The SquizLog

Working from Home?

I've often pondered the idea of working from home.

Conor MacNeill, another Aussie Java developer, is in the fortunate situation where he can comment from experience and appreciates no longer having to waste time commuting. I know where he's coming from because I spend about four hours a day commuting between the beautiful NSW Central Coast and the Sydney CBD.

On the very occasional day when I do work from home I certainly enjoy not having to get up as early and, like Conor, value the opportunity to spend more time with my family. One difficulty I have, however, is minimising the interruptions from my family. Our house has a fairly open plan design and I don't have a room where I can lock myself away in order to concentrate without distractions.

Another problem I have is that for much of the time I work within a team developing software. Now I realise that in this day and age the wonders of broadband technology, tools like CVS and the Internet itself make it easy to collaborate remotely. That's at a technical level. But when it comes to communicating with my colleagues I find that there's no adequate substitute for face-to-face discussions. So if I were to work from home, I think it would have to be only for some of the days each week.

On the other hand, when it's Friday (as it is today) and I've accumulated a sleep debt throughout the week, my capacity to concentrate for long periods is diminished. So perhaps I could convince myself that the benefits of working from home outweigh the drawbacks...

Then I'd only have to persuade my boss!

Posted to Peopleware, Software Development by Keith Pitty