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Re: Telecommuting rationale (Was: Questions about the work day for the Whirlers)
Subject:Re: Telecommuting rationale (Was: Questions about the work day for the Whirlers) From:Kathleen MacDowell <kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com> To:Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com> Date:Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:17:23 -0500
I was surprised by the negative comments about peoples' workdays, rise
times, etc. Considering the economy since at least 2008, surely it's
obvious that people take what they can get, especially in regions that were
hardest hit.
I didn't get the impression anyone was bragging, but I was impressed by the
fortitude some people display. I've had jobs where I had long commutes,
which limited the amount of my free time, and I've know many people (in
various fields) who had even longer ones. I'm always amazed at those
commutes.
Trying to look at things more positively, someone needs more sleep :-)
No, not working right now, somewhat in Gene's position, but looking ...
Kathleen
On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 12:30 PM, Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>
wrote:
> >
> > In tech writing, once youâve put in your on-site research with SMEs, the
> > compiling of written material and help content can be done from anywhere.
> > Iâm not sure why more people â especially those with demanding schedules
> --
> > arenât pushing to take advantage of that to make their lives easier.
> >
>
> I'm completely in your camp, Lynne.
>
> My last contract engagement was for a company that had never had a
> techwriter before; no one was quite sure what role I would play or even
> what a techwriter does. After all, everyone there uses Word/Excel/Publisher
> (ugh!) and can write, so where's the need?
>
> Their HR folks not having any knowledge of telecommuting (most workers
> there punch a timeclock), the job required me to be onsite at 7:00 AM. This
> required a very aggressive, one-hour drive, drawing on my map-reading and
> navigational abilities to develop "the path less traveled." (Here I could
> relax, enjoy some country scenery, and more fully appreciate my MP3
> collection. The problem here is a geographic oneâthere is no easy way to
> get across the American River east of downtown Sacramento.)
>
> Once onsite, I would bid good morning to a few co-workers, sit down in my
> tiny cubicle, slip on my headphones, and go into "the zone" where I got my
> work done. There was only an occasional need to speak to someone, such as a
> SMEâsomething that could easily have been done using the phone/email. Each
> day I was completely isolated, so there was little point to rising earlier
> than normal, then devoting two unpaid hours every day to incur additional
> wear and tear on my serenity and 14-year-old vehicle (there's no rust here
> in NorCal). Meanwhile, I was also consuming $60 of fossil fuels per week.
>
> After a month of that nonsense I petitioned my bossâa recently-minted
> marketing director (they hadn't had one of these before, either, and it
> clearly showed)âwith the business case as to why, as a contractor, I should
> be able to work from home, coming into the office Fridays only. The CEO,
> also newly-minted, had to apparently make that call, and so I sat for two
> more weeks until their executive committee could see the light of day.
>
> After about two more weeks in my new telecommuting role, my contract was
> abruptly terminated (although the project I was working on wasn't wholly
> complete and I was the sole wearer of the magic decoder ring). The
> marketing manager had brought in another techwriter who was willing to
> endure the same commute/cubicle isolation routine to which I subjected
> myself. I shook the dust off of my sandals and repaired to the comfort of
> my home.
>
> Now three months later, I am hoping to remain a 100% virtual, freelance
> techwriter. So far, so good, with the aforementioned client using my
> services once again to complete the project no one else wants to touch (I'm
> in possession of the decoder ring, remember?). Moreover, I have been
> blessed with another clientâtotally virtualâwho keeps me very busy finding
> synonyms for "attack" and "protection" (it provides a cloud-based
> enterprise security solution).
>
> That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Long live the Internet!
>
> > Chris
>
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--
Kathleen MacDowell
kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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