Re: Isolation and the technical communicator

[Barb Philbrick <caslonsvcs -at- IBM -dot- NET>]

>All of this talk of isolation makes me wonder - how many contractors who
>work on-site make an effort not to socialize? I always used to try to
>help contractors feel "at home" until I was employed as one by the state
>government.
As a contractor, I like having someone around who is trying to make me
feel at home. It makes it a lot easier to make contacts that I need to
get the job done, and generally makes a more comfortable work
environment.

I try not to overdo the socializing, but I think it's important to
have some kind of relationship other than the project at hand. As
someone else mentioned, it's  easier to get information out of someone
you're comfortable talking to than it is to get information out of
someone you only know through meetings.

If I feel like I've overdone the socializing, I knock a little time
off the billables. I don't know if my clients know I do this, but I
feel better about it.

I know one contractor who always worked an extra half-hour a day,
non-billable, to make sure no one could gripe that he was "goofing
off."

> There were several of us, and we were literally watched and
>reprimanded for our habits!
I think this is out of line unless there are real abuses happening. Do
they get the job done well in the appropriate amount of time? That's
what's really important, not someone's perception of goof-off time or
face time. 

Regards,

Barb

Barbara Philbrick, Caslon Services Inc.
Technical Writing. caslonsvcs -at- ibm -dot- net
Cleveland, OH