A lot has been made about baseline benefits and ROI, however it can be difficult for the average information worker to see how it will improve their job performance and satisfaction. No one really likes cubicles and hard offices are hard to come by or reserved for upper management. How does an enterprise of any size meet the desires of its employees to work in comfort and privacy? Unified Communications is key to that strategy.
I have a great office! Plenty of natural light and fresh air. Close to lab systems and multiple monitors to multitask.The best part is it's less than 50 steps from my bedroom. I can wake up and head right to work. That's right, my main office is my home office. Although I spend a significant amount of time working directly with customers at their location I still consider my office home. It's where I do the majority of my writing from blogs to proposals to answering email and whenever possible the base from where I do most of my consulting. Although there's no substitute for facetime in business it's becoming less and less the norm as teams become more geographically diverse. I see this trend happening in larger enterprises as well. Motorola has a commitment to encourage at least 30% of their workforce to work from home 100% of the time. Although proposed as a cost cutting measure I see it as increasing employee productivity and morale as well.
You see most folks still show up for work around 9 and leave around 5, plus or minus an hour on either end... or here in the valley a few hours. In talking with my peers they've come to the same conclusion I have. When working from home I wake up about the same time I would normally but instead of commuting for an hour or more I start working. Then, at the end of the day, I don't detach right at 5pm. It's so easy to say "just one more thing" since I'm already home. Being so close to being away from work makes it infinitely easier to keep working. Although some clients are initially leery of consultants or even their own employees working from home they quickly feel like they're pulling one over on the rest of us when they see 12+ hour days become the norm. Recently, however, legal eagles have raised some eyebrows over the compensation implications of such arrangements as I noted earlier.
I see the "Anywhere Office" evolving out of the home office and into the world; truly anywhere. With the advances in 4G and WiMAX on the infrastructure side and find me, follow me on the application side even the walls of the home office open up to anywhere on the world. You'll find me on the beach! ;)
The hyperconnected world makes it difficult to detach. My home setup is below. I'd be interested to see what others are using to build their "Anywhere Office".
VoIP
Polycom CX7000 desk phone
Nortel IP8502 bluetooth headset
(Need a speakerphone device, any recommendations?)
Connected to Microsoft Office Communications server
Instant Messaging
Microsoft Office Communicator with Public IM connector
Email and Voicemail
Microsoft Exchange 2007 with Unified Messaging
Mobile
Samsung i760 running Windows Mobile 6.1 and Communicator Mobile
Video Conferencing
IPEvo PoV camera (need to find an affordable HD solution)
Dual 22" LCD monitors
Alex Lewis has been involved in the high tech industry for more than 15 years, from satellite antenna design to to executive IT management. He has been a co-author or contributing author for books on Exchange 2003, Exchange 2007, Windows 2003 R2 and Microsoft Technical Specialist Exam Guides. Alex is a senior consultant at Convergent Computing, an IT consulting firm specializing in Microsoft technologies. Alex is involved in many early adopter and TAP programs, working with new technology often 2-3 years before public release. Alex is also a CISSP and leads Convergent's Security and Unified Messaging practices in the field.
The opinions expressed in this Weblog are those of the writer and may not represent the opinions of Network World.
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You make a compelling
You make a compelling argument for working from home / telecommuting and highlighting the advantages. I too work in IT and work remotely whenever possible or required, but I would not elect to replace my standard "office" with this option 100%. Primarily because when I leave the office at the end of a day it gives me that sense of "I'm done for today, see you tomorrow", regardless of all the "have to's" that are looming. As humans we need to disconnect (mentally and physically), especially with 50+ hour work weeks. In the world of IT I know that can be an oxymoron. Those who telecommute 50-100% of the time could be sending the message to their manager that they are always on and always available which raises expectations. For some IT gigs that may be necessary. Anyone signing up for the majority of their work to be completed remotely should ensure that expectations are outlined, understood, and agreed upon by both sides - for everyone's benefit. Also, connecting a remote system to a corporate network can mean that the [remote] system and data could be bound by the corporation's policies and controls. For that I would recommend a computer dedicated to work (provided through or purchased by the company).
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