Working from home....

I have the ability to work from home. When I take advantage of this option and lock myself away in my residence I often feel guilty. To insure that I am not taking advantage of the loose reins of my job, I work from the time I would begin my commute into the office until the time I would normally arrive back home at the day's end.

In comparing these work locations, I find that at home I am not distracted or pulled into idle chit chat. I am also not going out for lunch when working from home or even down the corridors in search of coffee. Therefore, I honestly believe that working from home produces more work for my employer provided I continue to work as hard. Since work ethic is often a trait well defined by an employee's middle ages, it seems like adopting a policy for working from home could benefit the business. It also comes across as a benefit to the employee at no cost to the company. The less electricity, supplies, and space the employee is using onsite actually cuts cost as well.

Layers of Management

At what point should we stop and look at the structure of our corporate businesses? Does it make sense that one guy works while being managed by another who tracks his productivity and reports to another that is thinking about what the worker should do next. Then another layer is in place to take status reports of the work done and report up to yet another layer of management. By the time the status report makes it to the 10,000 foot high office it has been spun and generalized to the point it has no real value. Meanwhile, the guy on the floor still works and feels unappreciated because the executives are unaware of what he sees as reality. The ivory tower executive has no clue what is happening leagues below him and any attempt to communicate between these two end points, will be fruitless since the medium of communications is the management chain that stretches ineffeciently between the distant points.

It really makes you appreciate small businesses!!!