Skiving?

[doodab]

BBC News - Is 'working from home' a skive?

I've always found I got a lot more done working from home than in most client offices, because there is less distraction and I can get everything arranged how I like it.

Of course that was before I signed up to CUK

[Mich the Tester]

Yeah I always get more work done at home too. Large offices are not conducive to doing productive things.

[Dearnla]

BBC News - Is 'working from home' a skive?

... and I can get everything arranged how I like it.

And you can indulge your OCD properly

[Pondlife]

And you can indulge your OCD properly

Onanism
Constantly
Demanded

Often wondered what it stood for. Thanks.

[d000hg]

Nice forward-looking article from the BBC there. While much of the world is actively promoting home-work as more civilised (not to mention Green ) and the way of the future, they try to undo this by reinforcing what petty middle-aged line-managers already think. "Work from home", they smirk, "maybe you should leave your web-cam on so we can check you're not down the pub".

[chef]

And you can indulge your OCD properly

you've met him then

[wobbegong]

Yeah I always get more work done at home too. Large offices are not conducive to doing productive things.

I was a nightmare working from home when the kids were younger. At three thirty productivity went out of the window as the house seemed to fill not only with Mr. W and our two but also with various women with pushchairs and sundry kids all shouting at each other. Having 'just popped in for a quick cuppa' they and their hoards proceded to turn the blissful solitude into bedlam for the next hour and a half.

[norrahe]

You do get more done, only interruptions I get are the NorPusses, bang on cue to meow loudly during conference calls or jump up on the desk and start playing with paper work.

[Mich the Tester]

Nice forward-looking article from the BBC there. While much of the world is actively promoting home-work as more civilised (not to mention Green ) and the way of the future, they try to undo this by reinforcing what petty middle-aged line-managers already think. "Work from home", they smirk, "maybe you should leave your web-cam on so we can check you're not down the pub".

That's precisely the problem. Personally I find it very easy to manage people who are working at home. I agree a set of tasks and products for them to deliver and a time and date, ask them to send an email at 1630 every day with progress report for each task and to call me if they have any problems. As long as you select the right people for the job, it works well as there are no coffee machine or water cooler discussions and progress reports don´t involve long winded small talk.

But then, I´ve only ever been a manager in projects or an interim manager, where my reponsibility is to get the job done and not to piss around with all sorts of office regulations. As long as someone does the work agreed, I don´t really care how much or little time he´s used to do it. Line managers seem to work from a position of distrust which just can't work if you're leading a team that's spread across multiple locations.

[Platypus]

I often feel that managers need to think about measuring outputs (work done) rather than inputs (hours sat at desk) before they wonder if working from home is a skive.

The article isn't as bad as I feared. Apart from:

Gauging lost productivity due to events such as adverse weather is tricky.

tut tut the BBC