Originally posted by chef
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At interview, if it's a stay away, then I set the scene that I won't be in at 9 on a Monday, and they won't see me on a Friday afternoon, as I'll be travelling.
After that, if the project is amenable to it, then I'll broach the subject of WFH if I think it will come off. My first contract, right at the start, I said "any problem with me working from home on Fridays?" and they were fine with it. This contract is 100% WFH - have never met the client in the 13 months that I've been here. We have regular emails and a weekly conference call, but I'm left to my own devices.
Previous project, I signed up having been told that it was WFH Fridays, and then they changed the rules in week one because the end client wanted to see people. The fact that it was another 6 months before I actually met anyone from the end client was neither here nor there
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We had WFH on one major project - think 'backbone' and 'health' and 'Gov'....
2 days a week usually but one network guy took the piiss and did five....
"Mate, need port 1521 open from x to y..."
"Soz, I'm in B&Q picking me kitchen up"
or
"Soz, I'm at M/cr airport picking me mate up...."
Balloon....Leave a comment:
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I give myself a couple of months into a new contract to 'prove my worth' as it were. Then I start asking about WFH. I currently front load my week and do longer hours on Mon to wed then I leave early on Thurs drive home and do about 3hrs on Friday morning. Also when I've had to stay home due to snow or whatever It is very handy to be able to work and still invoice.
At work I work very hard and as a previous poster mentioned I actively avoid having internet access in the office.
When I'm WFH I am contactable and answer emails and calls straight away. I also send an update to customer about half an hour before I log off.
I've been at clientco for 2 years now and the project is starting to wind down. They're not renewing contracts - and the team is shrinking, but I'm being kept on til July. I do my job well and don't take the piss, and it seems to pay off.Leave a comment:
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I have a different experience where it doesn't particularly matter on the size of the company.Originally posted by Signo_cypher View Post
The main criteria for being able to work from home is company senior management attitude. If the senior manager(s) in the company think it's a good idea then they will set it up security wise so you can work from home.
In fact many companies use it as an excuse now to save money on office space. If you can get as many staff as possible to work from home as much as possible then you can get away with a smaller office.Leave a comment:
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I don't do anything else apart from work stuff for the first week or so. Set a benchmark for the client for the work that can be done in a day's worth. Once the client is happy with what you do, then it's a bit relaxed I guess, as the client can then relate to the amount of work decreasing if you are spending too much time elsewhere.Originally posted by bobspud View Post
I would rather not let client dictate what sites I can browse during the day, apart from those that are blocked by the firewall. I've got my iphone and the bog breaks for that....Leave a comment:
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No handbagging or abuse intended however. WFH is a serious placement of trust. If they are not giving it to you, then you need to get an explanation and rectify whatever you are doing wrong before you dump the contract. I have seen others dragged in to offices in the past while I have had freedom to come and go. It's normally that they have gained a reputation for being a lazy bastard. (not saying thats you problem at all.) But IF others are viewing you in a less than perfect light then you need to sort it and PRONTO.Originally posted by russell View Post
My rule of thumb is NO internet access on site EVER. Not even at lunch. I do the work stuff as hard as possible and then save the visits here for days off site.
A colleague got sacked on a previous job for leaving the Register open all day. he wasn't reading it, he just kept it to one side while waiting for stuff. But that was enough to earn him the reputation.Leave a comment:
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My current place has what I like to call a discriminatory WFH policy. One contractor is 100% working from home, another does 1 day a week, whereas I have been refused. Will be my main reason for rejecting any extension.Leave a comment:
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I'm currently working for a well known flat pack company in Sweden. My standard 2 weekly schedule is:
WFH Monday
Catch the 5pm flight Monday evening
On client site Tues to Thurs mid afternoon
fly home Thurs evening
WFH Friday
the following week is WFH Mon - Fri
I like this schedule.Leave a comment:
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Depends. I am finding that many clients have strong WFH cultures within them now anyway. So I am working on 3 projects on my current customer and have just added a second client to the list. I tend to work 10 hours a day. so I easily get to keep all of them happy.
If customers have needs around me using their desk space I make sure they understand how much more it will cost them. I did one big migration in London last year and it cost the customer 850 per day + the travel costs to see my ugly face. If they had let me work at home as was the agreement. they would have got away with maybe £350 of that because I would have better used my time on other clients.
My rules of being at home are I always get emails answered promptly I write docs at night (normally between 9 and 12) and do no more than two conference calls a day.
If anyone gets the hump about it, I point out that I need time to actually produce stuff. Most of my clients fall into line and are very happy.Leave a comment:
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Current client stated during interview stage that it wasn't possible to WFH, due to there being no VPN!
I have just recently found out that they are "testing" VPN, and that it is being used, but they won't give me access
I have a big commute as well (so big that i have to stay local Monday to Friday).
Contract ends within a matter of weeks and i'm all booked up in a B&B, so just gonna ride it out for now.
I'm going to have a chat at [probably] renewal time, and see about working 1 or 2 days from home.
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Work from home
In my experience big corporate companies are all geared up for home working while smaller companies are still a bit backward. I have worked at places where flexible working is part of the culture and in many ways expected as the offices are all hot desks and not enough are available if everybody did turn up.
Current client co has a no working at home policy and expects all 200 contractors on site everyday unless you request to wfh a week in advance with good reason and submit a plan of what you will work on that day.Leave a comment:
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Depends on the client's attitude, as BB has said.
Some are Ok with it, while some (dinosaurs) take a dim view of wfh.
Key thing is not to take the pi55, and ensure you have some output evidence/record available for what you did whilst wfh.Leave a comment:
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A lot depends on the client. Virtually every client I've worked with have let me leave early on a friday. Sometimes from lunch onwards sometimes from 3.30 only. One client let me work my hours in 4 days and seeing as this was a 35 hour week, it was a piece of piss. Nice long weekends.
I've asked a couple of clients about working from home. Financial clients arent always keen especially at one place a contractor took the piss and balls it up for everyone (didnt you Mike!?).
If someone is already WFH at a client, then normally I'd be surprised if they said no to the OP. Course it would help if he explained the reasons why he'd like to wft instead of just saying 'well he is so can I?' (note, Im not saying this OP is saying that!)Leave a comment:
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