Working From Home? 1

[SomptingGuy]

Should I do it? I have a lucrative offer but it means giving up the office life and never shaving/washing again. Experiences from others welcome. BTW, engineering software development.

 

[Jordonlaw]

I've worked the last 6 years from home for two companies and it suits me. The commute in both cases was/is excessive but I can sell the advantage to my boss as I can do more work than if I was in the office (I run long FEA jobs). I go into the office when I need to see people for meetings and the rest of the guys seems happy with the way I work.

The down side is reduced visibilty of the product and its production and the reduced interaction with fellow workers. I also find myself being strangley attracted to the PC (it is at my home also) at odd hours of the day and night to do yet more work.

You have to be disciplined to make it work and there must be a benefit to you as the company really does benefit. I too often don't shave for weeks at a time but wash regularly ............

 

[271828]

It depends on your level of discipline and family situation. I'm a PhD student, so work at home a fair amount of the time. My wife and I are both fairly impulsive, so we can "say" that we're going to respect my workspace and time, but I end up getting wrapped up in every little thing that happens in the house. "Honey can you get a bottle for the baby?"--that kind of thing. By far my biggest challenge is making sure I'm really getting a fair number of hours in every day. Of course, I like playing with the kids, going for walks with the family, grabbing something from a restaurant at 2:00pm, etc., so I end up trying to make up the time at nights.

The up-side is that I get to do all these fun things. The down-side is that I have to apply constant pressure to make sure my work doesn't suffer. This can cause fights. "What, you mean you won't take care of the baby (2pm) so I can run to the grocery store?!"

I find it to be a LOT harder than it sounds. I have a lab office and find myself going there seeking refuge!

BTW, I'm a 36 year old student who worked in an office for 9 years before coming back to school.

 

[sms]

I think working at home full time would make it difficult to advance your career. What I have found is that those in the group who tend to work from home full time, also tend to be forgotton quite often, left out of things they should be involved in, and generally given the left over assignments.

Making an appearance is important. I balance by life by working two days a week at home as much as possible, which avoids a nasty commute, and allows me the peace and quiet necessary to get things done. But the days in the office are productive in different ways, especially politically.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!
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[SomptingGuy]

I have my "thank you but no thank you" email typed and ready to go. Will send COB today. Thank you for your inputs, they confirm my thinking.

 

[KENAT]

I did if for a year basically because I had no other option. It definitely had advantages but problems too.

If it was interesting work I found it easy to do the 8hrs a day, but that also made it easy to put more time in at the expense of my family.

If it was boring work I struggled to do a full 8 hours as every little distraction seemed more appealing be it DIY, House Work, TV, Internet browsing...

271828 makes really good points. I had the issue with my wife (and kid) too, she'd assume that because I was home I could do the various little tasks around the house and it started eating into my 8rs.

It was also difficult keeping in touch with everyone at the office etc. I was actually in a different country (having emigrated) and gradually found myself losing touch with what was going on back in the office.

I still do a little work from home on occasion to help justify my only working 4 day weeks but sometimes my self discipline isn't strong enough for it to be efficient.

 

[271828]

Yeah, this has caused enough issues lately for me that it's causing me to re-think my entire career plan. When I came back to school (PhD), the idea was to probably be a professor, partially because of the massive flexibility of that job.

I just never realized how much I depended on a regimented office lifestyle to help keep me productive. Not everything's perfect in an office either, but things can really fall apart at home.

Some people are probably better suited for working at home than we are.

We're probably worst case scenario.

 

[ctopher]

Lean office will be the way of the future office environment. People will be sharing cubicles and more will be telecommuting and working vurtual.
It has started with us already.

Chris
SolidWorks 07 3.0/PDMWorks 07
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 04-21-07)

 

[plasgears]

Many benefits in working from the home:
- optimize your work zone without hearing from others;
- take frequent breaks;
- sleep off an impasse in the design process;
- take advantage of setting the work aside and revisiting later - it helps pick up details that you didn't consider before;
- tax benefits for use of the home; a fraction of your home expense is claimed as business expense;
- arrange your work space for a nice outside view from the home;
- involve your wife for comments or discussion. One of the principles of creative work is 'talking it over' even with somebody not technically connected with the project. It clarifies the thinking process.

 

[SomptingGuy]

involve your wife for comments or discussion. One of the principles of creative work is 'talking it over' even with somebody not technically connected with the project. It clarifies the thinking process.

If only. I've given up trying to even explain to her what it is that I actually do.

 

[prohammy]

SomptingGuy,

My wife tells her friends that I 'do some sort of engineeringy thing, something to do with diggers'

All I can do is sigh

Re the working at home, I've done that a few times, my wife refers to it as unemployment, I call it retraining to become a 25th century commando

Kevin Hammond

Mechanical Design Engineer
Derbyshire, UK

 

[GregLocock]

- tax benefits for use of the home; a fraction of your home expense is claimed as business expense;

And then you'll pay capital gains on that proportion of the house when you sell it, at least in logical jurisdictions.

Cheers

Greg Locock

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[atlas06]

"And then you'll pay capital gains on that proportion of the house when you sell it, at least in logical jurisdictions"

Greg
Why would you pay capital gains on business use of your home? Is there really such a thing?

Back to telecommuting: I's jump on it in a heartbeat. I've got it all planned, I'll move to the riviera, the sweet life, good food, nice wines, all with an American salary. Man, that would be something, I think that telecommuting is a big loss to the corporations, not having the experienced guys tutoring the young fellas at the office is not productive for the boss.

Why not try it on a part time basis? or on a trial basis at least, may be a couple of days a week, or half days, whichever works for you. That way you can keep up at the office and get some relief. Unless you steal my idea and move to some beach resort.

 

[MikeHalloran]

In the USA, the IRS has a set of ironclad rules about home offices, including some that make eventual sale of the home pretty messy from a tax standpoint.

It's also apparently customary that claiming a home office will _guarantee_ your tax returns get audited by the guvvamint, every year.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[GregLocock]

atlas - your primary domicile in many jurisdictions is treated very leniently, taxationwise.

But when you effectively start renting part of it out to a business then those lenient tax rules no longer apply, and it is just a piece of capital used to generate an income.



Cheers

Greg Locock

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[SomptingGuy]

Why not try it on a part time basis? or on a trial basis at least, may be a couple of days a week, or half days, whichever works for you. That way you can keep up at the office and get some relief. Unless you steal my idea and move to some beach resort.

I already live in a beach resort (of sorts) and work 2 miles away. Commuting from home to central London for even a couple of days a week isn't a nice thought. It makes for a really long day. I did hit send on the "No thank you" email and am not regretting it (yet).

 

[prohammy]

Good for you SomtingGuy

PS Never live with regrets, they don't tend to make good friends

Kevin Hammond

Mechanical Design Engineer
Derbyshire, UK