National Public Radio and The Wall Street Journal recently did stories about how some employers are cutting back on allowing employees to work from home, citing the need to have people together to enhance creativity and collaboration.
A number of large companies in recent years announced similar measures – Yahoo, HP and IBM – all began to recall home-based employees to work in the office.
Still, teleworking is extremely widespread. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 40 percent of employers allow employees to regularly work from home.
Working for a small company, I feel fortunate to have the best of both worlds. There are days when I hunker down at home if I don’t have in-person mornings or if I need quiet space to concentrate. But most days, working with my colleagues in the office, in a space that is largely open and sometimes a little raucous, is the norm and what I prefer. There is better communication and collaboration when we’re all together.
One of the things that makes GroundFloor Media (GFM) a “Best Place to Work,” according to Outside Magazine (GFM was the #1 place to work in 2013, 2015, #4 in 2014, and #2 in 2016) is that employees have the choice to work at home or from the office.
From Outside Magazine’s most recent description of GFM:
“Flexibility is the key for workers at this midsize public relations firm in Denver: employees work anytime, anywhere. Headquarters are in a refabricated warehouse downtown, near Coors Field. The offices are sprawled around the central collaborative space that doubles as a wet bar every Thursday when the company’s ‘beer club’ brings in a new brew.”
In today’s hyper-connected digital world, employees are connected to their employers 24/7 and the 9 – 5 p.m. hours are non-existent. And if you work at home full time, the work-life balance can be even more blurred. This article includes some simple, helpful tips for making working at home as productive as possible:
- set up a separate office space
- set a work schedule and stick to it
- get showered and dressed as if you’re going to the office
Do you have other recommendations to share for working at home?
