Bill McDevitt
Founder & Owner
Top of the World Coaching.
Helping clients achieve their goals & get to the top of their world.
Work from home or not.
There has been a lot of talk lately about whose choice it should be and if working from home works or not. And who should decide, the employer or employee?
I believe the decision as to where the work should be completed is that of the employer.
For employees, their choice is to find & work for a company that allows work from home if that is what they want.
The pandemic showed both sides that working from home for some positions is possible, but not ideal in some cases, and not for everyone.
If the job requires going into the office the value of doing so should be felt by all stakeholders.
I want to share my experience.
I have worked for a couple of companies that have used what I call the “hotel” office setting for employees working at the office. That is big spaces with small desks shared by many with no designated spot. First come first serve.
One of the companies that I mentioned set this expectation on day one. I understood what was expected and moved forward.
For the other company when I started, I had an office space to myself. Our company was growing so fast that I was soon sharing an office with a colleague. With much of our interactions with our different teams being done over the phone, having two people share an office was less than ideal.
Within several months I was asked to work from home. This worked great for me as I already had a home office set-up and the discipline to do so.
When I mention discipline to do so I am referring to setting routines for productivity and following those routines.
- Like knowing when to start and stop.
- Keeping a proper meal schedule and not just snacking.
- Dressing appropriately and good hygiene.
- Moving around more than just the house.
- Setting boundaries.
To name a few.
Now back to my experience.
We had employees all over the country, but only one corporate office so having employees working from home was not something new.
Ten years go by, the company moves into a bigger office, and I and others were then asked to come into the office again regularly, days when we were not traveling, and Mondays were mandatory for local employees not traveling that day. Most of the others had also worked from home due to lack of office space in the old building, but rarely traveled for work reasons. The new office would provide space for them on the second floor. The space was their own but for many of them it was the “hotel” environment.
I did a lot of traveling for work, but Mondays were usually set aside for meetings. Having to go into the office on Monday’s did impact my travel schedule a bit, however. The 90 or more minutes I spent traveling to and from the office took away time for other Monday duties that I had to make up somewhere. The office also put me further from the airport and most of the business owners I was coaching through field visits. So, instead of leaving Monday after I wrapped up for the day, I waited until Tuesday morning.
The new office was beautiful. It was a section of a larger building and we had space on two floors. The daily office goers and executives used the top floor. Ground floor was used for hands on training and visitor office workers. I was provided with a shared space downstairs with one other local employee. We rarely saw each other due to travel schedules and no one came down to visit from upstairs. The space could accommodate up to eight people with the “hotel” set-up, but no one else was ever there. My office interactions would consist of meetings for the entire staff in the conference room, roaming around upstairs, or coordinating lunch schedules.
What was the purpose of me being in the office?
As I stated at the beginning of the blog, the decision to work from home or the office belonged to the employer. I do not believe it brought value to any of the stakeholders in my case.
But remember, it is your choice based on your goals where you work.
of course there is always the option of starting & growing your own business, but that is a topic for another blog!
As always, help others along their path to summit their goals too!
Progress not Perfection!
Stay green & growing!
Top of the World Coaching – helping you summit your personal and professional goals.
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