Do you loose anything when you telecommute!

[gittyup]

I work for a large technology corporation, won't say who, but they offer employees a full time telecommuting option. I am now making use of it for family reasons. In the immediate future, I no longer need to work from home. I am pondering whether or not to stay working at home or actually go back into the
office. I am just wondering if I am loosing anything with my career advancement by not being in the office.
Your thoughts / opinions?

 

[StageLeft]

Possibly, you are limited human contact with co-workers and that isn't such a great thing...

 

[kranky]

What kind of job do you have?

 

[gittyup]

kranky, I am a software developer...

 

[vi edit]

I usually loose my pants when I telecommute.

 

[gittyup]

Well, I do know the benefits and make use of most of them.

1) working without pants
2) the commute all the way to my home office
3) afternoon naps ( sometime )
4) extremely flexible schedule
......

 

[vi edit]

Well, having the experience of working with both the programmers and the end users at a previous job, I know that no matter how advanced technology becomes, sometimes there is no better way of figuring out what somebody wants without talking to them face to face.

Emails, phone calls, and instant messaging don't relay body language and emotions. If your job is to determine exactly what a user/analyst wants, then you may have some problems discerning exactly what it is that the user wants. They may type what they want one way, but you may interpret it another. Sometimes, the only way to resolve these misinterpretations is by walking over to a persons desk and sitting down and going over it with them.

Also, I'm not sure how many programmers there are in your company, but it's nice to walk over and brainstorm with the other guys/gals for a while if you are stumped on a problem.

Telecommuting may offer some assistance, but it's just not the same.

I still follow a lot of this same advice in the office. It's an office of about 20 people, and you can intercom back and forth between the offices. I very rarely use this. To me, it is more effective to go over and talk to somebody face to face.

But then again, everyones approaches are different. I just like being able to have some human interaction with those that I am working for/with.

 

[kranky]

The reality is "out of sight, out of mind". I'm not saying your work won't be appreciated, but when managers are thinking of whom to promote it will be someone they see every day. They think about how a person reacts under pressure, how they interact with peers in their own and in different departments, how they deal with customers, how do they react in a crisis, etc. A telecommuter may be fabulous at those tasks, but if the manager doesn't know that, how would you be considered?

Having said that, though, I'm not saying no one should ever do it. But your question was could it affect your advancement, and I believe it would. You aren't physically there to make a good impression.

Why not consider doing it part-time? Does it have to be all or nothing?

 

[ATLien247]

Out of sight, out of mind...

It seems to me that if your boss never sees you, he will be less inclined to promote you over someone he sees hard at work every day--even if you're more qualified. He may not admit to this, but it's probably something he'll have floating around in the back of his mind come decision time.

Edit: Sheesh, kranky... you beat me to it!