on vacation.

So what’s the upside of limited sick-day policies? That it keeps people from faking sick to go hang out with their buds all day? I doubt it. In fact, it probably encourages exactly that behaviour as people get close to the end of the calendar year and realize they’ve got some sick days they need to burn.

I will add my standard disclaimer that, yes, there are positions that are entirely about physical presence and in those positions, someone being out sick for more than a couple of days at a time can be devastating to overall productivity and output. I don’t really think an HR policy is going to help in these situations, either, though — if you’ve got an essential-presence staff member who’s got a serious illness, you’ve got to deal with that REGARDLESS of your policy.

But, still, I understand some people like these policies and find them useful. I respect that. Because, after all, studies have shown that 40% of sick days are taken on Mondays & Fridays, which tends to point to not everyone being honest about being sick…

Right?

Photo by thegirlsmoma. Licensed under Creative Commons

1. This probably only makes sense if you in live in Canada or the Northern US. Snow days are days when there is so much snow that it becomes dangerous to drive in to work.

A simple thought for this week: if you’re a young worker coming into an organization with policies — whether they involve start time, sick days, internet use, music playing, dress code, whatever — that you don’t agree with, don’t just demand that exceptions be made for you because that’s the way you like to work. Instead, start by doing work, and doing it incredibly well. Show off those abilities that make Gen Y a force to be reckoned with. Make yourself uniquely valuable. The best way to get exceptions to longstanding policies to be exceptional.

Because employers are wary and only getting warier. John Barwis of the Holland Sentinel in Michigan in a in a familiar-sounding column called “Generation Y meets real life” writes:

Our Generation Y professionals regularly met in groups to share and track each other’s salary and performance-bonus information. Many expressed the feeling that everyone should receive the same bonus, and that it was impossible or even unethical to differentiate performance. Where did they learn to expect reward for effort rather than results?

I believe as much as the most militant member of Generation Y that old work paradigms need to die off to accommodate this new generation at work, but when you get away from that macro level and down to the micro level, it does become all about results.

Does this require sacrifice on the part of young workers? Sure. In some organizations, it could require many years of sacrifice. (And in some organizations, due to institutionalized bureaucracy and lame duck management, differentiating yourself could prove impossible — or dangerous. But let’s not go there now.) But, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t need to be that difficult.

Even with the economic downturn, employers across the globe are hurting and will continue to hurt in their search for qualified people. That initial period right after you get your foot in the door is CRITICAL, because if your boss or manager starts to see you as expressly and keenly qualified for your job (and, hey, it doesn’t hurt to make it clear that you’re qualified for OTHER, more important jobs within the organization, too) suddenly you’ve made yourself very valuable. You’ve become a rare commodity: a talented knowledge worker in an era where fewer exist.

Don’t screw it up. Remember that, until you define yourself in your organization, there’s very little difference between you and the five candidates they interviewed but DIDN’T hire. So don’t go in and start making even reasonable demands in week one. Because while you know your skill level and know that you, say, can get just as much work done listening to your iPod or working four ten-hour days as opposed to five eight-hour days, your boss doesn’t.

Start slow. Remember the order of operations. Prove to your employer that he or she doesn’t want to lose you, then start defining (with your employer) the work environment you’d like to have to ensure a positive, long-lasting employment. In short: be exceptional, then start asking for exceptions.

Photo by Wayne’s World 7. Licensed under Creative Commons

Just an idle thought to keep this site going this week: do people who exhibit so-called “workaholic” tendencies inevitably end up out of touch with the the latest goings-on?

I think they do. I don’t see a way around it.

One of the first things people sacrifice when they get overwhelmingly busy is their intellectual curiosity and inventiveness. When you’re stressed, you stop learning, and just start relying on the things you already know — the old chestnuts that have worked in the past and will, presumably, continue to work.

Further, this kind of work environment kills any kind of cultural connection. And I don’t just mean that in the “let’s go look at paintings or listen to beat poetry” sense. I’m speaking more broadly: of tech culture, of greater trends and shifts, of people and how they think and what they do.

It may not seem like much when your overworked co-worker tells you they haven’t seen a movie in years, haven’t finished that book they started five years ago or that their RSS reader has over 40,000 unread items in it, going back months, but these things don’t just happen in a vaccuum. Any employee that far removed from the world at large is, at best, going to be operating at a diminished capacity for creativity.

It’s an odd situation we find ourselves in with work culture, because while we’re finally starting to understand on a macro level that people working themselves to death isn’t a very good thing, we still tend to see honour in burning the midnight oil (or the candle at both ends, or whatever you happen to be setting afire) to get work done.

We need to get away from that. It’s not a good idea in mental or physical health terms, and it’s not a good idea in the knowledge economy, because working all the time impedes knowledge.

Take a break. Read a book. Go to the movies. Learn something. It’s important.

Photo by truthlying. Licensed under Creative Commons

Weird editorial in the Financial Times UK today from Michael Skapinker, which is a neat name. He titles it A dose of austerity for a pampered generation, and is sort of all over the map.

Look, he starts here:

This recession has already hurt people such as over-mortgaged home owners and bank staff. But employers and headhunters predict a real shock for one group: those in their 20s and early 30s who have never experienced an economic downturn before.

Then hits us with this old chestnut:

For the baby boomers’ children, mass unemployment will be something new. The shock will be all the greater because the best educated of them have had it their own way ever since they entered the workplace.

Doom! Gloom! We’re so screwed. If only Generation Y hadn’t been so pampered and demanding. If only we were more like the boomers.

But wait — maybe we’re actually okay? Skapinker continues:

In one sense, today’s younger generation are better prepared for economic hard times than their parents or grandparents: they were not expecting jobs for life.

Nor did they ever think they would have defined benefit pensions, calculated as a proportion of salary at retirement. (One young worker was astonished when I explained the idea to her.)

However pampered Generation Y may have been, switching jobs and reconsidering careers are second nature to them.

It’s always nice when an author refutes his own headline. It just sort of wraps everything up nicely, doesn’t it?

I’ve written about this already. It’s still way too early to really speculate on how the economic downturn will affect Gen Y’s employment prospects. My personal feeling is that if it does hurt them, it’ll be a very short-term period of pain, and then it will end. But regardless: I think claims that Gen Y needs to adjust their attitudes in light of the recession are completely insane.

Here’s why: Generation Y hasn’t demanded greater work/life balance and so-called perks (Skapinker makes reference to Gen Y getting time off work to “train for the triathlon”) solely because they can. We’re not holding jobs ransom, hoping to get a sweet flex-time schedule out of the deal. We ask for these things because we feel that they’re important. They’re not frivolous or expendable and, most importantly at all, they don’t actually affect the quality or amount of work we get done.

Seriously, if your employee can do great work, get things done on time, and also takes two extra hours every morning to train for the triathlon, what does it matter?

Am I missing some logic here? Have I just not taken my dose of austerity yet? Should I really take austerity on an empty stomach?

Photo by Pulpolux !!!. Licensed under Creative Commons.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about twitter because, well… that’s what twitter users inevitably end up doing. Twitter is almost infuriatingly great. Infuriating because it doesn’t make sense to anybody when they first discover it. Great because, once you take the leap and start using twitter, it fits into your life so damn well.

Trying to explain what twitter is to a non-techie person is damn near impossible. You end up sounding stupid: “It’s like a weird hybrid Blog/IM/Facebook/Chat program with an arbitrary character limit for every post. You should try it!” They probably won’t. But the thing about twitter is that, once you do start using it, it’s remarkably easy to become utterly obsessed with it.

It happens organically. You sign up for an account. Start following some people. Maybe it’s only something you check a couple of times a day. But, soon enough, it takes hold. And you can’t get away.

I think Tim Bray pretty well nailed twitter earlier this year, when he wrote this:

I think that with Twitter, something important is happening. But I’m having trouble figuring out what.

So here’s twitter: a web application that doesn’t sound very appealing, but whose users are often obsessive about it. An internet milestone that no one can really define.

Does it have a legitimate business use?

This is the question that I’ve been turning around in my head. There are a few places where twitter has already had a sizable impact at the business world. In tech and design circles, it’s become an inseparable part of the conference/trade show experience. Having a dedicated backchannel is incredibly useful, and makes networking a snap.

Further, I’ve seen some stories of people using twitter as a successful marketing tool. (Here’s a good rundown of one example.) It’s a way to directly interact with potential consumers, and join the conversation. If twitter does nothing else, that’s valuable in itself.

Still, though, I can’t help but feel like twitter is still mostly untapped potential for business users. In terms of marketing, communication, promotion and brand, twitter offers something that no other social networking app has been able to before.

Twitter versus Facebook

Brief digression time: A lot of markets are focused on Facebook right now. And Facebook is a huge resource, especially considering its market penetration. But I’d argue that twitter is far more potential-laden. The differences between twitter and facebook are pronounced, especially when it comes to features. (Facebook has a lot of features; twitter has none). But the important differences may seem minor: Facebook is a closed system, twitter is open. Facebook is still very passive (You don’t need to contribute a lot to enjoy it), twitter is active, and requires you to be outspoken. Facebook users are generally either netural or wary of the service, twitter users are passionate.

Small differences, but incredibly important.

What to do with twitter in your business today

If I could tell you exactly how to use twitter as a business tool right now, I’d be in an incredible position. I could make tons of money if I had those answers. But I don’t, unfortunately. The exciting thing about twitter is that it’s all still kind of uncharted territory for business.

I can tell you what NOT to do, though, if you want to experiment with twitter. First, DON’T create an account that is just a feed for your blog. (The only case where it’s okay to do this is if you’re very clear that this is all your twitter feed is. You probably need to have an enormously popular blog to do this.) DON’T go out and follow 1,000 top users you don’t have an interest in, then get mad when they don’t follow you in return. DON’T send messages from the guise of some disembodied ‘company’ — be a real person. And, finally, DON’T expect success overnight.

The last one is key. The thing about twitter is that it’s virtually no risk. It costs nothing to join. It’s very easy to use with no learning curve. And, unlike a blog, you really can’t spend a whole day working on a post. Just dive in. And have fun.

Photo by Carrot Creative. Licensed Under Creative Commons.

The study found that two of the top five places to work were tech companies: Google and Apple. According to DECODE partner Eric Meerkamper, “The brands that were chosen are considered to be authentic and innovate; part of some new and important values emerging in the workplace. All of these organizations are places that resonate as being stable and secure. This is an important variable considering the substantial debt load many students will carry upon graduation given rising tuition costs.”

You could essentially distill this down to “people want to work somewhere cool.” And a lot of what’s cool is admittedly perception more than it is reality. Is that fair? Not particularly. But I’d argue that’s almost unavoidable. Think about this question, and answer honestly — would you rather work at Exxon Mobil or Google? Deloitte or Apple? Ernst & Young or Nintendo?

People tend to gravitate towards the younger, hipper companies, even if there’s really not a huge difference in individual experience at the entry-level. And what makes these companies seem “young” and “hip” are actually small things, which don’t have to impact your bottom line. In fact, employers can make their businesses instantly more Y-friendly through just a few small changes to their corporate culture.

Here’s five to get you started:

1. Cultivate an environment of questions — with answers

Current corporate culture often encourages passive learning. New people are expected to attend meetings, stay quiet, take notes, and learn slowly through osmosis. This doesn’t work in the twenty-first century. Without the expectation of a 25 year job with a gold watch at the end, young workers don’t really feel like we have time to just sit quietly and absorb information.

So we tend to ask questions. Often it gets us in trouble. There’s a comment thread on BrazenCareerist wherein Quarter Lifer Amanda notes she’s been fired for asking too many questions.

This is crazy. In the information age, questions are the foundation of learning. Think of google — each search query is a question, and answers are delivered immediately. This is the kind of information environment your new hires grew up with.

Obviously you can’t spend 8-hours a day answering questions, but don’t discourage people from asking. Set up infrastructure — like a twitter account — where employees can ask senior employees questions. That way, everyone will be able to follow along with the answers.

And, no matter what you do, don’t avoid the tough or “insulting” questions. Confront everything head on. If you can’t answer something, then maybe ask your new employee to come up with alternative solutions — you’ll have instantly made them feel valued.

2. Get away from the boring work environment

You don’t need to rip out all your cubicles or put down new carpet, but small things can quickly take an office from “soul-sucking” to “fun”. If your type of business allows, consider setting up a shared music system, where everyone can contribute mp3s or CDs. Instead of those cloying “Motivational” posters, throw up a bulletin board and let people post funny signs or photos (within reason, of course). Don’t use Group Policy to lock everyone to some bland desktop wallpaper — encourage people to individualize their computers.

And, when the situation calls for it, don’t be afraid to use a little bit of profanity around the office. It boosts morale. Really.

3. Embrace — and try — new technology

Too many businesses are still using sales software that’s straight out of the 1980s. Nothing kills morale faster than knowing that you have to deal with cludgy old technology. Especially when the employee knows that they could accomplish the same task in half-the-time if given better software.

This doesn’t have to cost you. A ton of software these days is open-source and free. If someone has a suggestion involving new technology, give them a chance to pitch it to you and, if it makes sense, give it a week-long trial run. What’s the worst that can happen?

4. Be Open

This doesn’t mean you need to hand out your budgets to all employees, but it’s no secret that closed door meetings are divisive. Inclusiveness is a vital part of retaining your Gen Y employees.

So be open. Invite people involved in other projects to sit in on meetings. They’ll feel more plugged in, and you may end up getting some interesting perspective. If something big has happened to the business — whether good or bad — consider letting the whole staff know about it. If you start crafting an ‘inner circle’ of only your senior staff members, those left out can easily become disgruntled.

If you’re worried about the time this might take, leverage technology. CEOs from all sectors are blogging regularly, to great effect. It lets people know what’s going on at the top-level, and also has the bonus side-effect of making people who can easily seem distant more relatable.

5. Don’t try too hard

The last thing I want is for people to take this list and instantly become the boss that wanders around trying to be everybody’s friend. Don’t be that guy. The kinds of changes outlined in this list shouldn’t be forced. Nor should you implement them then act like you’ve given all your employees a great favour.

This works in tandem with the point above — in addition to being open, you need to be honest. Ultimately, when it comes to managing people, if you’re not happy and motivated in YOUR position, none of the people under you will ever give a damn.

This kind of change needs to be made in the spirit of making your business more efficient and your team more effective. Go forward in that light, and your intergenerational team should hum along just fine. Start making changes because you just want those damned young employees to play nice and stop jerking you around, and you’re not likely to get anywhere at all.

Be open. Be honest. Be real. Be cool. It can be that simple.

Photo by Steve Deger. Licensed under Creative Commons

I thought these stats were interesting:

Last year, researchers from Penn State analyzed 46 studies of telecommuting conducted over two decades and covering almost 13,000 employees. Their sweeping inquiry concluded that working from home has “favorable effects on perceived autonomy, work-family conflict, job satisfaction, performance, turnover intent, and stress.”

The article also notes that managers are taking notice, or at least they’re SAYING that they are:

Earlier this year, an IDC report from Asia found that 81 percent of managers believe telecommuting improves productivity, up from 61 percent in 2005.

Interesting stuff. Read the whole thing. Maybe we ARE looking at a turning of the tides on this issue.

But hear me out — I have an excuse. Of sorts.

The reason I haven’t updated this blog is that I have been, since the beginning of the month, completely and totally overwhelmed by work. It’s crashed over me like a tidal wave and knocked me off of my metaphorical surfboard and into an ocean of deadlines and high expectations.

I knew it was coming. I had all of August to prepare for this rush. But I didn’t. Instead, I took some personal time. Had a nice vacation in the city. Went out for lunch a lot. Worked on the back porch in the sun. I knew the freight train was coming, but I took my time getting off the tracks.

But I’ve realized during the chaos of this week that I don’t need to feel ashamed or wrong about the way I work. Some people do live in a world of precisely ordered schedules and timetables. They plan for blocks of work, making sure everything is in its place well ahead of deadlines. But I don’t. I’ve tried, in the past, to operate like that, but inevitably, in the face of actually getting things done I neglect to make a schedule.

I don’t live in a world of printed schedules, tacked up on the wall. Though the past couple of weeks have been absolutely crazy for me in terms of always being busy, I’m not feeling bad. In fact, it’s the opposite — I’m feeling more determined and energized about everything. In the face of a looming deadline, I get lost in the rush of working: of facing challenges, of problem solving, and flying through the creative process. I love to work in bursts — to knock out eight or nine tasks in a morning, bouncing from program to program on my computer.

This is where I thrive.

I’m not disparaging or promoting any style of work. What I am saying, though, is that it doesn’t really MATTER how anybody works provided the end result is delivered on time, and that the final product is good.

I think a big part of the generational shift these days is recognizing that the final product — the destination — is more important than the journey there. And that by simply accepting different working styles we can actually, as intergenerational workspaces, increase output. I know a lot of people would call the way I’ve worked “inefficient”, but where are the drawbacks? I work best in bursts, and shouldn’t any employer want their employee to be at their best?

Photo by moomim_lens. Licensed under Creative Commons