Re[3]: telecommuting -- social costs ?

[powen -at- MAIL -dot- LMI -dot- ORG]

Karl writes about losing social contact with fellow workers through
telecommuting:

>       I guess I don't see this as such a bad thing. I don't have anything
>       against my co-workers, but they're not necessarily the people I want
>       to have meaningful contact with. I always think of telecommuting of
>       giving me the advantage of more time for communication around
>       home--with children, spouse, or neighbors. This is where I really want
>       community--not at work.

I just want to say that I agree wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, I guess, most
of the work I does relate to subjects that interest me, and, while I like my
clients (or I wouldn't work for them), I'd rather invest my time and energy in
my relationships outside of work. When I do meet people onsite with whom I
have common interests, I tend to build a relationship with them offsite. This
way, the friendship with that person is not tied strictly to the job and
survives even if I never work for that client again. I met some of my best
friends on the job, but rarely find more than a few employees of my clients
with whom I have enough rapport to want to spend time building a relationship
- and office small talk (especially about office politics) bores me to death.

Pam Owen
Nighthawk Communications
Reston, VA
Nighthawk1 -at- aol -dot- com, or powen -at- lmi -dot- org