It was the best of times, it was the worst of times........

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."  Charles Dickens

As someone who's again now an exclusive "work at home" employee, my existence decidedly bears no real parallel to the poor French depicted in A Tale of Two Cities.   However the spirit of those words when applied to the context of what it means (and feels) to be a remote employee are shockingly appropriate. 

It was the best of times....  I am so qualified, that I no longer require active management, can determine my own priorities, work at my own pace, and a laundry list of other experience based justifications for my remote employment.  Basically, I get sh!t done, so I get left alone.  Pretty cool!  Oh, and that pesky little elimination of a commute (which used to be over an hour each way).  So, when Alex had a 6pm baseball game, I had no issue making the games.


It was the worst of times....  I do love my wife, son, dog, and cat, so let me be quite clear up front about that.  But, at some point, to continue to learn and grow you need to interact with different PEOPLE.  Conference calls and email are great facilitators, but cannot replace true face to face interaction.  Heck, we often learn the most interesting and important things around the coffee machine in the office.  I learn what new adventure Curious George will be going on here in the break room/kitchen.  My buddy Jim insists I started this blog because of this.  He may be right.

Bottom line....  If you have segment of your workforce that is well qualified, and doesn't really need to work any place in particular due to widely distributed teams, it makes so much sense to let them work remotely.  I know that I'm online early, am available all day, and check back in at night.  They get more "bang" for their investment in me.  Some have written that there is an unsaid guilt for the remote employee that makes them put in more than "expected" hours.  I tend to agree.  BUT, corporate America must ensure that these remote employees are still tested, engaged and continually learning.