One Third of Telcom Staff More Productive Working From Home 109
Qedward writes "British telecoms operator O2 has found that 88% of its staff are just as productive working remotely, while one-third claimed that they actually got more work done when they worked from home. 3,000 employees at O2's head office took part in a program that had them to work from home for one day, as practice for problems that may occur during the Olympic Games. From the article: '“The success of O2’s experiment extends much further than just allowing some of the workforce to stay at home and work. It proves that with the right thinking and planning, even the largest organizations can protect themselves from the most severe disruptions to their business,” said Ben Dowd, business director at O2.'"
"Telecommuting" still taboo (Score:5, Insightful)
Managers badmouth telecommuting because it more or less proves what we've known all along. Most managers are useless, redundant, wastes of space that spend more time putting on a show to justify their own existence than they do conducting actual management.
One whole day. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:"Telecommuting" still taboo (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Keep the pjs on? (Score:3, Insightful)
I wear clothes instead of turning the heating on. I may be poor....
Re:Keep the pjs on? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Keep the pjs on? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:"Telecommuting" still taboo (Score:5, Insightful)
That's why I said most. You need one good manager. Not 10 bad ones. /most/ managers in American business culture are redundant.
I stand by my statement that
Unfortunately bad management is often a self-perpetuating malignancy. Those with power aren't going to eliminate their own positions under any circumstances.
Unfortunately I envision the future of American business as feedback loop of middle managers, un-trackable N'th layer outsource subcontracts, and HR departments. Eventually the last actual producer will be eliminated, and all companies will suddenly collapse as they unknowingly try to subcontract services, supplies, and products from themselves.
Somehwat BS (Score:5, Insightful)
I took a few weeks working from home, leading up to my wife giving birth to our second child. I'm a Staff Software Engineer for a large company, w/ 10 years experience. _I_ was far more productive in those weeks. But my overall productivity? Well, I sure as shit didn't help the new folks out, nearly as much as when I was actually in the office. So yes, local productivity (AKA me) improved. Global productivity, however, is arguable.