Home Working

aproctor

aproctor

aproctor

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My workplace is moving towards home working (for those who want to) and was wondering what the general concenus is with it in general.
Another point is what teething troubles did you have and does your workplace manage homeworking and what lessons were learnt in the first few months.

I have a good idea of what it involves, but issues like payments for Internet connections and heating etc etc have come up and it would be good to get other peoples experiences on it.

Thanks

Andy
 
although advantages would be rolling out of bed at 8.55, no commuting costs or getting caught sleeping on the job :)

MW
 
I work from home quite often.

At first it's a novelty, late starts, having the break when you want, extended lunches and finishing early are all pretty 'cool' to start with.

But ultimately your boss is gonna see this and start to apply the pressure and your lovely little life style becomes in jeapody and the perk looks like it can be taken from you.

BUT it can work and I've actually found to be more productive: no one in the office to disturb me, the "odd little job" is passed onto someone else and you're in an environment which is comfortable, you can choose where to work (in front of a hot fire in the winter, in the garden during the summer) and at times you can (which I do often) tend to actually work past the usual office finish time and get more work in.

It can work, it's quite hard to get into a routine, but sometimes it's more productive.

As for bils etc, my work generally pays 33% upto heating, electricity, broadband and telephone costs which I think is a little bit more than the normal, just have to make sure they see a copy of the bill every quarter and I get it paid back to me in my next pay.
 
~J~ said:
As for bils etc, my work generally pays 33% upto heating, electricity, broadband and telephone costs which I think is a little bit more than the normal, just have to make sure they see a copy of the bill every quarter and I get it paid back to me in my next pay.
Click to expand...

Who do you work for?
 
My company is moving towards home working too. First of all they bought us all any office equipment we needed, and we needed anything that didn't meet our H&S standards. I got a new office chair, a lockable filing cabinet (for security purposes lol), a phone, a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit. I also had to fill in a silly H&S form to say things like I had a window in the work area I could jump out of if necessary :p

It is possible to claim an allowance for extra power and heating costs, but this is netted off against the cost of our old daily commute, so most people won't get anything. Those that do I think get £3 a day.

The times I've done home working I feel I've actually been more productive - fewer people have intruded on my day. However I did miss the ordinary every day human interaction. In fact, our home working guidelines states that that there should be meetings twice a week to stop staff from getting alienated lol.
 
I don't think I'd like it, I'm a sociable person and I get on very well with all my colleagues so I'd rather be in the office with the lads to be honest.
 
Watching TV from home you mean?

I can imagine at home with no one watching you its much easier to slack off and easier to get away with it, until such time as your boss asks you to produce something.
 
I enjoy working at home from time to time. If I were home based full time I'd be entitled to a free internet connection (but not a good package). But we don't cover equipment or heating etc. as far as I've been told.

It's nice to have itunes on and not have people try to shove spreadsheets my way or distrupt me.
 
I'm a home based sales rep so I probably spend around a third of my time at home sorting paperwork. Provided you are motivated and disciplined then working from home is great.

If you're the type to get distracted then you'll sink your own ship.
 
I used to work from home 2 or 3 days a week. Its alright, the trouble is that the lines between home and work that blur, normally you'd finish work at 5 and go home and leave it at the door. When I worked at home I tended to get much more done as Id work till quite late on.
 
I started recently - I don't find there are that many distractions, but I really enjoy what I do so I couldn't say for anyone else! I really enjoy it - I get to spend time with my animals and be home when my wife gets in. Can't beat that.
 
I work from home four days a week, currently. I like it, and I find it very productive most of the time. One piece of advice: when you get up in the morning, have breakfast, a cup of coffee, a shower and get dressed before you start work. It's too easy to slack through the first couple of hours if you start work in your dressing gown.
 
aproctor said:
My workplace is moving towards home working (for those who want to) and was wondering what the general concenus is with it in general.
Another point is what teething troubles did you have and does your workplace manage homeworking and what lessons were learnt in the first few months.

I have a good idea of what it involves, but issues like payments for Internet connections and heating etc etc have come up and it would be good to get other peoples experiences on it.

Thanks

Andy
Click to expand...

Can be quite lonely and if you don't have a dedicated office space very disruptive to your work and / or family
 
I am home based so spend at least 2 days at home. I enjoy it as my time is not strictly enforced so I can take the kids to school and collect them and little things like that.

What does anoy me though is my wife still has a long list of things she wants done that day and she thinks I spend all day playing games, watching TV or sleeping.......never;)
 
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