How essential is it to go to work?

Today is the first day I’ve been to work in a few days.

Don’t get me wrong: I’ve done my work. I just did it elsewhere. Not at my work desk.

Here at Buildicus, every day, 9-5 attendance is not the rule. Getting the work done is the rule.

[caption id=”attachment_4874” align=”aligncenter” width=”1732”] This is not me, but it easily could be.[/caption]

Telecommuting is scary

To a lot of heads of companies, this scenario sounds like a recipe for disaster. They think, if employees aren’t present all day, every day, how do you know they’re doing their work?

The tendency is to believe that workers are lazy. That if you’re not standing over their shoulders telling them what to do, they just won’t do it. Or they won’t do it the way you want them to.

A couple of years ago, Yahoo made headlines when its new CEO Marissa Mayer banned telecommuting. Mayer claimed that, although employees may be more productive when they’re working alone, they’re more “collaborative and innovative” when they work together.

Collaboration and innovation are important. But isn’t it better to have employees be collaborative, innovative AND productive?

Telecommuting isn't for everyone

Don’t get me wrong. For some companies, it’s important that employees show up to work every day. Telecommuting isn’t for every business, obviously.

A successful telecommuting policy relies on a number of factors:

1. That employees are accountable.

2. That managers can give up a little control.

3. That everyone treats each other like grown-ups.

Obviously this policy works well in the world of tech, where everyone is on their computers 24/7 and collaboration mostly happens online. But it shouldn’t be ruled out for other industries, as well.

Telecommuting is awesome

There are so many benefits to telecommuting, from financial (less energy being used) and ecological (fewer cars on the road), to mental.

In my world, telecommuting means I can forgo the hour and a half it takes to get ready, eat breakfast and prepare lunch; instead, I wake up and immediately start working.

I can throw in a load of laundry during breaks. I can go to the grocery store during the day if I need to, knowing I can finish what I need to do later in the evening or on the weekend.

It means that I don’t resent the time I’m working, because I’m doing it on my schedule.

It also means I work when I’m productive. Usually that’s first thing in the morning, and in the evening. Afternoons are dead zones to me, and in past jobs, that meant being forced to sit at my desk, staring into space and trying to run out the clock. Not super productive, is it?

And yet, this insanity continues to be the situation at many workplaces.

Telecommuting boosts office morale

Last week, my co-workers and I went to lunch together, and on the way home, in the car, we had one of the most productive talks I’ve had in awhile. We actually took the long way home, and a side trip to Starbucks, because we wanted to keep talking (or collaborating, in work speak).

We were actually enjoying each others company because it wasn’t forced on us. Not being stuck in a room with the same people for eight hours every day means we get along well, and look forward to chatting when we’re together.

After our talk, we all retreated to our separate corners to work on the stuff we talked about. I know I’ll work on it at home over the next week, and they’ll do the same, and when the time comes, we’ll get together again and talk more about it.

How’s that for collaboration, innovation and productivity, Marissa Mayer?

Telecommuting and in-person attendance is the solution

Collaboration and innovation can exist side-by-side with productivity, and it doesn’t have to be merely because you’re forced to sit in the same room with other people all day.

In my experience, a good mix of telecommuting and in-person communication seems like the ticket to a pretty healthy work situation.

Sidenote: It seems like a lot of younger companies are adopting this strategy, as evidenced by Business Insider’s list of “50 surprising jobs you can do from home.” If you’re looking for a job that allows for telecommuting, you should check it out (special shout out to the job of Ohio Valley Beer Ambassador, because that sounds awesome).