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Keith Cronin typed:
<<make sure that your telecommuting is as convenient and effective for
everybody ELSE you deal with as it is for YOU. Otherwise it's a selfish
choice more than a practical one>>
I agree with that one!
One of the best arrangements I had made enabled me to work at home 2 or
3 days a week -- it enabled others to "get to me" without setting up a
strict appointment if they wanted "face-time" (which believe it or not
is valuable stuff!) and it also enabled me to maintain a presence in the
office and some political clout.
It is very easy to forget people who aren't there, no matter what a
great job that they do. Your opinions can be marginalized if there are
meetings that happen on the fly, and your company might understand the
benefits of telecommuting, but there are individuals who will hold a
grudge because _you_ can do it, but they haven't figured out how to do
it for themselves... I have seen more folks who arrange to telecommute
get "bitten in the butt" in the end by the political side of things
rather than the work itself.
In short, working from home on Tuesday and Thursday, or on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday seemed to be best for me and my company -- and
Friday commutes tended to be easier (not to mention lots of casual
office happenings occur on Fridays, like parties and other fun things),
while many folks love to plan Wednesday meetings in the office. Missing
the opportunities for the social side of work is actually a dangerous
thing to do -- even if you are convinced that telecommuting is great,
don't underestimate the power of an actual office, if that's the way the
company is structured for the majority of employees.
Julie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Julie A. Shannon
One Woman's Press
mailto:vashon_shannon -at- yahoo -dot- com
"Every great and commanding moment in the annals of the world is the
triumph of some enthusiasm." ~Emerson
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