Home alone?
After taking the kids to school, chatting to
other parents before watching a performance in the school
assembly, catching up on local news at the corner shop, talking
to several clients, sponsors and project partners on the phone,
meeting a colleague for coffee in the local café, I meet a
friend for a pub lunch.
It's not long before she asks the inevitable question: "Don't
you feel isolated working from home?" If only, I think ...
Working away from the office and away from daily contact with
colleagues can be isolating. But whether isolation becomes
a problem depends on a number of factors:
- How often are you working away from the office? 1-2
days per week is typical for employed homeworkers
- What kind of work you are doing? In
particular, how much interaction is involved with colleagues
and clients by phone, conferencing, site meetings etc makes a
big difference. The big growth area in homeworking is in
work using home as a base - i.e. skipping the visits to the
office before setting off for more mobile tasks.
- What's your domestic and community situation? One
can have a more or less active family and community life, and
this can make a substantial difference to one's perception of
isolation.
What are you missing out on?
The key issue is: by working away from the office, what are
you being disconnected from, and what are you (re)connecting to?
The following grids are a useful way to assess the pros and
cons of your situation. Take a look at each factor, then
see whether you are disconnected from them or not, putting a
Yes, No or "a bit" in the next column.
Disconnection isn't necessarily bad. So you can assess
with a plus or a minus whether the situation is on balance a
good or a bad thing for you.
| Disconnected from? |
Y / N |
+ / - |
Remedy? |
| Good colleagues |
|
|
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| Unbearable colleagues |
|
|
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| "Office buzz" |
|
|
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| Vital information/systems |
|
|
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| Team working |
|
|
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| Interruptions |
|
|
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| Opportunities to share problems |
|
|
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| Training opportunities |
|
|
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| New work opportunities |
|
|
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| Promotion opportunities |
|
|
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| Office gossip |
|
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| Office politics |
|
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| Recreational opportunities |
|
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After that, you can look at what the key issues are for you,
and whether a remedy is desirable or possible. Some
remedies may be technological - like good remote access or
one-number telephony that links you in seamlessly to the office
networks and exchange.
Others may be more to do with management or communications -
ensuring that remote workers are always included in
briefings and team activities, for example. It may be
necessary to formalise previously ad hoc communications, e.g.
with electronic newsletters or via an intranet. And
ensuring regular face-to-face interaction takes place is vital.
For balance, a similar grid can be worked through to find out
the value of homeworking. Reflecting on the positives, or
finding where the fault liens are, helps to overcome feelings of
isolation
| (Re-)Connected
to? |
Y / N |
+ / - |
Remedy? |
| Spouse/Partner |
|
|
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| Children |
|
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| Neighbours |
|
|
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| Pets/natural environment |
|
|
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| Time for concentrated work |
|
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| Time to relax/reflect |
|
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| Local shops and services |
|
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| Opportunities for recreation |
|
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| Self-development opportunities |
|
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| Outside interests |
|
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Some things can be hard to face up to. Being with the
family more - essentially by eliminating the commute and being
there at lunch-time and when others come home - is in principle
a benefit.
But, if it causes stress by making working difficult or
exacerbating emotional conflict, this needs to be recognised as
a negative impact. Remedies could include ensuring there
is a clearly separate workplace at home, or reassessing the
occasions for home working.
Changing the location of work necessarily changes our
"activity spaces" and the range of daily interactions.
Understanding what has been lost and what has been gained in our
daily activities helps to put feelings of isolation in context,
or to understand how enduring problems of isolation can be
overcome.
Next: The 24/7 home worker
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