Comments on: What makes web working more difficult?

By: My Knowledge Worker Inbox | Knowledge Workers

My Knowledge Worker Inbox | Knowledge Workers — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:40:44 +0000

[...] Web Worker Daily: What makes web working more difficult? [...]

By: Library clips :: A review on Teleworking / Telecommuting / Distributed Work :: June :: 2009

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:35:39 +0000

[...] and the Untethered Employee Is Your Workplace Results Oriented or Time Oriented? What makes web working more difficult? 6 Answers About Telecommuting Why Your Boss Doesn’t Want You to Telework Trends in Teleworking [...]

By: WebWorkerDaily » Archive Are You a Thriving Web Worker? «

WebWorkerDaily » Archive Are You a Thriving Web Worker? « — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:01:04 +0000

[...] to make, especially if you’re coming from a traditional office environment. With all the obstacles in the way of successful web working, it’s almost puzzling why it’s a growing trend. [...]

By: MicroAngelo

MicroAngelo — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:51:57 +0000

From these comments I see one difficulty effecting web workers: they seem to think that the alternative to an expensive desk position in an office should be free!

Yes, we have overheads: a few thousand dollars of hardware, software, VoIP call costs and of course paying for internet connectivity wherever we are. BUT this is a price worth paying! Offer any of your desk-locked colleagues if they would swap a small chunk of their income for the chance to live and work as we do, I bet they’ll bite your arm off.

The problem here as I see it is a romantisized falicy about teleworking – yes it can be very cheap or even ‘free’ if you work hard to get there, but it’s better to be realistic and budget and don’t be afraid to pay when you need to. Speculate to accumulate! That phone call may have cost you five bucks, but the value your client got will be repaid because you were available when they needed you, even though you were sitting in a café in the Carribean ;o)

By: My Knowledge Worker Inbox « Knowledge Workers

My Knowledge Worker Inbox « Knowledge Workers — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:29:47 +0000

[...] Web Worker Daily: What makes web working more difficult? [...]

By: WebWorkerDaily » Archive Keeping the Good Parts of Office Life «

WebWorkerDaily » Archive Keeping the Good Parts of Office Life « — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:00:11 +0000

[...] us to prep ourselves for the day ahead, go around the neighborhood, and do some idle thinking. In my previous post, WWD reader Michael said that he liked the commute home, because it gave him the chance to [...]

By: Ajay Bandopadhyay

Ajay Bandopadhyay — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:09:18 +0000

For the last fifteen months or so, I have been trying to generate some freelance home based business. I have made some investment in infrastructure such as Computer & software, high speed internet etc. However, I have not acheived any remarkable success other than my popularity on internet; this is because of my strong presence I guess. I normally get 10 to 20 mails on each of the five working days and all these senders of E-mails inspire me to join their teams; they all assure me of a great future and big money. Most of these friends are from America or Europe; and recently a couple of Indian friends have started sending me lucrative propsals of the same kind. I am enroled with both the USA and EU frelance protals in addition to a few more of the same kind and the famous CJ.

One thing is common with every such mail I receive – they all seek some investment. Is this the crux of this business process?

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:52:57 +0000

It's often hard to avoid distractions and comforts of home. However, you can usually avoid them if you have a nice private room (like I do) for working. People also tend to think, "oh, he's at home, he can do this and this and this for me because he's not doing anything", but I'm working! I have work to do, and a lot to get done, and I don't think everyone around me understands that. Distractions. Jake NoteScribe: Premier Notes Software

By: Shefaly

Shefaly — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:18:36 +0000

From the employer’s perspective, there are many legal issues of concern. The employment contract may need amending. The ‘place of work’ may need inspecting for health and safety and suitability to work because occupational injuries etc sustained on work time may be a liability for the employer. Because of the reasons you cite, the employer may also be open to discrimination lawsuits. And of course, to draw the line between tele-working and flexible working (yes, I am in the UK; we are the champions of absurdia!) will be quite a challenge too. And the chagrin of other employees whose jobs cannot be done away from the office (e.g. phone receptionist’s for instance).

By: michael

michael — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:01:22 +0000

Hi,

One of difficulties is the crossing of the (thin)line of private and work. People are expecting you to be online all the time and even in the private hours of the day. It has always been hard for me to guard that line for myself but its getting more difficult if other people is expecting it as well!!

Another issue is that i use to like the 20 to 30 minutes drive back home. It gave me time to unwind and to get into my private mode.

Don’t get me wrong, i don’t want to get back to the ‘old’ days, i really like working like this. It’s great because we not only work as web workers but also with a lot of externals from India, Oekraine, in the Netherlands self. It would be a bit costly to come together all the time ;-)

By: LJ

LJ — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:25:19 +0000

Hi!

The main difficulty I face, when thinking about freelancing or contracting from home/on-the-road, is that often I am expected to have all the resources myself, and to support all the costs. In this high-dance/often low-work environment, the funds aren’t there for me for high-cost wifi or broadband, these various tools, long distance, the all-in-one PDA or phone, etc.

I tend to be one of those who prefers working on-site because I’d rather work with the client’s systems, and my web mobility comes from having my own tools and resources that can move from project to project.