I've been a teleworker since 1989. Then, I had a phone, micro-Vax and a UUCP connection. Sounds primitive, but I and a few others were the proving grounds for today's remote and mobile work force. Not everyone can work well at home. It's hard to separate home from work; especially because my company has a global presence, my work "day" begins when I rise and ends when I retire. Make certain that you take breaks, make time for family and personal interests. Get a dog! My dog and office mate is actually a big help. His bio and exercise needs keep me from working inappropriately or harmfully long stretches without breaks; in fact, he brags that he's the reason I don't have repetitive motion, back or neck injuries.
People who work from home are more satisfied with their jobs
41–50 of 54 posts
Re: People who work from home are more satisfied with their jobs
#42I'm going a bit bonkers working from home, to tell the truth. The biggest problem is the fuzzy line between work and home.
Worked from home for about 7 years ... at first this was a problem, but the biggest step you can take to solve this is getting an office space in your home, where the only thing you do there is work ... it helps a lot if it has doors that you can shut so that you can give yourself the mental feeling of 'going' to work.
The second thing you can do is have set hours ... doesn't mean you force yourself to be up at 9am ... but do make it regular, even if it is from 12pm to 3pm (or whatever) take it seriously. No TV (can't stress this enough), no running to the store, or the post office to take care of that quick thing.
Those two things really helped me a lot, hope it helps you out too.
Re: People who work from home are more satisfied with their jobs
#43People have to be more satisfied with their jobs to work from home.
I'm not sure that's a given ..., I've known quite a few people who didn't like their gigs and would 'work from home' a lot ... they eventually got canned for poor performance
would like to know why you think that though.
Re: People who work from home are more satisfied with their jobs
#44I work from home and its depressing sometimes, but it could be my job, its pretty boring.
Maybe I have weak self-control but it takes more then 8 hours to get 7 hours of work done from home at least.
Re: People who work from home are more satisfied with their jobs
#45I think personal autonomy is underrated in most facets of life - we're just seeing the effects of it in this article on this particular study. I really really really disliked growing up in my family. It's not that I hated them, but I hated having to be around them all the time. Forced vacations on someone else's schedule, forced meal times, etc. I just really hated it. That was taken (even by my family) as rejecting…
As someone also rather sensitive to sound, I highly recommend Bose noise canceling headphones. It is the perfect socially frictionless solution to loud office environments.
A) it's expensive
B) doesn't work all that well all the time to block out any passing road/truck noise
What's working nearly as well for me (I've tried the bose headphones - not comfortable for long stretches for me) is $5 in-ear earbuds running whitenoise, sometimes with classical music overlaid.
Re: People who work from home are more satisfied with their jobs
#46I have gone full circle. At first I loved the idea of working from the house. Years later, I love the office. The best mix is a combination of freedom of being able to pick your hours and working from home but still having that work place to go to.
I like this idea. There should be some sort of "base" that you go to, though, it shouldn't be a requirement that you be there all the time. I feel like humans respond better to changing environments and being able to jump between the home, office, or wherever influences a much better mood and willingness to be productive.
>I feel like humans respond better to changing environments and being able to jump between the home, office, or wherever
At my apartment, I've been moving from one room to another until I get bored of working in each, then the circle repeats. Same with coffee shops. I do have a desk/office space at work, and I actually enjoy going there as well on occasion (well I have to be there a bit more often than on occasion), because it means an environment change.
Re: People who work from home are more satisfied with their jobs
#47I think personal autonomy is underrated in most facets of life - we're just seeing the effects of it in this article on this particular study. I really really really disliked growing up in my family. It's not that I hated them, but I hated having to be around them all the time. Forced vacations on someone else's schedule, forced meal times, etc. I just really hated it. That was taken (even by my family) as rejecting…
As someone also rather sensitive to sound, I highly recommend Bose noise canceling headphones. It is the perfect socially frictionless solution to loud office environments.
Dunno about you, but as someone who's highly sensitive to sound as well, I found my Sony noise cancelling headphones made everyone elses sounds crystal clear - with the HVAC and desktop whirring cancelled, I could eavesdrop up to 4 cubes away.
I think noise-isolating earbuds or headphones are what you want. Just completely block out external sound, listen to nature/bird chirps or your favorite music.
Re: People who work from home are more satisfied with their jobs
#48I think that this study fails to address that they may confuse cause and effect. What is the reason for a telecommuting arrangement? Why doesn't that person just move closer to the job location? The answer is often that he has family ties. I would suspect that telecommuters are significantly more likely to have families, and that may have a pronounced effect on their views of their work life.
We just bought a house within biking range of both of our offices. Yet we both really like spending 1 day a week working from home.
1) getting away from coworkers and the office allows you at times to focus on the actual work you're doing.
2) we have a kid and extended family who live nextdoor, so having family around is good, but they're distracting.
3) change of pace ... nice to be able to do yoga at lunchtime without worrying about changing/etc.
Re: People who work from home are more satisfied with their jobs
#49I love telecommuting. I have yet to find an office environment which feels right. Really, what do i end up doing? Sitting down and writing code? That can be done almost anywhere. Meetings? Chat and Skype.
Of course there are problems but i dont see them as a reason not to telecommute. If anything they present great challenges to overcome.
Re: People who work from home are more satisfied with their jobs
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone also rather sensitive to sound, I highly recommend Bose noise canceling headphones. It is the perfect socially frictionless solution to loud office environments.
Dunno about you, but as someone who's highly sensitive to sound as well, I found my Sony noise cancelling headphones made everyone elses sounds crystal clear - with the HVAC and desktop whirring cancelled, I could eavesdrop up to 4 cubes away. I think noise-isolating earbuds or headphones are what you want. Just completely block out external sound, listen to nature/bird chirps or your favorite music.
Exactly - it was odd, but most of the noise cancelling headphones I've used do just that - they cancel some noise, which makes other stuff all the more noticeable. Blasting whitenoise in to my ears does the opposite, but muffles most minor noises.