Re: Commute/Flex work options ?

Subject: Re: Commute/Flex work options ?
From: "Pro TechWriter" <pro -dot- techwriter -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:53:34 -0500

I agree with this completely, and is very well said. Thank you.

However, I work in a so-called "Agile" environment where a lot of emphasis
is placed on being co-located with the team, being in the office every day,
and now, everyone working in the same room on tables without cubes at all.
I've been told this is part of the "Agile" environment to all be within two
feet of each other with no walls. :-\ The in and out times are flexible,
however.

Honestly, I am not sure I will be very productive in the Agile enviroment.

Is this really "Agile," or is it "Agile Gone Wild"? Comments?

On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 10:20 AM, Keith Hood <klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:

> It would depend entirely on how broke I am. As for incentive, I don't need
> any more. I always look for chances to work by remote. So far I've never
> allowed it to be a deal breaker. But if I were working job A onsite every
> day, and job B came along offering remote work at the same pay or close
> enough, I'd be out of job A so fast I'd leave a hole in the air.
>
> I have been firmly convinced for years that 95% of what we do can be done
> just as well at the end of a phone line as in a cube next door, and most of
> the real reason for insisting that TWs work on site is hierarchy thinking by
> people who have a vested interest in showing their bosses how many head they
> have in their herds.
>
> I've tried for years to promote the idea both where I've worked and in
> general. I've come up with some fairly detailed business cases about the
> financial advantages to the companies - less need for physical plant so
> lower electric bills, less liability; fewer commute miles per head so less
> pressure from the EPA, etc. So far it's all fallen on deaf ears.
>
> Remote working would require a major shift in thinking (and personality, in
> a lot of cases) on the parts of the bosses, and they don't want to be forced
> into any changes. For a lot of them it's a visceral thing. A lot of them see
> remote working as a challenge to or a reduction of their authority, so
> they'll resist it to the bitter end.
>
> Plus, I think a lot of companies got burned by telecommuting in the late
> 80s/early 90s when the tech stock bubble was building. A lot of companies
> who were anxious to build quickly and were hiring frantically let a lot of
> people set up telecommuting in order to get them on board quickly, and a
> significant number of those people sloughed off too much. I've heard stories
> about workers who would set up batch files that would automatically send
> something pointless over the net at set times, so it would look to anyone
> monitoring traffic like they were working while they were actually out at
> the lake. So some companies once burned, twice shy.
>
> To be fair to the employers, making a remote working setup viable requires
> workers with somewhat greater than normal dedication. It's hard enough
> finding workers who have the dedication to show up in the cube by 9 every
> day. Finding someone who's reliable when the boss isn't standing over his
> shoulder is a whole new matter.
>
>
>
> --- On Wed, 6/25/08, Melissa Nelson <melmis36 -at- hotmail -dot- com> wrote:
>
> > From: Melissa Nelson <melmis36 -at- hotmail -dot- com>
> > Subject: RE: Commute/Flex work options a Deal breaker?
> > To: "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> > Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 10:58 AM
> > It would depend on the entire work situation. My present
> > boss does not offer flex time. He is of the mode of
> > "it ain't work, if it ain't done in a
> > cube!" Fortunately for me, I live a mile away so it
> > does not really enter into my situation. I did turn down a
> > position in DC (about 25 miles away) that offered no
> > flexibility, and did not even seem to understand that
> > subways break down and sometimes you are just late.
> > Therefore, I think it does depend on the whole job
> > situation and environment! As a born and raised Utahn...I
> > am tickled to see the governor do this, I think it is going
> > to have to happen more and more as gas prices make commuting
> > more and more expensive.
> >
> > Melissa
> >
> >
> >
> > > Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:53:15 -0600> From:
> > straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com> To:
> > techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Subject: Commute/Flex work
> > options a Deal breaker?> > As a Tech Writer, many of
> > us know that our work affords us some>
> > "flexibility" in the normal work routine:> *
> > Tele-work> * Flex Schedules (Four 10 hour shifts/wk,
> > etc.)> * and so on...> > I pose a question to the
> > group...> > On Friday, the Governor of Utah will
> > announce that ALL State offices> will switch to a 4 day
> > work week (10 hour shifts) and close on Friday.> This is
> > to meet the needs of State workers and reduce strain on
> > the> Commute (which is a serious issue in this
> > State).> > Here's the question:> > Would
> > you go to work for a company that refused to budge (with
> > no> proper explanation or reason given) or offer any
> > flexibility in work> schedules? Even with such a
> > precedence being set on a governmental> level?> >
> > Would influence your decision if you were looking for a
> > job?> Would it be incentive to seek out anot
> > her job with more flexibility?> > Just
> > curious...> > -Collin>
> > ________________________________> collinturner.com>
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