It is most managers’ default position to prefer to see their employees sitting in an office where they can see them working and monitor their progress regularly. Over the years, I’ve worked in full-time office settings as a manager, alternated between a home office and client offices as a consultant, and struggled solo as a freelancer working from home. Of all of these incarnations, I’ve found that a judicious mix of time spent in the office and time spent at home works best.
When every minute is spent in the office, it can often be difficult to make progress on projects that require deep thinking and sustained focus as co-workers stop by your desk to chat, a constant barrage of emails filters into your inbox, you have to prepare an agenda for a weekly meeting, and so on. When every minute is spent at home, an entirely different set of challenges can arise: accessing company servers or “secure” information; staying abreast of project developments (and “breaking news” in particular); resisting the distraction of husbands, wives, and children.
When the appropriate balance is struck, however, allowing employees to work from home can be quite advantageous. Particularly when we speak about big-picture projects that require sustainable, well-thought-out plans and truly novel approaches.
As managers, we’ve all known the feeling of only being able to get “real” work done at odd hours – at the crack of dawn when you can’t sleep, after everyone else has gone home, or after some rest on a Sunday afternoon. Consider that your own employees’ productivity might benefit from such a break. Even just a single day a week working from home, away from the constant chatter of the office, can yield positive returns for your most important projects. Not to mention having a beneficial effect on recruitment and retention.
***This article is adapted from the research and writing of Jocelyn K. Glei, a creative strategist with expertise in editorial, design and publishing. She regularly collaborates with Scott Belsky and the Behance Team, who run the Behance Creative Network, the Action Method project management application, the Creative Jobs List, and develop knowledge, products, and services that help creative professionals make ideas happen.
When every minute is spent in the office, it can often be difficult to make progress on projects that require deep thinking and sustained focus as co-workers stop by your desk to chat, a constant barrage of emails filters into your inbox, you have to prepare an agenda for a weekly meeting, and so on. When every minute is spent at home, an entirely different set of challenges can arise: accessing company servers or “secure” information; staying abreast of project developments (and “breaking news” in particular); resisting the distraction of husbands, wives, and children.
When the appropriate balance is struck, however, allowing employees to work from home can be quite advantageous. Particularly when we speak about big-picture projects that require sustainable, well-thought-out plans and truly novel approaches.
As managers, we’ve all known the feeling of only being able to get “real” work done at odd hours – at the crack of dawn when you can’t sleep, after everyone else has gone home, or after some rest on a Sunday afternoon. Consider that your own employees’ productivity might benefit from such a break. Even just a single day a week working from home, away from the constant chatter of the office, can yield positive returns for your most important projects. Not to mention having a beneficial effect on recruitment and retention.
***This article is adapted from the research and writing of Jocelyn K. Glei, a creative strategist with expertise in editorial, design and publishing. She regularly collaborates with Scott Belsky and the Behance Team, who run the Behance Creative Network, the Action Method project management application, the Creative Jobs List, and develop knowledge, products, and services that help creative professionals make ideas happen.
