Datsun310Guy said:Improved my love life.
Interesting. Definitely the opposite for me.
Datsun310Guy said:Improved my love life.
Interesting. Definitely the opposite for me.
I occasionally work from home (1/2 days here and there). It's exceedingly hard when the kids are home. or the weather is nice. or the idea of an adult beverage. or... Yeah. I'm better in the office environment.
Face time with co-workers is vital for proper and timely communication.
I worked from home full time for three years. The biggest issue for me was lack of work to keep me busy. I put my nose to the grindstone and grind out the work, so when the company was slow and projects got delayed, I didn't have anything to do...and I have to have something to do. I updated literature and cleaned files and wrote things, but at some point, you run out of busy work and you don't have co-workers to help or floors to sweep. So I started on projects around the house, cut the grass, took my wife to lunch, etc. which bothered me because I was on the clock and I hated being dishonest. I ended up parting ways amicably when it was clear that more work wasn't coming my way.
On the flip side, when I was a Regional Manager, I worked from home and from the road a lot. I ALWAYS had something to do, so it was hard to turn it off. I took clients to dinner, then did paperwork until bedtime every night, then caught up on reports over the weekend. It was hard to leave the home office and spend time with family with work left on my desk.
Find a balance and make sure you have things to stay busy!
DrBoost said:my reason for wanting to WFH is because all the jobs in AZ seem to be in Phoenix, and I want to stay out of the valley, or at least, out of Phoenix as much as possible.
I see you have the same idea I do... (move to AZ, but not Phoenix, still make money somehow)
I do not not work from home, but I have worked on teams with some members who work from home in another state.. The thing they all had in common were several years of experience at, and a high level of trust within, the organization. They all essentially were able to say, "Hey, I'm moving, if you want to keep me we need to work out a work from home situation." This was a medium sized business and the people who did this were specialized IT folks. Your mileage may vary. Also, I'm describing exactly two people within a company that employed two hundred.
We have the option of doing it when we want, largely owing to the fact we're already located half a country away from our home office and the only way almost anyone would notice the difference is the phone number they call (and even then we could figure out how to forward our office phones to our cells). I've limited doing so to when it's just not made any sense to come in- longest stretches were a few years ago when we got like 18 inches of snow (not normal for KY, nor something they're prepared for...) and I was smart enough to have brought my work laptop home the day it started and after my Achilles tendon surgery. Worked from home for a week or so each of those times- and honestly found myself missing being in the office just because for stretches I wouldn't interact with any people other than the Dancer for several days. If I did so more consistently than I do I would need a better desk and chair to work at than I have now- the ones I have are fine for my (now... a far cry from my old AMV-making days...) relatively short stints sitting in front of my computer but NOT comfortable over a full workday.
On the other side of things.... I know that the company/group that handles our IT support has the ability to work from home, and on more than a few occasions it has been very frustrating for me that this is the case because they're clearly also looking after several children at the same time. I don't generally have a problem with this- I understand that child care is a major cost/problem for many people- but if your job is talking with people on the phone and you can't be heard over the screaming children it's not a workable situation...
Ashyukun (Robert) said:the only way almost anyone would notice the difference is the phone number they call
That's kind of funny. I haven't had a phone at my desk in 2 years? We either use Slack to chat and share files, or we use Zoom for conference calls. Which also allows us to share screens for presentations, help walk someone through something (or have them walk you through something), etc.
WE get one day per week. Sadly, now that I am the main microscope analyst that means I give a lot of those up to keep up with production. I have my home office setup similar to work (minus one screen) so when I sit down to work, I do the same thing I always do. The main limitation for me is the DSL internet connection.... god I wish I could have decent broadband. Some days it's bad, the rest are worse. But I still make it work. IT's nice having that once a week perk when I can take it.
z31maniac said:DrBoost said:pheller said:There are certainly people who need the office environment for their personal life, and people who need the office for their professional life.
I probably need the office for my professional life - as in - I wouldn't get much done if I worked from home. I make plenty of friends outside of the workplace, though.
My wife, on the other hand, works from home (for a company based in Tempe), but she's shy and without hobbies, so she needs an office in order to make friends. It has, however, given us a massive amount of flexibility to deal with life events like our toddler and my wife's hip injury that a traditional commute for both of us would not allow.
I still contend that for me at least, the best option would be the ability to work whatever office you choose. We've got offices in Prescott, Show Low, Havasu, even way down in Nogales on the border. It'd be awesome to work from one of those areas with a cheaper cost of living, for sure.
Are they looking for technical writers?
We probably will be again soon. New Fiscal year starts June 1, so I think we have 1-2 reqs for Q2.
They will let the right candidate go fully remote.
I disagree, strongly, with the "always at work when working from home comment." I may sign on early when WFH because I don't have to shower, let the dogs out, and then drive into work.
But just like when I'm in the office or at home, come 3:45-ish, I'm either leaving the office or turning off my computer. The 3 levels of management above me know this.
They also know I'm usually in office or logged on by 6:15. We all typically take 1.5-1.75 hour lunches.
Where is your company located?
My company reimburses me for my office phone, my cell phone and my internet to my house since those are all required for me to work from home. They also pay me for office supplies like paper and toner cartridges. So, that is another plus that I didn't mention above.
On the downside, I am my own IT department which at times sorta sucks, but that ends up being a day or so every couple years where I end up chasing some sort of networking issue.
I usually see my bosses in person once or twice a year, but we talk on the phone a couple times a week.
z31maniac said:Ashyukun (Robert) said:the only way almost anyone would notice the difference is the phone number they call
That's kind of funny. I haven't had a phone at my desk in 2 years? We either use Slack to chat and share files, or we use Zoom for conference calls. Which also allows us to share screens for presentations, help walk someone through something (or have them walk you through something), etc.
We use Skype for Business a lot as well- given my phone headset died a few years back I've used a USB headset whenever I'm on a conference call at my desk- but since I'm an engineer there are still a whole lot of old-school (and flatly old) guys who prefer actual phones.
We have a few engineers who work from home, in addition to our field service and outside sales folks. It is a little tough, I have done it and could do it again, but short of working on one man conceptualization projects IE boss tells me he wants the Next Big Thing from my product line, I really prefer to be in the office. There is definitely a disconnect for corporate culture and being all on the same page with the work-from-home folks. Maybe its just that our shop is small enough where disconnects are pretty quickly recognized. Plus I like to be on top of things and its tough when the only info you get is what you are given. Sometimes you may need to walk to the shop to see how a project is coming or help a guy out with inspection on a part you designed, and thats basically impossible with a remote user. I have used Facebook Messenger with a few coworkers using the video call function to answer some questions and that worked pretty well.
DrBoost said:z31maniac said:DrBoost said:pheller said:There are certainly people who need the office environment for their personal life, and people who need the office for their professional life.
I probably need the office for my professional life - as in - I wouldn't get much done if I worked from home. I make plenty of friends outside of the workplace, though.
My wife, on the other hand, works from home (for a company based in Tempe), but she's shy and without hobbies, so she needs an office in order to make friends. It has, however, given us a massive amount of flexibility to deal with life events like our toddler and my wife's hip injury that a traditional commute for both of us would not allow.
I still contend that for me at least, the best option would be the ability to work whatever office you choose. We've got offices in Prescott, Show Low, Havasu, even way down in Nogales on the border. It'd be awesome to work from one of those areas with a cheaper cost of living, for sure.
Are they looking for technical writers?
We probably will be again soon. New Fiscal year starts June 1, so I think we have 1-2 reqs for Q2.
They will let the right candidate go fully remote.
I disagree, strongly, with the "always at work when working from home comment." I may sign on early when WFH because I don't have to shower, let the dogs out, and then drive into work.
But just like when I'm in the office or at home, come 3:45-ish, I'm either leaving the office or turning off my computer. The 3 levels of management above me know this.
They also know I'm usually in office or logged on by 6:15. We all typically take 1.5-1.75 hour lunches.
Where is your company located?
Technically San Mateo, CA then owned by a company in Redwood City, CA, but they aren't really hiring California employees unless there is an EXTREMELY compelling case. Because of the costs, that's why Austin will be the mini Silicon Valley in the next 5-15 years.
I work in the Commerce area of our brand. We've nearly doubled our # of Tech Writers since I was hired I started 2.5 years ago. Commerce has offices in OKC, Austin in the states. London, Barcelona, Brno, Manilla, and Montevideo outside the country. But that's just Commerce. Our software (Williams Sonoma, etc) currently has approaching 90 Tech Writers worldwide.
As I mentioned, if you're the person they want, they will let you be full remote. I think another team just hired a writer that lives up, WAY UP, in the mountains of far southern Colorado.
z31maniac said:DrBoost said:z31maniac said:DrBoost said:pheller said:There are certainly people who need the office environment for their personal life, and people who need the office for their professional life.
I probably need the office for my professional life - as in - I wouldn't get much done if I worked from home. I make plenty of friends outside of the workplace, though.
My wife, on the other hand, works from home (for a company based in Tempe), but she's shy and without hobbies, so she needs an office in order to make friends. It has, however, given us a massive amount of flexibility to deal with life events like our toddler and my wife's hip injury that a traditional commute for both of us would not allow.
I still contend that for me at least, the best option would be the ability to work whatever office you choose. We've got offices in Prescott, Show Low, Havasu, even way down in Nogales on the border. It'd be awesome to work from one of those areas with a cheaper cost of living, for sure.
Are they looking for technical writers?
We probably will be again soon. New Fiscal year starts June 1, so I think we have 1-2 reqs for Q2.
They will let the right candidate go fully remote.
I disagree, strongly, with the "always at work when working from home comment." I may sign on early when WFH because I don't have to shower, let the dogs out, and then drive into work.
But just like when I'm in the office or at home, come 3:45-ish, I'm either leaving the office or turning off my computer. The 3 levels of management above me know this.
They also know I'm usually in office or logged on by 6:15. We all typically take 1.5-1.75 hour lunches.
Where is your company located?
Technically San Mateo, CA then owned by a company in Redwood City, CA, but they aren't really hiring California employees unless there is an EXTREMELY compelling case. Because of the costs, that's why Austin will be the mini Silicon Valley in the next 5-15 years.
I work in the Commerce area of our brand. We've nearly doubled our # of Tech Writers since I was hired I started 2.5 years ago. Commerce has offices in OKC, Austin in the states. London, Barcelona, Brno, Manilla, and Montevideo outside the country. But that's just Commerce. Our software (Williams Sonoma, etc) currently has approaching 90 Tech Writers worldwide.
As I mentioned, if you're the person they want, they will let you be full remote. I think another team just hired a writer that lives up, WAY UP, in the mountains of far southern Colorado.
Thank you.
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