Is teleworking an important factor in deciding on taking a job?
Gorby
Member Posts: 141
So I went to interview for a new position that would offer a slight pay raise of around 10K and would grant me a new position working more on the Risk and Compliance side of information security. I currently have the option of working at home two days a week at my current job which to me offers the benefits of not having to deal with the DC traffic (1 hour commute) and saving on costs. The new position though, currently does not offer teleworking unless it's an emergency so it would be back to 5 days a week in the office in DC. The manager at the new position states that he has issues trusting that employees are actually working at home and would prefer they are in the office so they can be reached.
I was curious to gather some opinions from you guys as to whether teleworking is an important part of your job decision? Would you turn down a job due to the lack of a teleworking option? Are you currently teleworking at your job?
I was curious to gather some opinions from you guys as to whether teleworking is an important part of your job decision? Would you turn down a job due to the lack of a teleworking option? Are you currently teleworking at your job?
Comments
Personally, I work 5 days a week in an office, and I enjoy it. I have the option to work 5 days a week from home if I like, because my manager knows if he asks me to do something, I'll do it no matter where I am. He trusts the result.
How many remote days have I taken since starting this job? Zero. I'll use them when I need them or if I'm ill, probably.
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Secondly it depends on location and how far of a drive it is... I have driven for a job that is 1hr 30min away.... and I have worked in DC and drove 1hr 40min both ways. Now my commute is 25min from work to home. But I would do a long commute again, for the right salary or pay.
Third... have you tried to move up within your current position? if there is no way to move up, then I would consider another position.
Finally.... teleworking is the dream of most people in IT... the hard part is getting a job that allows it.
Honestly the lack of trust from the Boss rubs me the wrong way.... It kind of would make me steer clear of that job entirely. If he can't trust his employees thats a BIG RED FLAG....
“The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone.” – Thane Krios
If you have skills, it's not hard to get. If you are a generalist then good luck
M.S. - Cybersecurity and Information Assurance
B.S: IT - Network Design & Management
The manager is the CISO for the company, but I was wondering myself about whether I was going to be walking into a problem with a manager who doesn't trust his employees to work on their own. He mentioned that his staff is great, but was worried about how he can communicate with his staff if there was an important issue that came up. I figured that with instant message, work provided phones, web ex among other technologies it shouldn't be too hard but I'm guessing there is more to the story.
Exactly.
Is the Pay AND the commute worth it? But I would still be wary of a untrusting boss... that would lead to other issues down the road.
“The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone.” – Thane Krios
That would be a HUGE red flag for me. If it's corp policy that's one thing, but I wouldn't work for a manager that wouldn't trust me to do the right thing. Thanks but no thanks for me.
I don't think he is living in the past.... he does not trust his staff enough to let them work from home. That is the big issue here. if you cannot trust that your employees will get work done remotely, that is not someone you want to work for. Because that boss will feel "if you cannot be seen, then you are not working" which is not true. Most jobs can be done remotely which saves a company money in the long run.
“The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone.” – Thane Krios
I agree with others who comment on the manager's attitude. Corporate culture is one thing. An individual's opinion is another. At my current company is very normal to go work form the cafeteria or a quiet room. This is essentially the same as working remote. If someone expects you to be chained to a desk in a role other than a call center, that's certainly a trust problem. The whole "so they can be reached" line is pure BS because of some new and obscure technology he may have no heard about called phone, IM, video conference, etc. A strong remote work policy should clearly define expectations and those who do not respond when called should face repercussions.
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So can Help Desk jobs be remote? even though they are the grunt workers in IT I believe they can still work remotely.
“The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone.” – Thane Krios
If you're talking about an office where everyone is in their own office with the door shut, then sure, no real difference. But having people together in the office can encourage better working relationships, faster and clearer communication, easier collaboration, etc. In-person communication is still king for nuance and tone, and even videoconferencing isn't quite there yet.
Now, whether those benefits of the office environment matter for your company or department, or whether they outweigh the benefits of working remotely, is another thing. But I believe there still are certain advantages to the office environment.
M.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance, WGU
I need my socialization.
I will take the job.... pass it onto me. Id love to work from home
“The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone.” – Thane Krios
Their main office is in Toronto, with only 4-5 people here in Vancouver, and they don't want to open an office until there's at least like 8 or so.
I find remote working is pretty bad for collaboration since you can't just walk up to someone and discuss, white board, pair program, or even type commands into the terminal.
But most importantly, I'm a very extroverted person (yes, I know, weird in IT), and work drains me enough that I don't necessarily have the energy to go out and do stuff with friends, so I need work to fulfill my "annoy everyone" needs lol. Oh, and I'm also single, live alone, and can't even have pets because most places in this city don't allow them.
Me too. I'm a people person. What I'm not, is a sitting in the office for no good reason person. I have TONS of friends, acquaintances, former co-workers, and other people I socialize with. I don't see the need to waste time commuting to go to an office to socialize. I totally understand some people really like socializing and doing the happy hour with co-workers thing though.
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As far as collaboration, if you want the talent you have to be flexible in that regard. It's hard to find one good architect in your city much less a team of them. I'd much rather have the highest quality team we can find in the world collaborating over IM/phone/etc. than settle for those who lives close by.....
I live 8 mins from my current job and have always moved close to my jobs. I am a single guy who lives alone, so I have never really needed to request telework. There are certain locations I would prefer not to travel to, but sometimes you gotta do it.
You'll know when you move from support engineer to principal engineer. When you make that move, don't plan on doing most of the work in your jammies.
I work exclusively in PJs!
I do my socialization after work thro hobbies/sports/friends/ etc