Work from home people more at risks?

[Francko]

I hink these people will find it the most difficult to survive if a lot of companies take the flexible working option as they do not manage but control - managing a global team requires more than just a command and control style.

hey ho we shall see how it all pans out!

Dilbert Pointy Hair Boss: "I have sent you to an Conflict Resolution Lecture because each time we argue I end up yelling"

Dilbert: "I see you have put on some weight. Would it help if I go jogging?"

[original PM]

Interesting thread.

Company I am in are about to move office - new office has only got 80% capacity of existing office.

there will be a big push for flexible working, home working and hot desking.

the biggest push back we're are getting is from managers who are used to seeing all staff in at 9.00 doing a register with a red pen etc etc etc

I think these people will find it the most difficult to survive if a lot of companies take the flexible working option as they do not manage but control - managing a global team requires more than just a command and control style.

hey ho we shall see how it all pans out!

[Doggy Styles]

It's easier to form personal relationships face-to-face. And personal relationships matter.

[MPwannadecentincome]

How many organisations major on global teams anyway? Not many benny.

Face-to-face @rse-licking is more effective. Er, hang on, I mean...

Very true!

But homeworking and global teams are two different things at least in my experience:

1 - global team - generally there is an office overseas with a local management function etc, therefore by implication has a local coffee machine

2 - homeworker - still out of sight - out of mind!

The only thing in common between the two really is where the important conversations or decisions are made. That is never in a boardroom it is always 'casual' conversations with people of influence - everthing else is just a means to justify what has already been discussed or decided. It is part of office politics. It doesn't matter which country or office this happens in you have to be in the right one, otherwise you have challenges to overcome just to do your job or make a difference.

It is for this reason that, sadly, homeworkers are severely disadvantaged and they have to regularly be in the office face to face to be noticed.

In most cases, anyone who works as part of a team as a homeworker may meet every target / objective thrown at them. They may enjoy a flexible workstyle and may even be brilliant enough to do a day's work in just 1/2 a day. Unless they stand out in some significant way to the people that count (in the office) they will not be remembered for what they achieve - those in the office will be spending about 20% - 25% of their time making sure their achievements are remembered. Hence when times get tough the perceived "weaker" members of the team are let go - as per the OP.

IMHO.

[Doggy Styles]

There speaks someone who has never managed a global team, or worked for a "boss" in a different country. Difficult to have a conversation with the team and board over the coffee machine if you are in different countries, so it doesn't make much difference if you are in the office or at home. Anyway, ever heard of video conferencing?

But thanks for the "conversations over the coffee machine are the ones that really count" comment. That one made me giggle.

How many organisations major on global teams anyway? Not many benny.

Face-to-face @rse-licking is more effective. Er, hang on, I mean...

[Francko]

If it can be done from home it can be done from Bangalore.

Dodgy.

Does it mean we finally have a honest indian agency instead of dodgy ripping us off?

[oracleslave]

If it can be done from home it can be done from Bangalore.

Dodgy.

[minestrone]

I used to work in a place that was big on home working until they asked one Indian chap why he never picked up support call, "I fell asleep watching the cricket". And that was the end of that.

[MPwannadecentincome]

There speaks someone who has never managed a global team, or worked for a "boss" in a different country. Difficult to have a conversation with the team and board over the coffee machine if you are in different countries, so it doesn't make much difference if you are in the office or at home. Anyway, ever heard of video conferencing?

But thanks for the "conversations over the coffee machine are the ones that really count" comment. That one made me giggle.

The point is - the real conversations are not had in the boardroom!

[Francko]

But thanks for the "conversations over the coffee machine are the ones that really count" comment. That one made me giggle.

"Some things are better said face-to-face" (I can't even finish hearing this sentence over and over...)

[PM-Junkie]

Working at home - out of sight out of mind!

The biggest problem with working from home is that if you are not seen at the coffee machine / kitchen at work for the conversations that reallycount, well you simply can't be that important.

There speaks someone who has never managed a global team, or worked for a "boss" in a different country. Difficult to have a conversation with the team and board over the coffee machine if you are in different countries, so it doesn't make much difference if you are in the office or at home. Anyway, ever heard of video conferencing?

But thanks for the "conversations over the coffee machine are the ones that really count" comment. That one made me giggle.

[MPwannadecentincome]

Working at home - out of sight out of mind!

The biggest problem with working from home is that if you are not seen at the coffee machine / kitchen at work for the conversations that reallycount, well you simply can't be that important.

[TykeMerc]

It's a fairly daft argument since it paints different, almost opposing points.

Flexible working including home based can provide resource at a lower overhead cost and allow a company to retain skilled and experienced staff.

I'm used to having team members on flexible working arrangements and from my perspective they're cost effective and produce every bit as much if not more than the 9-5 office crowd. It takes a different type of management which of course is where it falls on its arse with many managers.

[Francko]

Soon the days of working for a cup of rice for 20 hours a day.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews
As Cuts Loom, Will Working From Home Lead to a Layoff?
Recession Pushes Some to Eschew Flexible Job Policies

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"Anybody with a flexible arrangement feels like their job is on the line," said Muschinske, who cut back to working four days a week after her son, Jake, was born three years ago. (Kevin Clark - The Washington Post)
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Emily Muschinske, with her children in South Orange, N.J., says she "could see the purse strings kind of closing" before her job was cut. (Photos By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
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Emily Muschinske feeds her 10-month-old daughter, Devin, with her son, Jake, 3, nearby at their home in N.J. Muschinske cited her reduced work schedule as a major factor in her recent layoff. (By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
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Who's Blogging» Links to this article
By Annys Shin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 23, 2009; Page A01

With the recession forcing businesses to cut back on workers, employees are increasingly doing all they can to hang onto their jobs and are forgoing many of the benefits that once allowed them to balance the demands of work and family life.

In good times, workers frequently seized the opportunity to use "flex time" and family leave, to telecommute and to take paid sick days. But, according to workplace consultants, human resources specialists and employees themselves, those days are slipping away. More workers are giving up those arrangements, or resisting asking about them in the first place, out of fears that doing so will make them appear less committed to their work and therefore more expendable.

Some workers' advocates say they are particularly concerned about the consequences for women.

There's now a "silent fright" among workers, said Joanne Brundage, executive director of Mothers & More, a 21-year-old networking group, likening the atmosphere to what she saw 20 years ago, when working mothers were advised not to keep pictures of their children in their cubicles.

"That's what it feels like we're returning to. Work as many hours as you possibly can. Make yourself indispensable. Don't ever complain. Don't ever ask for anything," she said. "I'm just horrified we may as well just forget the last 20 years."