"face time" at the office

[Cardimon, Craig]

<< The rest want the all-important "face time." ... Most want your butt
in their chair every day, for reasons I cannot fathom. >>

If they see you, they can assume you are working and not playing
computer games or taking a nap or otherwise goofing off? 

Well, I can explain it part of the way, but not completely, if that
makes any sense at all.

Here's my take. "Out of sight, out of mind." That is a truism for good
reason. I have very nearly forgotten to pay bills I stuffed into a
convenient drawer while trying to tidy up. Same with magazine articles,
clippings, or what-have-you. If it is not in front of me, where I can
easily see it every day, it slips my mind in favor of everything else
yammering for my attention.

Here is someone else's take. I overheard one of our remotes recently. He
flew in to our headquarter for, you guessed it, face time. He said he
loved being able to work at home, save gas, spend more time with his
kids, and so forth. The drawback was that he had to work extra hard to
maintain credibility.

Until and unless we invent an electronic version of face time,
telecommuting will remain a privilege granted on a case-by-case basis. 

On the other hand, automobiles have been around for more than 100 years,
and driving is still considered a privilege and not a right, even though
contemporary living almost demands one possess a driver's license. I
think that's a bit ca-ca, but no one asked me.

Craig