For Programmers, the Ultimate Office Perk is Avoiding the Office Entirely (qz.com) 207
From a report on Quartz: Over the past decade, designers and engineers have invented dozens of new tools to keep us connected to the office without actually going there. Unsurprisingly, those same engineers have been among the first to start using them in large numbers. More programmers are working from home than ever and, among the most experienced, some are even beginning to demand it. In 2015, an estimated 300,000 full-time employees in computer science jobs worked from home in the US. Although not the largest group of remote employees in absolute numbers, that's about 8% of all programmers, which is a significantly larger share than in any other job category, and well above the average for all jobs of just under 3%. [...] Programmers not only work from home more often than other employees, when they do they are more likely to work all day at home. From 2012 to 2015, the average full-time programmer who worked from home said they spent an average of five and a half hours doing so. That's an 92% increase in the average time spent at home from 2003 to 2005, and nearly double the average for all jobs.
Maybe if you're single (Score:5, Insightful)
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Truth. I work in a very flexible office, and my boss asked me why I don't work from home more often. I told him because it's full of kids.
Re:Maybe if you're single (Score:5, Interesting)
In my case I've been working strictly from home as a medical EDI programmer for the last 9 years and couldn't be happier. I just set some ground rules that if I am in my office and door is closed - you do not enter. Text me if you must - but you may not enter. Only unless someone is bleeding profusely, something is leaking or is on fire? Pretend I am miles away at an office.
It's no different - I ask them "would you drive all the way to my workplace, come to my cube and ask questions?" The answer is usually "No."
I have a couple friends that actually put a "Tuff Shed" in their back yard, wired it up, put in an AC unit, etc., and that is literally their office. I didn't need to do that, but I certainly see the appeal :-)
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If you cannot tame your kids or wife enough to adhere to a simple "do not disturb" policy, you're got more problems at home than working from home.
What happened to a little discipline and control at home....?
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And no, that's not what he would be teaching them. He'd be teaching them self control and forethought. But to understand that, my friend, would require you think beyond your preconceptions.
Re:Maybe if you're single (Score:5, Interesting)
A solid backhand will stop the kids from ever bothering you again.
Perhaps you should find more constructive forms of discipline. I keep several math workbooks in my home office, and every time my kids come in to ask me a question I make them do a few pages.
I am currently using this book [amazon.com] which is the 3rd in the series. My kids still occasionally bother me, but at least they get good grades in math.
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Or maybe teach the kids to code.
The real question is why aren't the kids in school. With the bus ride and school that's a solid 8 hours they should be gone 5 days a week just like when you are in the office
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"Or maybe teach the kids to code."
Thats cruel. I have half a mind to call Child services on you.
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His kids interrupt, taking time from his work. So your suggestion is that he spend even more time teaching them coding?
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He will eventually become a marshall process that just processes interruptions from the kids as they dutifully carry out their (his) coding duties.
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Hmm...in my growing up days, it was "five across the eyes"....hahaha.
But seriously, you should have enough discipline and control in the home to be able to control the situation to allow work from home.
With kids, well, some do require corporal punishment, if dealt with in a calm, non-abusive manner.
Lo
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Re: Maybe if you're single (Score:2)
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You don't hit hard enough.
If you hit them hard enough (Score:2)
They'll be quiet for the rest of their lives.
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What sarcasm?
Re:Maybe if you're single (Score:5, Insightful)
One reason I avoid working from home is that I trust my coworkers in the office to let me work more than I trust my wife and my kids to let me work.
Unfortunately, I trust them far LESS than my young children to leave me the hell alone. Instead it's either bug me at my cube, or if I find a place to hide, call a meeting and bug me there. I produce substantial documentation to ensure they don't need to bug me, but they don't read it, and bug me.
If I could work from home, I definitely would.
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Having a door and having control of the lights is really helpful in this kind of thing. Also, don't have a visitor's chair if you don't need to deal with visitors professionally.
When I want to be left alone I leave the overhead lights off and only use the freestanding lamp. When I need to be left alone I close the office door. If I worked in a 3.5 sided cubicle I would probably put my woodworking skills to practice and make a gate for myself. Gate closed, don't bother me for social occasions.
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I find too.
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Tell them to email you if they need an IM session....tell them that for some reason IM isn't working on your machine some times, etc...
I found my productivity has skyrocketed since I turned IM off....
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Tell them to email you if they need an IM session....tell them that for some reason IM isn't working on your machine some times, etc...
I found my productivity has skyrocketed since I turned IM off....
Bah, just turn off all the notifications. No sounds, banners, popups, etc. It's there when I want to check it and poof - back to the back it goes. I do the same with email. Just because it says it's instant, doesn't mean you'll get an instant response. (Meetings, bathroom, lunch, boss talking to you, etc....)
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And a roof...they accused me of building a 'fortress of solitude'.
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I have two elementary school kids, and completely agree. I find their screaming and fighting less distracting than people in the office coming to my cube and demanding attention to issues which could be resolved in a minute by reading documentation.
I've found that when I need to do actual coding, the only place and time is at home after kids go to sleep.
Re:Maybe if you're single (Score:4, Insightful)
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You
How in hell did you get to there?
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Presumption. It's dependent on the project.
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It doesn't really happen that way not like homework. There is a real reward for working success, rather than an abstract reward. So you do the work. What you do is adjust you schedule. So wakeup, feel your mood, bright and snappy, put on some shorts and start working whilst considering breakfast, keeping going on a nice cup of tea. When a break moment comes into the work flow, stop and make yourself a nice breakfast, site back relax and enjoy, considering work to be carried out post breakfast. Than back at
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I can keep focused on work for one day at home, no problem. It gets to be an effort on the second day, and I haven't tried three days straight. YMMV.
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At Home:
Wife
Kids
Cats that like sitting in front of monitor.
No private office (we don't have a spare room for an office)
Remote Desktop means only using one monitor.
Very sloooooww...seconds between me moving mouse and the cursor moving on screen.
In short, I hate working from home. Now if I had a bigger house and fewer dependants, and a less laggy environment... sure, I could make that work.
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One reason I avoid working from home is that I trust my coworkers in the office to let me work more than I trust my wife and my kids to let me work.
This. They don't understand what it means to leave someone alone so they can focus. At least at work, all my co-workers are either in a different state or a different country.
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Grow a fucking spine.
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I've been working at home for over a decade. No doubt you will get interrupted ... so I try to work the hours my family are sleeping. Its getting better now that they are on facebook and youtube so much these days.
The huge advantage of telecommuting to me is being able to travel. I just need to time my online time - where ever I am - with my companies timezone. That's rarely 9-5 so it allows me to get things done in local business hours.
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Nobody gave a shit 22 years ago, nobody gives a shit today.
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They can name it whatever they want for all I care.
And so can I.
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You New Amsterdam folks and your BIg Apple mentality. Grow up.
Indians? (Score:3)
The correct term is Native Southern Asians, you insensitive clod!
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+1 for the insensitive clod meme.
And I bow before your 15-bit-ness.
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Bom-bay?
No way!
Mumbai!
Burma-shave.
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Direct it to my New Amsterdam address please.
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needful ADJECTIVE
1: formal
necessary; requisite:
"a further word was needful"
synonyms: necessary - needed - required - requisite - essential - [more]
2: needy:
"she gave her money away to needful people"
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Well not at the same cost as the cost of living is higher here because we tend to pay our lower skilled support staff like Electricians and Plumbers and Janitors way more than they are paid in India. While this is good from a social cohesion point of view by keeping the gap between rich and poor down if you have a job that can be done remotely from a country where they are too busy surviving to give a shit about the poor the middle class can outcompete you on price. Of course you might have a few advantages
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Totally agree with this. It's all a matter of setting boundaries and keeping them enforced. Not a big deal when someone gets used to it.
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Bring a french press and a stash of good coffee to work. On some things, there can be no compromise. Let the PHB drink that stuff.
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My kids are all grown up and I enjoy working from home... I'll even work from the back patio on a nice spring day when it's about 65 - 70 degrees outside so long as the neighbor is not mowing. I've considered building a new covered deck to make a better outdoor space for recreation and where I can work on nice days even if there is a little rain.
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I was under the impression that the "Liberated Woman" characteristics you describe required her to be an income provider to justify shedding the job of managing the home.
I have no beef whatsoever with a parent not having an income, so long as it's understood that if the other parent is spending 8+ hours a day earning money, the parent that does not earn an income is also working about the same amount of time on the household's needs. When the income-earning parent is home, then the 50% duties split time st
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Unfortunately I know all about that all too well; and now that she has a part time job, the house will never be clean. It'd be easier to put all the things I value in a storage locker and torch the homestead.. though, with all the junk in there, it's already a fire hazard, so all I have to do probably is just wait it out and let it start itself.
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Not a bad idea, but probably wouldn't work for us. Years ago, we did have a "cleaning lady" come in weekly to vacuum and dust and wipe down counters and mirrors and what not. The problem was, all the various junk we had laying around that was in the way -before she'd come in, we always had to hurry and straighten up the night before, and personal effects are something I assume maid's generally won't touch, and that was more work than dusting, vacuuming and scrubbing. We have a son now, (he's 15) so it's
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We found it useful to have a designated periodic time when we needed to straighten up.
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I know what you mean about it rubbing off. I kinda gave up trying to be clean, there was no point. There's tons of crap on top of our fridge, in the hutch, on the table, the coffee table, in the corner.. everywhere.
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Not bad, I'm considering it!
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it'd probably be for some loving.
Unless by that you mean listening to her complain about her day while rubbing her feet, this is a different model of "marriage" than any of the rest of us are familiar with.
Well, I'm single and... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Well, I'm single and... (Score:4, Insightful)
Social time and socializing at work never seem to be the same. I can get along fine with coworkers at work, outside work tends to be a different situation, sometimes better, sometimes worse.
Re:Well, I'm single and... (Score:4, Insightful)
On that topic, team building events. I generally enjoy all my coworkers, but after spending 8-10 hours a day with them, the last thing I want to do for relaxation spend MORE time with them.
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On that topic, team building events. I generally enjoy all my coworkers, but after spending 8-10 hours a day with them, the last thing I want to do for relaxation spend MORE time with them.
The proper event can be good. I liked the time we went to see a showing of Office Space. Most events though seem to be sit around and talk, when I've had enough of that for the day. So I get where you are coming from.
You can get that any time (Score:2)
My worry is that if I took up the offer to work from home I'd start to hermit.
If you really started lacking people you can always go work in a coffee shop, or better yet (much better) a shared working space.
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Pros and Cons (Score:5, Interesting)
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Pros: potentially higher productivity
Cons: actually lower productivity.
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Networking (Score:2, Interesting)
And give up on age discrimination lawsuits. Remember kiddos: It's not a law if it's not enforce.
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Depends very much. While I am not a full-time coder (I am also architect, designer, security-expert, technology-consultant, risk-manager, etc.), I am strongly going on 50 and customers are quite happy to pay my consulting rate to have me coding for them (usually from home). Of course, if you do not keep current and do not acquire the additional skills your age and experience should bring with it, then you are indeed toast. The problem is that for older coders, it is far more obvious if they are semi- to inc
It's managers that should telecommute. (Score:2)
I, and my direct reports, would get so much more done if we didn't have meeting after meeting called by managers to check on our status and to berate us for not getting things done.
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Managers telecommute? Are you kidding? You must never have worked from home.
When I do, I tend to get 8 hrs of work done the first 4-5 hrs, and then start looking for other stuff to do. If a manager did that, office productivity would be destroyed before anyone could figure out what happened.
I can't imagine the horrors that would be produced if a manager had tons of free time and peace and quiet to think about efficiency and team building. It's far better that they be busy most of the time
It is not a perk (Score:3)
Things that improve your efficiency and effectiveness dramatically, are not perks. They are good sense on the side of the employer.
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And you do demonstrate that you are a "self-important cretin" as well. Well done!
Here is a hint: If you do not know what words mean, look them up before disgracing yourself.
I prefer office (Score:3)
Nice (Score:2)
Exactly. If you can work from home, you can hire some Asian programmers to do the work for you and enjoy retirement-like leisure time.
Some people already did in the past, I'm betting there are lots of them.
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I work from home a decent amount (Score:5, Informative)
I got my contract written as a minimum of two days a week WfH and wish I had demanded three! I have a nine-year-old boy who loves attention and a wife that does too ;) (how dare she! :P). But here are some basic steps to maintaining professionalism at home:
1) Closing door. I.e. an office.
2) People knock and await "come in" before entering unless it is a dire emergency. If it is not an emergency and they do not hear come in, then they can either knock again or come back later.
3) My office hours are just that. I need to spend time in my office which means no, I cannot help you build a Lego project, no I cannot help load the dish washer. When I take a break, I can help, but only then.
4) My family needs to keep the noise down.
5) IM always up and I try to respond almost immediately. If I cannot I mark myself as busy, if I am marked as available then I expect myself to respond in 60 seconds. This also includes soft phone, always on.
6) If there is a reason to be in the office I come in. I don't resist it. One SIT for a recent project made sense for me to be in the office, so for two weeks I came in, got SIT done and remediation and then back to my normal schedule.
I personally thrive working from home as my commute time generally becomes a part of my normal day. If I have tight project deadlines, I will tell my mgr. not to expect me in the office for a bit. I still attend meetings remotely, I still beat on project mgrs. to either open a Skype call or a conference line (no excuse not to, even people in the office sometimes take meetings from their desk so they can multitask).
Communications is the key and delivering what you promised on time is also the key. I collaborate with my fellow developers and we do so quite well and white boarding digitally is a lot nicer than a physical non-smart board.
Now there are people that do not do well working from home, they either do not get their work done or they become depressed with the lack of human contact. From my observations, I find those that do not work well from home (not the ones that get depressed with lack of human contact) have a pretty poor focus and planning skills in the office and outside of it. So you help them build that ability. You help them to use proper time management skills, you help them prioritize their workload and come up with a plan of attack for the day.
Not just programmers. (Score:3)
Other areas like SQA testers. I loved my 1.5 years Cisco contract job to work from home because of my disabilities (e.g., can't drive, speak, hear, etc.). It was perfect!
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Just do the same search like everyone else. It also helps to network with people that already know you. The hard part is having new people accomodate. :(
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You're welcome. Also, being old doesn't help. :(
I read that as.. (Score:5, Funny)
I worked from home for 8.5 years in QA Management (Score:2)
I worked for a big bank, and after a few internal shuffles, most of my team wasn't located where I lived, even though I lived where there was an office. I traveled once a month or so to the E. Coast where my teams were, and it was pretty good. In fact, I was able to move across the country to another state without much interruption at all to my job. In fact it helped because I was closer to the E. Coast so travel time was reduced as well as being a timezone closer for morning meetings!
I was usually worki
Working from home is something to avoid (Score:2)
I get more done at home (Score:2)
I get MORE work done at home than in the office. At home I don't get all the "walk up" "Help me!"'s. I can get through the hole day in the office and not have gotten a DAMN thing done. Working at home I get TONS done! I guess when you have tons of dumb asses in the office and your not IN the office they now have to FEND for themselves.
Working From Home Almost 10 Years (Score:2)
I've been working from home for almost 10 years now, with only occasional visits to the office.
I love it. I don't have people wandering by my desk and interrupting me, I don't have to deal with the constant noise (open floor plans are evil), no daily commute, I can cook a decent lunch, full control over heating/cooling, etc. Need to get in touch with co-workers? IM, email, conference calls, etc., plenty of ways to contact people if necessary. I get far more done at home than I ever could in the office.
The o
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Fuck that guy and that job.
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I used to be like you. I don't put up with any of that shit anymore. Get really good at what you do, network, consult, etc., and get out from under that asshat. It will never get better - only worse.
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Why are you afraid of women in the workplace? Are you weaker than the so-called weaker sex, or do you just prefer the company of men?
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You need that interaction. While coding is best done as a solitary activity, other things are not. This includes requirement engineering, customer interaction, issue analysis together with the customer, etc. Interaction tools can help a lot there, but the occasional face-to-face meeting is still necessary.
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Can happen in the office. I've resorted to leaving threats of physical violence (breaking all their fingers (and toes), so they couldn't possible code) in the comments. Poor source control made it unattributable, but I knew who 'did it'.
At very least, project managers need to spot review source control logs. Peer code review for where the project manager can't code. Being in the same office doesn't help if coding remains a 'shameful, solitary practice'.
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I'd be worse now.
Check in VB code that all depends on:
global variant aLocalArray()
I'll have your job, won't bother with half steps like broken fingers.
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Integral to working from home are collaboration tools
You know the absolute best collaboration tool? Turning your head and speaking.
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Well of course YMMV. Not everyone's workplace is at the same distance from his house than yours.