I recently asked the question “Would you telecommute for less pay?” We got some interesting comments from that post.

Our reader Omie made a great point by saying that telecommuting is not the answer to childcare issues. You can’t watch small children (for the most part) while doing a job from home. She also makes the point that if you’re doing the same work, why SHOULD you get paid for doing less? She said:

“Less” is a relative term but I’ll skip speculating on how much less “less” could be and throw my vote in with the 61% who will not work for less. I don’t think telecommuting is easy, in fact, it could be harder. For instance there would be the expectation that you’re home, therefore you can fix lunch/dinner/clean house/do laundry while doing the same work. Saving on gas is not enough, unless you have a really long commute. If I could save on childcare, I would be swayed, but I don’t think working while attending to a toddler is effective. That could work with older kids. I really don’t mind telecommuting a few days a week but unless I’m also expected to deliver less work, why should I be paid less?”

Telesaur spoke to the point that telecommuting isn’t just a benefit to workers but to employers as well.

“I know plenty of people who have said they’d take less pay in order to telecommute, but I don’t think that’s the way we should be selling telecommuting to employers. Telecommuting is business strategy. While it benefits the telecommuter, the employer receives just as many, if not more, benefits by implementing a telework plan. Thinking that you would need to take lesser compensation means you’re focusing on how it will benefit you. Focus on how you will benefit your employer first.”

Rich Copley reminded us that oftentimes telecommuting means also working longer hours. This is definitely something I can attest to.

“I have a job that lets me telecommute on occasion, say if one of the kids is home sick, weather makes travel hazardous (a recent situation) or I just feel like it. And Omie is right, the house is full of things that beg for you attention, from the laundry to that stack of papers on the table next to the couch, etc. One of the hazards of telecommuting and those distractions is it can start to spread your day out, and work ends up permeating the whole day. So there are hazards, and I would approach it with wariness. Often, after a day of telecommuting, I’m happy to get back to the office. As for pay, seeing the gas and childcare argument, I’d consider maybe an extremely modest reduction, but not much.”

Great points! Do you have a comment about telecommuting and pay? Give us your thoughts with a comment below.

Post from: Blisstree

Telecommuting With Less Pay…. Not the Best Arrangement

We talked about telecommuting a lot here at Career and Kids. At least once a week I get an email from someone asking me about it. Some want to know where the telecommuting jobs are. Some ask me what the future of telecommuting will be.

I saw this interesting article which talked about telecommuting, and one of the things it mentioned was that employees are NOT willing to take a pay cut if they can work from home. The article said:

“Sixty-one percent of employed respondents who are not currently working remotely are unwilling to give up some pay in exchange for being allowed to telecommute.”

While I can understand that having less pay is not the optimal goal for people, I think it may be a good idea to accept a telecommuting for less money arrangement. After all, if you can avoid paying for lunch everyday, the cost of gas, buying new clothes, then telecommuting for less money would make sense. The flexible schedule and ability to work at home would outweigh the reduced pay in many cases.

But that’s just me. Would do you think? Would you agree to work for less if you could do it from home?

Post from: Blisstree

Would You Telecommute for Less Pay?

Happy New Year to all the loyal readers of Career and Kids!

I want to thank each and every one of you for reading our blog, sharing your thoughts, and adding your comments.

I also want to know what you want to see here in the upcoming year? Here’s your chance to tell us what types of posts you’d like to read. Want more interviews with career experts? More giveaways? Information on telecommuting? How to survive in a changing economy?

Please tell us by leaving your comment below. Your input is valuable and I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Here’s to a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Post from: Blisstree

Happy New Year from Career and Kids!

Staying at home is a tough choice for any mom.  More than that, there are moms who would love to stay home but really can’t because of financial reasons.  (As this blogger raises her hand!)  There are still more women afraid to leave their jobs for a few years because they think they might never be allowed back in to the workforce (or at least not without some struggle.)

A new article suggests that not only is it possible for women to stay at home and then return to the workforce, it’s something that shouldn’t even be feared.  An article titled “Is it really hard to return to work after baby?” offers five questions to ask yourself to help you decide if you should stay home with your kids.  One of them, “Is your salary the same as daycare costs” seems like the most obvious answer to consider.

The article also suggests that more and more women are preplanning and budgeting for kid time.  The author says, “Focus groups that I have attended show that more and more women are beginning to budget for years at home, planning this period in their lives.”  (Again, this blogger raises her hand.)

Still, this subject of women staying home is a tricky one.  Mostly because, it’s no one’s business what each of us do.  No one has the right to comment on one mom who decides to stay home, another who decides to work, and another who tries to combine the two.  We’re all just trying to do what’s right for our families.  But it is nice to know we have a lot of options.

Post from: Blisstree

Is Returning to Work After Kids a Scary Thought?

We’ve been talking a lot about untraditional career paths here over the last few weeks.  After all, with the changing economy, people are looking for ways to keep their heads afloat while spending quality time with their families.  My life has changed over the last few years for that very reason.   

Some folks, like Cathy Benko, feel that the “corporate ladder” is really a thing of the past.  Rather than a trying to get ahead by climbing “up,” people are looking at success differently.  She says, rather than looking at a career ladder as linear, it is now becoming just the opposite.

“Examples of nonlinear careers are everywhere: women who step out of the work force and then step back in a few years later, Generation X-ers and Y-ers who show less loyalty to a single company, executive men who have climbed the ladder for decades and now insist on carving out more family time as they continue to work.”

I can see her point.  My career is anything but traditional these days.  More than that, it changes constantly.  Work, as we once viewed it, has also changed. More companies are allowing their employees to telecommute, many offer flex time, and other people have chosen to drop out of the “corporate world” altogether in favor of entrepreneurial pursuits.

Do you agree with this assessment?  And if so, how has your career path changed over the last few years?

Post from: Blisstree

End of the Corporate Ladder?

There’s a wonderful article about holiday stress in regards to work over at U.S. News and World Report.  In it they list five potentially sticky points with regard to schedules, depression, and bonuses and what you can do to combat them. 

For example, if you’re one of the folks that has a job that gets more demanding around the holidays, they say you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for a more flexible schedule or telecommuting arrangement.  Just be sure to make the case from a business, rather than personal, perspective.

The article quotes Ellen Galinsky, president and cofounder of the Families and Work Institute, “Some employers believe that giving employees flexibility is a “no brainer” when morale is low and payrolls are lean.”  She also recommends that “workers limit their expectations for the holidays and choose to do the things that are most important to them.”

The article also talks about the “stress” of the holiday party getting canceled, which actually made me laugh.  Does anyone really care about the holiday party?  We always hated going to ours.

Post from: Blisstree

Dealing With Holiday Stress

“Small companies are embracing telecommuting now more than ever, says Mike Williams of the Atlanta-based Clean Air Campaign. A survey this year indicated about 12% of the workers at companies with 21 to 100 employees sometimes telecommute.”

One advantage smaller businesses have over other types of business is less red tape.  In a larger firm, rules that are meant to help bring order to their employees can sometimes mean it limits them as well.  In smaller firms, there is also a more personalized work environment.  People know each other a little better, and can trust that the telecommuter will indeed be working when they say they are.

I was interested about this information and took an informal (and completely unscientific) study of my own.  One of my friends that telecommutes one day a week works for a firm with over 10,000 people.  Two more of my friends that telecommute are at smaller companies, with less than 100 employees.  When I was at my last job, we had 25 employees and my boss was madly mistrustful about telecommuting. 

Let me hear from you.  Do you telecommute?  And if so, what size firm do you work for?

Post from: Blisstree

Want to Telecommute? Work for a Smaller Firm

During the tough economic times we’re facing, you might feel a bit leery about asking your boss for a telecommuting arrangement just now.  If you are already working from home on certain days, you may feel as if your job is now in jeopardy because of the economy. 

In rough times, fears about our jobs become increased.  It’s only natural.  And when you’re someone that is out of the physical range of the workplace, you may feel especially vulnerable.

But I’m here to tell you, telecommuting can be a positive thing for rough economic times.  Here are a few points that should help you drive home the point to your boss:

Telecommuting Saves the Company Money

When you’re not at work taking up space, your computer is off.  The lights in your cubical or office are off.  You are probably using your own paper, pens, and ink, thus saving the cost of office supplies.

You’ll Probably Be a More Dependable Employee

Telecommuting generally makes you a more reliable employee (not that you aren’t now, of course.)  Telecommuters don’t have to call in sick as often (for themselves or their kids).  They are generally happier.  If your spouse has a job that gets moved somewhere else, you don’t need to quit your job.  You simply move it right along with your spouse.  And by walking down the hall to work instead of making your way through rush hour, your boss won’t have to worry about you arriving to work late. 

Your Company Can Be Part of a Growing Trend

Rather than talking about your need to be at home with kids or for personal time, make sure your boss knows why telecommuting is a good arrangement for the company.  Arm yourself with statistics, check with competitors to see what their telecommuting arrangements are, and read as much about the benefits as possible.

Offer to Use Your Positive Example to Help Market Your Company

Make yourself the example your company can use when recruiting new employees.  Your company can benefit by providing real-life information on their telecommuting program, and how it has made a positive different in the life of their employees.  You could even suggest using this information in their marketing materials to clients.  Let your boss know you will help write about the success of telecommuting as part of a white paper or case study. 

It’s easy to feel nervous about your job during tough economic times.  But with some concrete facts and the right approach, you can make your company see the benefits of telecommuting.

Image from Morguefile.

Post from: Blisstree

Recession Proof Your Telecommuting Job

Nearly half of office workers are able to telecommute, but less than a third actually do, according to the Steelcase survey. Many of the rest fear that telecommuting will rob them of a promotion. Most workers believe their employer wants them in the office.

So, if so many employers want workers in the office and workers are afraid to telecommute, then who exactly is it who’s working from home?

But, I digress.

Workers fear that “out of sight, out of mind” will hurt their chances for promotion, and I often wondered that if a company sees that a job can be done off site, it might make it more susceptible to outsourcing.

I work in health care, so there’s not a lot of jobs that lend themselves to telecommuting, I just think it’s an interesting topic.

Post from: Blisstree

Afraid to telecommute?

But, is the honeymoon for telecommuters over?

Some studies suggest that the “myths” of telecommuting might be true:

Sixty-one percent of executives surveyed in January 2007 by Korn/Ferry International, a Los Angeles-based recruiting firm, said they saw career stagnancy among telecommuting workers.

Nearly half of CIOs felt that remote employees’ quality of work suffered due to reduced in-person contact with colleagues, and one-third said that these employees were less productive due to a lack of supervision, in a study released last July by Robert Half Technology, an IT staffing firm in Menlo Park, Calif.

I think that the success of telecommuting depends on the person and the position as well as a certain level of trust between employee and employer.

I’m sure there are some cases where is just didn’t work out for an employee to work from home, and in other cases it turned out better than expected for everyone and it’s hard to speak in absolutes about it.

However, the current gas price situation may force employees and employers to look more intensely at making telecommuting work.

Post from: Blisstree

Telecommuting not working out after all?