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GIL GORDON
ASSOCIATES
Rethinking The "Workplace
BIOGRAPHY - GIL GORDON
Gil Gordon is founder of Gil Gordon Associates. a management
consulting firni specializing in the implementation of
telecommuting/virtual office and other alternative, work
arrangements. and in strategic employee retention strategies.
He's recognized around the world as a leading telecommuting
expert and a true pioneer in the field. His blue-chip client list
includes companies such as General Electric, AT&T. Merrill
Lynch, American Express, Nationwide Insurance, and many
more, as well as a long list of public-sector employers and
government agenCies in the U.S. and around the world.
Since 1982 he has worked with public and private sector
employers in the U.S .. Canada, Europe, Japan. New Zealand, and
Australia to plan and implement successful, bottom-line
oriented telecommuting programs. He edits the monthly
newsletter TELECOMMUTING REVIEW (published since 1984),
co-authored the book TELECOMMUTING: HOW TO MAKE IT
WORK FOR YOU AND YOUR COMPANY, co-edited the book
TELEWORKING EXPLAINED (John Wiley, 1993) has been a
conference speaker across the U.S. and around the world, and
(since 1992) hosted the annual TELECOMMUTE conference for
business and government leaders. His World Wide Web site
(www.gilgordon.com) has become the predominant Internet
resource for telecommuting and related topics.
He has a B.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern
University and an M.S. in Organizational Behavior from Cornell
University. Before starting his consulting business, he worked
for almost ten years in Human Resources with Johnson &
Johnson. He has worked at home since 1982, where (among
other things) he is generally responSible for dOing the laundry
and other household chores.
10 Do'nner Court -
Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852 _ (732) 329-2266 _
gil@gilgordon.com _ www.gilgordon.com
FAX:
(732) 32 9- 2 70 3
�Compliments Of
Personal Bilisiness ~"
I
I
I
~
,- ,:;: " -', ;; ;:
GIL GORDON ASSOCIATES
10 Donner Court
MONMOUTH JUNCTION NJ 08852
EDITED BY AMY DUNKIN
SAYING
·ADIOS ;TO
THE OFFICE
N
ow that her commute an added boost from a strong
to the office lasts all economy in which employers
of)O seconds, Vicki must make accommodations
Hall has lots of· time on her to attract ,the best and
hands. A senior communica-' brightest workers. There are
tions analyst for Visa Inter also environmental and polit
national, Hall used to drive . ical . pressures as companies
some 2~ hours each day to respond to Clean .Air Act
and from Visa's San Francis
provisions that aim to cut
co headquarters. After mov
traffic. And. businesses want
ing to Pensacola, Fla., Hall, a to pare real:estate .costs.by
single mother, :isstill taking creating "hoteling'~,;arrange
care of business. With the ments in which,say, 10 pe~
blessing of her California pIe share a single cubicle on out the boss breathing down
bosses and armed with a an as-needed basis. Compa your neck. On the other
company-paid pc, fax, ISDN nies are finding that telecom hand, would you go' stir-crazy
phone line, and storage muting can boost productivity without being able to
. 5% to 20%, ,according to schmooze with office mates?
'shelves, Hall has turned
a spare bedroom into
Jack M; Nilles, author
Many companies insist that
an office. "Telecom
of Managing Telewark you iron out a schedule with
niuting gave me my'
(John Wiley & Sons, your supervisor before you
life back," she says.
begin. You may prefer to
$29.95).
As profes
Technology work at6 a.m. and .hit the
sional men and
is helping pe~ links Ilt 3 p.m.-just be sure
women
at- . . . .iiIoiilI..................... pie break 'free'
you're available for those 9
tempt to do justice to their of the office. With laptops, a.m. meetings. Not every
careers while attending to speedy modems, the Internet, company will require formal
family and personal needs, and the emergence of corpo- . training before you set up a
more and more are working rate intranets, jobs are be-' remote office, but it's a good
without visiting the office coming portable. Employers idea to sound out your boss
more than once in a blue and employees can easily about his or her concerns.
swap E-mail and' share PC APPEARANCES COUNT. It's
moon. The appeal is enor
mous. At home, you can documents from 'afar.' This equally smart to assuage the
spend more time with the cuts down on 'faxing and fears: of c~workers. Your col
kids, work in casual clothes, overnight-courier costs.
leagues may' become resentful
Is 'telecommuting for you? if they think you're on paid
and tailor a schedule that lets
\
you tackle your job at odd Nearly 75% of teleworkers vacation or suspect they1l get
saddled with extra work in
hours. Some 9.9 million pe~ responding to an AT&T sur
. pIe work outside their main vey last year said they were your absence. As a result,
corporate offices at. least more satisfied with their per you may want to trade fa
three days a month, up from sonal and family lives than vors.with 'your cohorts--by
9.1 million in 1997 and 5.4 before they started working covering for them if they
million in 1993, according to at home. But telecommuting leave early one day, for' ex
Raymond Boggs,' director of is not for every person or ample. And make sure they
home-office research for In job, and you'll need a mas
know they· can call you at
ternational Data Corp. in sive dose of self-discipline to home. Appearances count: If
Framingham; Mass.
pull it off. Ask yourself if you you Choose to work two days
Telecommuting has gotten can perform your duties with a week at home, you may not
152 BUSINESS WEEK I OCTOBER 12, 1998
want to make them Monday
and Friday, advises telecom
muting consultant Gil Gordon
in Monmouth Junction, N.J.
Peers might think you're tak
ing long weekends.
It's also imperative to set
up ground rules with your
family. The good news about
telecommuting is that you
can be close to your loved
ones. That's also the bad
news. Spouses and small chil
dren have to understand that
even though you're in the
house, you are busy earning
a living. It's fine to throw in
a few loads of laundry or an
swer the door when the
plumber comes. It's another
thing to take the kids to the
mall or let them play games
on your office pc.
.
Clearly demarcate your
workspace by using a sepa
'rate room with a door you
can shut. Let your family
know that, emergencies ex
cepted, the space is off-lim
its during working hours.
Some employees wear corpo
rate badges or business at
tire at home to alert the fam
ily that they do not want to
be disturbed.
I
�I'
If you have infants or tod
dlers, arrange for child care.
''Thlecommuting is not a sub
stitute for dependent care,"
says Barbara M. Reeves, a
virtual-office program man
ager for Boeing. "With a
young child, you're really try
ing to hold down two jobs
and probably not doing very
well with either one."
Once you get dov.'ll to busi
ness, you may have to work
hard to remain in the loop.
That's why so many telecom
muters stay at home only a
couple of days a week. Aside
from rubbing elbows with
bosses and cohorts, there are
meetings and other situations
where face time is essential.
Just one in five telecommuters
responding to the AT&T study
indicated that they felt more leave the office. When the
isolated working at home. But lines between your home and
some teleworkers, worry that office blur, it can· be hard to
being out of sight means being pull yourself away.
out of mind, and that that will.
Maintaining the balance
hurt their chances for a pro-' ,has not been a problem for
motion ora bonus. Moreover, Sun. She has been promoted
you may be concerned that if since she began telecommut
bad times hit, you'll be the ing' and now manages two
first to get sacked.
New York employees from a
BE A STAR. The best way to distance. But there may come
eliminate such concerns is toa time when you'll have to
produce. "You need to estab ponder a difficult question:
!ish your credibility," says Would you rather climb the
Betty Sun, who works from corPorate ladder or the stairs
her house in Bethesda, Md., to your home office? The
as an acquisitions editor for higher up you move in your
publisher John Wuey & Sons organization, the more likely
in New York. ,Of course,. it is that your presence at
while it's important to put in headquarters may be re
a full day of work while quired at all times. Telecom
telecommuting, also remem muting can ,be terrific at cer
ber that there's a time to tam stages of your life and
Find out your manager's concerns before you
begin working at home. Agree on performance
.
standards, and meet those. goals.
career. But when the kids are
older, you may be ready to
return to the office full-time.
Even though the telecom
muting phenomenon contin
ues to mushroom, you may
still encounter old-fashioned
employers who are resisting
the trend. But if you're a star
performer, lots of companies
will let you telecommute if
that's the way to hook you.
''The whole drift of the '90s is
to introduce flexibility into
work flow," says Thomas E.
Miller, a vice-president for
Cyber Dialogue, a New York
based research and consult
ing firm. That's good to know
if you find the back-and-forth
pull of train or car commut
ing is pulling you apart at
the seams. Edward C. Baig
Establish a clear workspace at home.
Determine whether your company will pay
for"home-office equipment.
Let your family know when you cannot be
Create definite work hours. Attend meetings
by phone, communicate regularly with bosses. 'disturbed. If you have small children, arrange
and coworkers, and 'visit the main office often. for child care during those times.
--------------'---------------------_
.....
_
BUSINESS WEEK I OCTOBER 12, 1998 153
�l'
expenses athome , r,r,lpv........~tnn'
you......;have.to show
,muting is for an errIDH)V€~r:s',conVi~;';
nience/Arid since
couldifultldesk spaCe'dO'WD'i;ovmiiif'
they"i:llose, ,their uv,'''le, V.IJU"<'"
'don~t ,meetthe riP" r111~·t.lnn'
. .~Keep ith8t:in~d
, ' ,.you're .Joolting for.;a'
break for
' "
. ,rack up working
, home. Sure, . .
'ers see thevhlue ,
telecommuting and will
underwrite, eqUipment" to'1 ,
turn your guest room
into a corporate ·outpost. ' ;:
But for the many " '.
'F
telecommuters who .cough ',;
up cash for their own com-,;,'
puters, fax machines, and workspace,>'
the tax code offers little relief::,' ,'>:,«:.
That's not right. A basic principle
of the income tax is that business>,'
costs shouldn't be taxed. Bigcompa-,.
nies deduct most of their expenseS.;;;,
But for home workers-be they',:",,::.': ,;;
telecommuting employees or the self,,;"~:::'
employed-the bar is higher.
'. '"TH.
NIX THE KIDS. To prove you're work-i':."
ing at home for your employer's, ,
sake, a letter from the boss should' :
do the trick. But the IRsean demaild .
more, including a corporate policy
,
guaranteeing the same deal to all
similar employees. Mixed-use equip- , .
ment poses another problem. No one" .
tracks how many hours office work-.';
ers spend playing games on the In- . ' ,'"
ternet. But share your home PC with,
your kids, and you're expected to log'"
your keyboard hours vs. theirs and
claim only your share of computer
costs on your tax ,return. And if your '
kids play in. your office, the mswil1,'"
question whether it's a separate .' ,
space used exclusively for,work. If .
,..."'....... ,U...
'l :
i.
154 BUSINESS WEEK I OCTOBER 12, 1998
,
Tips for Dealing
'With .Uncle Sam
'GET IT ON PAPER
t.,.,'P~
';:"dlominarltlyfor',busi
for employees arid
, .seH:..employed.
RELIEF.Self-em
'ployed"home work
, ;i:ershave.it better-in
,,;J,someways.:Most of
',their, exPenses reduce
. pretax income dollar
,'..for-dollar..They'll also
....'"'.,.'"'.. ".~~u.uia 1997 tax law that,
Rta:rtlJlIP' next ,year, ,will let them
deduct',a home' office used for man
!Jiagingwork performed elsewhere.
');~That::reverses a 1993 court ruling
,,\':Ithat'barred, .say, a plumber from
':clBi.nrlngahome office because his
<;actual job was repairing pipes at
,; "clients'';houses.
! r,,';JButthe ,self-employed still have
- -- -- -- - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - ::.;:~:plenty :of tax;gripes..The biggest-a
Your chances of claiming work'}cap'that lets them deduct only 45%
related expenses on your return
. of.thefrhealth-insurance premiumsimprove with a letter from your'
.. will.be'·:6.xed if the Republiean tax
boss stating that the arrangement
,~bill,nowin Congress escapes a
is for your employer's convenience. ,;,threatened :Presidential veto.
REIMBURSEMENT.BEATS WRITING OFF .,.,;;Stay-at~homewor~ers will n~ver
___ _ _ _
__ ___ _ _ _ _ _ __
:::.:bavethe.resources bIg comparues
Better to get 100% of an expense :: '.':use':to shrink their.tax tab. But as
!"'their:numbers proliferate, they
from your employer than a tax
savings worth at most 39.6%.
'::Tdeservethe benefit of the.doubt.
WATCH YOUR PHONE COSTS,Lots'<ofwork is going on in home of
_________
_____ ,________
'fices.'Congress.and the IRS should
·,make,lillowanees for this economic
Don't deduct any share of your
basic service. But you ean write
reality.. "
off a second phone line or busi' - - - - - ,- - - , - - - - -
ness services, such as voice mail.
McNarMe coverS tax issues from
-Washington. .
�•..
THE WORKS
Marmo's two-story, .
backyard office boasts a
studio, a reception room,
and a storage area
efficiently but it also pre
serves your sense of profes
sionalism. Marmo chose to
add on to his house, while
Zimmerman remodeled his
attic. Ideally, the spot you
pick should be comfortable,
well lit, and removed from
distractions.
Once you've chosen a loca
tion, it's time to think about
general layout and furniture.
How much surface area do
you require for equipment
and to do daily tasks? What
are your storage and light
ing needs? Do you need an
area to meet ",rith clients?
You must also consider how
much you want to budget.
Bear in mind that in some
they can tax, he adds. If cases, you can take a tax de
such laws are a problem, duction for costs related to
look into getting a variance. setting up and maintaining
Otherwise, expect to pay a your office.
penalty should a neighbor DEPRESSING. If you can af
snitch.
ford an architect or interior
The next step is to stake designer, great. A two-hour
Brent Marmo got so your tele(!ommunications out a space-whether it's a consultation may cost at least
spare bedroom or an alcove. $500. But a tight budget
~ d
..
Ie up WIt h .h'IS daI'IY requirements. start your "Choosing a location is prob shouldn't be an excuse for
Before you
45-minute commute shopping list, make sure it's· ably the most critical part of poor design, says Marilyn
O. K. with the local authori the process," says Neal Zim Zelinsky, a home-office plan
between Excelsior, ties for you to have a home merman, an architect from ner in Fairfield, Conn., and
Minn., and downtown
office. Many municipali West Hartford, Conn., and author of Practical Home Of·
Minneapolis that he
ties have zoning ordi author of Home Office De fice Solutions (McGraw-Hiil.
nances that require sign ($19.95, John Wiley & $19.95). "A lot of people get
built an office in his
licenses for business Sons). "Working at home is discouraged that they can't
own backyard. The offlce, which looks "'~P.IP."'''''l'I'I'Il''!I'I'''!II use
of
the not' something you do cross afford the perfect home of
like a blue cube
home-even for ing your legs on the couch," fices they see in magazines."
and includes a studio and a part-time wqrk. "Such laws he says. Not only does a ded she says, so they settle for
client reception area, set him were written to prevent un icated space let you function rickety tables and worn
back $220,000. But to Mar wanted traffic"-lots of
chairs and pay little at
mo. a graphic designer, it's visitors and deliveries to
tention to arrangement.
money well spent. "Now, I a residence-says Randy
Papers pile up, and
wires crisscross the floor.
just have to take a few steps Johnson, president of the
Rocky Mountain Hometo get to work," he says.
"It gets depressing,"
says Zelinsky, because
Like Marmo, a growing based Business Assn. in
number of Americans work Aurora, Colo. (303 367
"design and psychologi
full- or part-time at home. 1918, www.rmhba.org),
cal well-being are tied
together."
But setting up a comfortable which advises people
and efficient home office re who work at home.
If you're taking the
quires more than. just They're also 'a way for
economical route, Zelin
sky recommends going
putting a spare desk and authorities to:know who
to furniture and shelv
chair by your phone. While
ing retailers such as
it need not involve a con BLUE CUBE
tractor or tons of money, it An exterior view of
Ikea or Container Store
that not only sell inex
does call for careful plan
ning-from your budget to Marmo's studio
pensive products but
BUILD YO·UR DREAM
WORKSPACE
154E4 BUSINESS WEEK I OCTOBER 12, 1998
�;,
CLOSETED
Anne Britt, a
mortgage banker,
converted a 10 x 10
storage closet into
her home. office
have employees trained to
help customers make the
most of a space. "They aren't
designers, 'but they can be
true problem-solvers," she
says. Another way to cut ex
penses: Check business-to
business phone directories
for furniture wholesalers and
liquidators. These outfits sell
'new and used office chairs,
desks, and such for 50% to
70% off retail.
To avoid discomfort and
even disability, buy furnish
ings that fit. "Don't get any
thing that may force you into
an awkward posture," says
Scott Wright, an ergonomics
consultant in Los Banos, Calif.
A ,computer desk should have
a keyboard tray at your seat
ed elbow height and a
pedestal that raises a moni
tor to just 'below eye leveL
Chairs should support the
small of your back and be
deep enough so there is a fist
size amount' of room between
the edge and your knees.
Also, make sure your feet can
rest flat on the floor.
Arrange furniture so there
is freedom of movement. Lisa
Kanarek, an organizational
consultant in Dallas and au
,thor of Organizing Your
Home Office for Success
(Blakely Press, $14.95), says
you should' be able to "turn
full circle in your chair with
out hitting anYthing," and
pathways: should be' clear. Put
everything you regularly use
within reach-and that means
without 'your ,having to
stretch. A common gripe
among home-based workers
is a shortage of ,storage
space., Sarah Gaventa,author
of Home Office (DK Publish
ing, $18.95), advises planning
for twice the 'storage you
'Ways'!f() \SaVEr/;";;
'WheirOutfittin.g':'
,Your,Office,',' .;"
'., Seek designideas from '
consult3nts who work
for home-furnishings
retailers'such as Ikea or
'Container Store
.' Buy chairs, desks, and
file cabinets from office
furniture wholesalers or
liquidatOrs
• Rather than purchase
a separate copier, print
er, scanner, and fax
machine, use an all~in
one device that costs
about $300
154E6 BUSINESS WEEK I OCTOBER 12, 1998
you will need. Make
:use of your walls with shelv
ing and corner racks. Put file
cabinets under tables.
: Most people wouldn't
dream of working at home
:without a PC. But now print
ers, copiers, scanners, and fax
machines have also become
necessities. You might want
to consider a unit that does
the work of all four but takes
up less room and may cost
less than buying everything
separately: Plan on paying at
least $300 for one.
However you choose to
equip your office, check that
you have enough power to
run your equipment-or you
might have to install another
circuit into the work area.
You can calculate your ener
gy needs by totaling the am
perage draw of all your ma
chines (check labels on the
back) and comparing it with
the ratings of the electrical
circuits that feed the office.
If the machines' power re
quirements are listed in
watts, multiply the figure by
1.4 and divide by 120 to get
amps. "Most residences have
H>-amp circuits," says Melvin
Perryman, master electrician
with American Residential
Services in Houston. Don't
forget that a circuit can feed
more than one room,
so you may have to
consider your other
appliances as welL If
your neighborhood is
subject to power
outages or fluctua
tions, Perryman advis
es installing an un
interrupted power
supply, or uPS, which
hardware stores carry
for about $200. These
devices contain stor
age batteries and sup
ply enough power so
you can save data and
safely shut down your
equipment in case of an out
age. They also regulate the
voltage reaching your ma
chines, preventing glitches.
Home-office experts strong
ly recommend getting a sepa
rate business telephone line.
"It's very hard to look pro
fessional with family members
answering your phone," says
Kanarek. Anne Britt, a mort
gage banker with Norwest
who works at home in Hous
ton, has a separate business
line that is off-limits to her
four young children. 'The kids
call me on that line when I'm
working," she says_
Britt
also
has
an
answering service provided
by her local phone company
for about $7 a month. Many
phone companies offer pack
ages for home-based busi
nesses that include services
such as call waiting, three
way calling, and Internet ac
cess. Some companies, such
as SHe Communications in
San Antonio, have work-at
home divisions (800 700-1100,
www.swbell.comlworkathome)
that provide free consulting.
Seek out such advice and talk
to veteran telecommuters
when devising your overall
plan. Remember, great home
offices require a lot of home
work.
Kate Murphy
i
�.t!.
I.
from now her direct manager
wouldn't say, 'I want you in
here five days a week.'''
:That telecommuter, Assis
tant Vice-President Lorna
Mackey, confesses to having
been worried on Curvey's ar
rival. When Fidelity moved
her operation from downtown
Boston to suburban Marlbor
ough, it turned Mackey's one
hour commute from Plymouth
by train into an hour and
45, minutes by car.
Would the new boss
put Mackey back be
hind the wheel five
days a week?
Talking
with
'Curvey helped, she says, and
''it became a nonissue verY
shortly."
•
Mter getting over the
hump, Curvey began moni
as usual," Curvey says.
She also didn't want to pe
nalize the telecommuters be
cause they weren't always on
site. She kept everyone in
formed and handed out plum
assignments evenly. When it
came to assigning offices, "we
had to make sure that even
though a couple of folks were
only there four or three days
instead of five, there wasn't
an implicit assumption they
were going to be stuck in a
corner somewhere." Even
though that didn't sit well
with some office-bound work
ers, she concluded that the
telecommuters deserved "the
same kind of treatment when
they're here in the office."
If it sounds like Curvey's
view of telecommuting
turned 180 degrees, it did.
toring progress.
Her main concern
" I then sat down with
was that business
everybody and said:
get done. So she
'0. K., how do we want to
watched for regu
lar participation in
conference calls
work this?' "
and frequent con
TRACEY CURVEY
tacts by telephone
Senior V-P, Fidelity Investments
and E-mail with
colleagues in the
people only wanted to be in office. "It was great to hear
the office two days a week people say: 'Oh, yeah, I talk
because of a long commute," to this person two or three
Curvey says. ''We needed to times a day.' It just seemed
make sure that six months' like business was happening
Early this year, Curvey was
promoted out of the retire
ment services group, where
she was a vice-president, to
senior vice-president in Fi
delity's retail division. Shortly
after starting in her new
post, she learned her assis
tant was looking for another
job to avoid a long commute.
Without hesitating, Curvey
offered her a flexible schedule
with fewer days in the office.
For Curvey, telecommuting
has come to be a solution, not
a problem.
Robert Barker
'so. YOUR WORKERS
WANT TO TELECOMMUTE
Tracey Curvey had
enough to worry
about when Fidelity
Investments ,asked
her to manage a whole new
group of people in an entirely
different business unit in 1996.
The last thing the marketing
executive wanted to deal with
was the five telecommuters
she was inheriting among a
crew of 40. "Was I willing to
continue that situation?" she
wondered. ''Was J willing to
take that risk?"
The answer, it turned out,
was yes. But it took hesita
tion, anxiety, and-crucially
a lot of talking and listening
before Curvey was won over.
Her tale is a case study for
managers who must learn to
cope with telecommuting
'workers, as well as for what
workers should expect of a
boss who is still getting used
to the concept of the virtual
office.
The unit Curvey led serves
employers who contract with
Fidelity to run their 401(k)
and other retirement plans.
Among other functions, Fi
delity provides them with ma
terials such as videos to pro
mote worker participation.
"This place moves very fast.
You get a lot of demands from
your clients," explains Curvey.
daughter-in-law of Fidelity
President James Curvey.
"Sometimes, when they want
something today, they want it
today." Curvey was not sure
telecommuters could meet
those demands.
BUILDING llWST. So what did
she do? Before agreeing to
continue the remote work
arrangements, Curvey asked
around to gauge how valu
able each telecommuter was
to the business. "I then sat
down with everybody and
said: '0. K., how do we want
to work this?'" Curvey in
sisted on nailing down in
writing .when each .telecom
muter would be in the office
and available at home, how
company-related travel
would affect 'schedules,
and how deadlines
would be met. ''Writ
ing it helped us make .
sure we were all ....!'!I'I~~
on the same
page," she says.
Getting a detailed agree
ment was a key' to building
trust and easing her employ
ees' anxiety, too. "One of the
154E8 BUSINESS WEEK I OCTOBER 12, 1998
�.)
kinks and a transfer back to'
the office, says Joseph Par
ente, whorunSKPMG Peat.
Marwick's telework-consulting .
practice.
Companies that top most·
consultants' lists of good em
ployers for telecommuters
job that lets you clock in from tend to be in high-tech or
home, you'd do well to find a knowledge-driven industries.
company like Cisco that has But telecommuting can work
fonnal telecommuting policies in any field, provided a job
in place. Although ad hoc requires more time on the
arrangements are still com computer or phone than in
mon, they are often'inconsis face-to-face meetings.
tent and can be seen as unfair.
A successful. program
Fortunately, an increasing needs employees with the
discipline, independence,
number of companies
..
are instituting fonnal~tf.t"l'l~~i; .and organization to
telecommuter pro- .,,~t;,i~i' make it work, and
~~s that spell out )f§i,;. <;:,"' managers who don't
confuse
time
trammg reqrure
spent at the of
ments and make
clear who will pick up what flce with output or effective
costs (table, page 156). That ness. IBM "didn't do as good a
lets you know telecolnmuting job initially" as it could have,
enjoys the· support of top says Bob Egan, who manages
management and can mean the company's telecommuting
the difference between a com program from his home in
mitment to working out the SaIt Lake City. The problem:
MAKING STAY-AT-HOMES.
FEEL WELCOME
To understand the
merits of telecom
muting, just look at
Cisco Systems, the
computer-networking giant
based in San Jose, Calif. Cis
co telecommuters have im
proved their productivity by
up to 25%, while the compa
ny has saved about $1 mil
lion on overhead, and re
tained key employees who
might otherwise have left.
What's more, those who have
traded suits for sweats say
they love setting their own
schedules, skipping rush hour,
spending more time with
their kids, and working at
least part-time in comfortable
surroundings. "It's surprising
the number of engineers who
will respond to a question at
11:00 on a Saturday night,"
says John Hotchkiss, Cisco's
human resource manager.
"We can solve a problem that
would not have been solved
until Monday morning."
If you're looking to land a
At Merrill Lynch, would-be
teleworkers can do
atwo-week dry run
While
telecom
muters spent
less time gos
siping, they
also had few
er opportuni
ties to talk
shop. Rather
than scrap
the program,
IBM decided
to schedule
meetings and
.other social
interactions
that used to
happen auto
matically. To
day, about
20% of IBM'S 270,000 global
employees spend at least two
days a week at home or vis
iting clients.
STANDARDS. Some companies
go to great lengths to avoid
making mistakes when
putting telecommuting pro
grams in place. Merrill
Lynch lets employees and
managers try telecommuting
on for size during a two-
BUSINESS WEEK I OCTOBER 12. 1998155
�14
week simulation in New ask employees who set up
York and elsewhere. While shop in the corner of the
working 'Aith gear they will family room to tell the kids
take home, employees com
to play elsewhere during
municate via phone or E- work hours.
mail. Face-to-face encounters PAT ON THE BACK. Although
are forbidden. "It gives them training tends to focus on em
an idea of what to expect," , ,ployees, companies that are
said Camille Manfredonia, serious about telecommuting
usually recommend that man
the program's director.
agers attend sessions, too. At
But dry runs, question
naires, and other evaluation Merrill Lynch, managers are
tools are only part of a suc-, taught to spot problems and
cessful program. Like Mer
to pat telecommuters on the
rill, Arthur Andersen's Per
back from afar. "The people
formance & Learning group I have reported to have all
in St. Charles, Ill., requires had a siinple attitude, which
prospective telecommuters to' is we don't care how' you do
attend training sessions, it or where you do 'it, just be
ends up costing more in
terms' of support," says Gil
Gordon, a telecommuting con
sultant in Monmouth Junc
tion, N.J.
Still, even the best pro
grams shift some of the cost
of doing business onto em
ployees' 'shoulders, says
Christena Nippert-Eng, an
assistant professor of sociol
ogy at Illinois Institute ,of
Technology. AT&T's telecom
muters typically receive lap
tops, cellular phones, and
second phone lines. IBM sup
plies those, plus pagers and
printers. But few companies
pay a portion of a telecom
,Telecommuting-Friendly Employers
COMPANY
PERCENTAGE OF
WORKfORCE THAT '
TElfCOMMDTES
SPECiAl FEATURES
AETNA
",:,';.i,AW:",:~2%,~:.'/:,·tThleoomm'ii~r:iSiassigJJoo8.rloffic~i~bu:adt.~<;}fl!i..~:;·;i:.'!i;j.,
ARTHUR ANDERSEN
20*
Conducts safety inspections of home offices
AT&T,':"
"5tF.1':;·:::,;iiM8HaierFe~pl~Y~'WQtkollfdetaiJS'i \i,i;i,;,r;'!;;;{':y'i, ....
BOEING
1*** : Rules differ for business unit,
. :CISCO SYSTEMS,' .
66 ;,' '::;:jt;24-'hourJ.echiUcillfsupport:!ergononut-:fi:irtiitUre:reqwr~(t::
GEORGIA POWER
:
soon allow some to work at
sites near home
THE LEISURE CO}
AMERICA WEST
·Performance & Learning group
says Nippert-Eng, who esti
mates that at least 20% of
the arrangements she stud
ied failed.
Perhaps the biggest threat
is the very thing that makes
telecommuting attractive:
distance. Companies risk
damaging their cultures and
discouraging informal prob
lem-solving. Indeed, the need
for periodic in-person meet
ings is acute at companies
like IBM, which are doing
away with regular offices for
telecommuters in favor of
shared cubicles they use
when they come in the
office.
REQUIRED VISITS. Indeed,
some companies require
telecommuters to stop in at
the office-if only for a day
or two a we.ek. Arthur An
dersen also hosts informal
lunches for its St. Charles
telecommuters. Despite all
the growing pains, Deborah
Lis, who markets IBM prod
ucts to local gov
ernments in
Arranges monthly potluck team HIm"..",,,..'
to keep everyone in touch
"~i!Shington$tate'
. --Managers
-, !~'l,j~;
..
,1
-DATA: 8UStNESsmfl~i ;... :
;::~:lf;/~ r'f:,!' '..;~ .. t!
:" ., ';' ';:::' ;', :~,;:,~·:..~h·i~,iilr~'H~~'~;~·l~Ji;:;;J;·:' r:; I~-!:-i.r~ !i~ll;" ,;; ',"
where topics include time productive," says· Susan muter's utility
management and virtual Scherbel, a Merrill managing bill or mort
gages.
teamwork. Both companies director in investment bank
Furtheralso inspect home offices ing, who began telecommuting more, to limit their lia
to make sure safety stan eight years ago, following the bility, a growing number
birth of the first of her three ·of companies require er
dards are met, such as hav
ing sufficient lighting. It's children.
'gonomically correct chairs California from her home or
typically up to the employee
When training is complete, and desks-an expense em from client's offices, says
to maintain a safe work , consultants advise .managers ployees often assume.
telecommuting has been a
environment.
Although the telecom
big plus for her career-.
and subordinates to hammer
Because telecommuting out written agreements cov
muter ranks are growing, Being close to clients helps
blurs the line between home ering everything from what many companies have yet to Lis brings in twice the rev
and work, good programs set work will be done at home accept the idea of a remote enue she did four years ago,
standards designed to create to how accessible the workforce. Only a third of when she worked from an
the more than 1,800 compa
IBM office in Los Angeles.
boundaries. "Setting up a telecommuter will be. 'Ex
nies William M. Mercer re
Still, Lis says her colleagues
workspace on a card table is perts alsoag'ree that compa
not a good long-term solu
nies should foot the bill for cently surveyed offer em
often get together face-to
tion;" says David Mead, CEO essential equipment, although ployees the option to . face to hash out work-related
of Telecommuting Success, a what's essential varies by telecommute. Some existing problems. Even telecom
Colorado consulting finn. Few company and job. "While it's programs are hamstrung by muters have something to
tempting to require employ
resistant managers, isolated gain by gathering around the
companies require telecom
employees, and insufficient office water cooler from time
muters to devote an entire' ees to use their own comput
Anne Tergesen
room to work. But many will ers, my experience is that it opportunities for teamwork, to time.
156 BUSINESS WEEK I OCTOBER 12, 1998
�IbtNtlt1 iork limt..
New Jerle)!
My Office, Myself
Telecommuters have a
growing choice of ways
to get there from here
- without leaving here
By DE8RA GALANT
OMI 8VRAMJI'S normal commute 'rom
H
Boonton Township to lake Success on
Long 1sland takes about an hour and 20
minutes. That's on good days. On bad
'I
duys. that commute can retch to three hours.
No! lha! Mr. ByramJldoesn'r makelhe mos! 01hls
car,bound SOlitude. "I hbYe listened to every self·
improvcment,l'.ales and motivatIonal tape in cre
ation," he says.
But OIlCJ!
;l
week, usually on Friday, Mr. By-
ramjl. the ",,-yenr-old chief cltceuUve of Market
Guide Inc., a publicly owned company that seJls
financial data. skips the commute aitogether, In
stead, he Just walks down the hall to his home
ofrice, where he CM do the more contemplative
pElrls or his job
and make phone calls
In
relative peaee. "Nnbody has an Issue with It,"
says Mr. Byramji, who worked Irom home as an
Independent consultant for mnny years before
taking his current job, In fact, he recently read QJi
article by the m<magement expert Tom Peters
suggesting thnl II chief executIves aren'l spending
one day a week working 'rom home. they would
be asking themselves why not
Mr. Byramj! works trom home roullnely for the
mos( obviOUs of reasons: II savell travel time. As
such, he is consWered a lelecommuter, one 01 an
estimated 8,7 million people in the United Slales
. who work from their homes .III least ooe dlly s a
week but are 00\ *1f-empLoyed
Telecommuting hAS be(ome so common that
telephone cnmpantes have had to Issue new area
codes In droves '0 keep up with aU the C):tra phone
hnes, nnd decoratIng mllga:tines. routInely run
features aboullurning attics tlnd spare bedrooms
into Offices. like so many other treruls, the Idea of
working from one's patio really started In Califor
nia, but many of the ctmdllmns that spurred
telecommuting in the Golden State apply to .the
Gurden Stllte, too, Southern Cahfornia's smog and
traffic may be more legendllry, but New Jersey's
car..cklged Inmbe-ape has likewise been QJi impe-
Conilnued on PogO'! 1tI
Sunday, February 9, 1~_ri7:
�10
NJ.
THB NEW YORK TIMBS. SUNDA Y,
~EBRUARY
9, J997
My Office, Myself: Telecommuters' Paths to Staying Home
Ing 10 hold down reol estate cosls. Based on
figures from the 8ulldtna Owners and Mon
Bflers: Al!.SoclaUOO International. Ihe Ilver
ege monthly Tell) eolole cost for Ju~t one
office worker range! lrom $2,!lOO In a subur
ban of Camden to '5.8M In downWW'n New
[uS to get rnmmutent Ofl the roads. "We hod .
yucky alr, and we still have yucky air,'~ aays
Gall Nelson, presldetll 01 TRS C<msuIt1n8, a
COI'l$UllIng firm In Unkln that speCializes In
flexible work arrangemenlS. "Thot's where
our Involvement came from."
Uke California, New Jersey is home to
many knOWIedg1! worker!, peopr"" who make
their living by manlpuletlng Ideas rather
than objects and thercrnre don't need to be'
tied to a panlcular p.lace. "We're not mak~
Ina: widgets," says Koren Patten, prWdent
and foulldCr 01 the Synergy Group. a tete
commuting consulting comp"ny based In
Northvale, and president of New Jersey
ThiecommuUnR Advisory Council.
.
Telecommuting gets another push from
thnt fact that many hlgh-tech corporations
are based hare, and they llr8 well repre!ient~
ed among the 111 companies that have told
Ihe SHue Deparlmentol TransportatIOn Ihlll
lhey have lelecommulln8 programS. NIne
teen percent of AT&T's New Jersey emplOY~
oos lelerommule reaulJlrly. accordJng to a
1900 ",uvi)' by the company. Lucen1 Tech
nologies, the equlpmenlt-manufactuting
splnofr of AT&T. il!lanother teJecommullng
lender, as is 8ell Atlantic, "JuSt abool ev
erybody In .his pl8Ci!' does. It !tom lIme to
time," says a Bell Atlantic spokesman. Tim
Irefand. "We'w gol to, We sell the Sluff."
And as a backyard to Wall Street, New
Jersey is heavily populated by {raden, ana
lysts and InvcSlment bankers who consider
their wmputerJ and hl~peed Internet
conrlectlons es Importanf a ptlrt of their
housewares 8S, ee)" refrlgerlltOt'& Of wash
Ins machines. Allhough 80me f'llM: personnl
computers and modems Just to 8et eXIra
WlJrk done at nlshl - stl!! commuting every
day - some slay at home once in a While to
wrlfe a repnrl, And their home offices often
serve well m emergencies.
Take Laura ConlgilstO, s stock markel
llnu!ywt who follows the computer tndll1try
tor Goldman, Such!! & Company. Marooned
In her Mendham home for three days utter
the blluard 01 January 1996, Ms. C(lnJ81laro
simply Stlt up shQp then. "I relt reasonably
effective," says Ms, Conigliaro. who hUd a
j)ef$OOal computer at home and an asslSiant
in the offICe. But the three phone tines she
had In place were not enough ({) handle aU
the VOice and data traffic She and her hus
band generated. She nnw ~ a fourth PhOne
line nnd Is ready for any weather,
Gil Gordan, a telet:Ommutlng 8um who
worU oul of hie hOme In Monmooth Junc
{kin, calls Ms. COnigliaro's bllunrd ~rl.
ence an eJUlmple of episodic te.iccommuOog.
"For us It's a SfIowal:O:rm," he says. "For
Callf(unla, It'. an earthquake, Far Atl2mla,
It's the OlymplC$.'· But episodes Just tiki:"
these can completely chM.ge the way a'
company thinks about sctdrig up employees
with phones and compulers.
Still, some felecOmmutlng Qdvoc.aws In
"k
Glw Ihe employee a Illpttlp computer
IMtell.d of a desk, and It's eNy to set how
qulCfl::ly the savings Ildd up. The strategy
mnkes l!SJleclally good sense with salespea.
Pie. who spend a tot of time on Ihe road
anyway.
Clsc!) $ylIteTN, a milker of computer
MlWOrkinfl equlptpcnt based In San Jon¢.
CallI.,has more than doubled U. work fone
since last year, and expttts It to double
again In the coming year. "ConV1l'ntlonal
real wate - one Office, one person - is a
major challenge, and can get In (he way 01
growth," pYS Marina van Overbeck, work
place strareglst lor Osco.
,
ij~{?'" '~~'S:~~
\', ';..1\1
8
Pictures of the Family
Vi
On the Laptop, ,} t o '~I
.
I-~.
So, lIke maliY high-tech companIes. CIsq;) 'l'
has embrued ahernntive work stnttegt¢
~
work llie~
~
Instead, Cisco Is using a coocept call
'.I?
An~~~1:&~:C::= ;~n~~o:~~ ·~l
the Montvale offk$ dm!'t really
at lenst most of the time,
~::~~:~t:~O;:ss::~~ro:~:~
every so otten In a ploeewlthpttoneS;de~
~:~~a::oJ~~oo:~.;s~al!::V~,'n
to go into the office. they must fil'lt check
- putting in a request for agpecmceubit:
n
,
1\
,1,;
" \
!
::d:
backs, these (etecommutet'l take thelr 01
flees wherever tbey go. SO leavlllg messy.
desks IS a na.1» Personal property Is stored
In locked mobile pedestals
essentially
filing cablaets on whael&_ which the work·"
en; can roll to different locations. And what
aboUt pktureJ of the spouse and cflUdren?
"My kids' pktures are lhe wllllpaper 00 my
laptop," Ms. van OV1l'rbeek snya:.
Lucent Technologies, based In Murray
Hill, Is abo asgresslvely flndlng we.y& ta
send workers hama, Karen Stu'ISone, Allar.
native work ~lrategls:t for LUCf;Rt Real Es
tate, says that whenever Jl lease is about to
expire, she starts asking tor volunteers who
would Utc:e to telecommute. Afler a fllirly
elaborate screenIng and training: process,
cemla employees become telecommuters.
Sarno wIll set up shop at home full Ome,
whUa others will come in. say, hnlf the time,
Sharing desk apace with another part-Ume
telecommuter,
~~r ~=a~;v~r:a~~h~~~a~~~'t
menta 10 the Federal Clenn AIr At!, which
mandated that l;umplUlles wUh 100 employ
ees or maN! fInd ways - tncJudlns telecom
muting - " 0 reduce (he number of trips:
their employees take ro work, became vol·
unuuy last year.
York throughOut the month. Instead or
Spending the enUn:!' ThBtlksglvtng-Cbrlsl
mas senson ,lying between coasts, he de
cided to take his family east for the holidays
As Many Reasons
As Telecommuters
w:r:ho:
;~ve~~
h~d~:~d~o~se In Little
While ,elocommuting represents a major
Mr. Noglows got the phOne company to
reorganl%atkm of the workplace and sodety,
install toor lines - one for the family and
it alstl Is abcut permmAI hilltorles:~ For there
tbree for work. A message on his voice maU
are almost as many reasons to !york fmm .
In San FrlflclBc.o gave dlente a New Jersey'
home as,there are IDdMduala who do it,
number. And he made llberrullse of Ham
For Margaret MOr8p,a30-year-old 8~
" brecht & quist's New York office.
Clote manager of employee benefit plans at
thi:" Prudenttal Insurance Company' of
His bOss didn't Object. and neJther did his
AIMrICa, tel!:Commutllll is a ,wny to man
c1tents. "J don't think there'a a sHgma an),
age lTWtIlerhood and a fKi.minute commute.
longer abeut sa)'tt\g that you're worklnQ
Actually, Ms. Moran's arrMge1t\en(
from home," Mr. Nogtows sa)'s, And with
which allows ber 10 work part time, two
technology Itnklng people and oompllters
mornings trom home and one fun day in the
from virluaUy any point on the planet, pog
olflce
was her boas's idea.. and he
raph)' 19 no longer destiny. "NInety perten!
broached It even before her son, Denis. was
of my Job Is on the phone or on the Internel
born nine months: ,,*0.•
or eltehanglng E-mai1 or exchanglns v()lce
"ltc's reeJ good at retaining associates,
mati," ,he says: "I CM do that from any
and he wanted to make sure he kept the
"virtual teams," whICh have vlrrual IMet
dealing with employees or clients halfway
Where, be It the beach or the mountains,"
expertence," Ms. Mornn says. "1 thought It
,ecross the country es they are to be working " Ings by conference ceil.'
But telecommuting Is nol just a perk for a
was ferrUle." She Is writing an employee
Paul Nogk)ws, a New Jersey native whO
with aomcone ot ,the next desk. "My eol·
lucky t:Ute. Man:!' and more, these days.
benefits C/llatogue on a laptop computer
became an Internet analyst with the San
It:ll3ueil ins $CaUered arol;lnd the, WOrld,"
tele;:omrriu'Cem ara booted from tbrur of
from her spare bedroom In Manasquan.
Gays Jim Cunnle, director of business plan.
Francisco brokerage concern Hambrecht &:
rices and Iold fa set up shop at home.
,
nlng end development for AT&T Electronic
Quist In May, was able to telecommote
One of tbe mOlit powerful pushes for tekl
e~muung comes from corporations look·
across four time umeS In becember. Mr.
Com.me:rce Service. Mr, Cunnie tulJl:s
their teleeommutlng networka, knows first·
hand the demands tbel family Ufe can place
on employeeg, In 1&95, her husband had a
dislOCated 4ftkle and needed help with dress
Ing and drlvln8. Working largely out of a
homeotflceollowed Ms. Siman t6 meet both
. job and tomUy needs.
"1 come wIth the b.aggBgi! or Che till'S," she
By DEBRA GALANT
snys, "1 had 0 husbalid who was Immobile
(or a while; I have a school.oge child, and I
'Monthepb.onewlthmYedUOr, We're
have aslng parents.. They need rides to the
on deadline, We've been playing tele
doctor. They need to be picked up." Despite
phone'tag lor hours, and my brain Is
Juggling aU these roles, Ms, S:tman won a
twlated Into a pretzel.
.
promotion Inst year. "I don't nlways buy
SuddenlytMre's a knock on theofllce
'~t or Sight, mn of mInd,'" she maintains..
door, S'nce!l'scomln.gfrom Ill!'potJlOOut
"n's what you do to make It work." ,
three teet up, J CM tell with 99 percent cer.
Susan DeCandia, who docs market re
I81ntywha It is.U'sa person wbocarrles my .
Roorcll on the droQ ClanUn for Scherlng
DNA Md who IIgbtS up my soul like a 3,000
PllJUgh Pharmaceullca~ olso tel¢C.Om
waH klteg. My 4·ywr-okl, Noah.
mules tor personal rC080n9. When ber son
"Ooow8),1" lshoul.
w.o.s born, with some neurological damage
The knocking ctmttnues.
six years ago, she hnd more Ihan tbe usual
"The door's lockOdI " [snyfirmly, "That
pressures of a typical new mom. Ultlmately
means ynucan't comelnl"
she worked out a reduced schedule that
I try to sound protetslonal, bIlt the door
allows ber to toe Mondaya off for specia1
knob 41arts twisting.
medkat and therapy appointments, On Frl
Noah's not giving up.l put my editor on
dnys, she works from borne. Ms. DeCondla
hold Ilnd answer the door, Silently, Noah
. say. that her extra prOductlvilY on Fridays
handS me a piece of paper,
is what alloW! her co e8Sentiaily cram 1M:
U's a meS!lllgn rrom the hOusekeeper. In
days' worth ot work Into a four-dIlY week,
structed to keep tbe children downstairs at
"The telecommuting part or It Is wbat
all costs. They Insist. the note says, or! hang
mo.kes it work," she saya. "'That day at
lngout in tbeplayroom nellt to my ofUce.
home allows me to get twice as much done,"
0.,
Indeed, moSt people who work at borne
. tlons," says Homl Byramjl. an executive
ebtJdren tlwayfrom myoffleewhentheyde
Nobody. s:aid working out (It your home
insist thai they ge; much more work done
who teleoommutesooe day It week. "You
clde to attaCk.
thnn they would In a regular 6fftce with the
would beeasy. O,K" they snid It would be
act like nothIng's Solng on. And then you end
There were 8.7 million te!eeommuteril'o
easy, but 'What did they kn6w?
constant d!.5tractkm of meetings and cblt
the convErsaUon and scream at them,"
the United Slates last year and 16.4 million
Just try getting onythlng done wben one
ChOl. .. A hospital is e terrlble pta~ to get
ElCpenssay it's bell! to first lay down Q
"other poop!e whO tun their own busn,esses
well," Mr, Gm'don $Jlylt. "An orne(! Is a
otyour children lets as if her life is comtng
from home. But tbere are no staUsricson
clear seta! ground rutes. Gli Gordon,S con
to an end because she docsn't get two-digit
terrible place to do office work,"
sultont on telecommuting, 6Qysone client
the number of children who 11V1l' in houses
Not on1)' can an offtre be dlstroctlng;
subtraction and theother one wants to Show
told his children, "I don't want you corning
wtM!re serloua WOrlt Is supposed to be 80lng
theso d.Q)'S it can alsu be irrelevant.; With the
you a cool toy adverll~ on Nickelodeon.
In myolflce unteu thew'! smoke or blood
on. Just war stories.
Forget the housekeeper. General Petton
globollzanon of business, knowled8o work
"You have these embarrasslag Inferruponde!oiofiC"
ers In the 1990's ore nb,:,ut 011 likely lO be
~Jdn't bave an army big enough to keep my
Wh~'1!~9S:::b~~!S~~e:~~e~~~
0'
Meet the .ReaI Boss, Age 4
I
And at Amerlcantui',Press, !.nero are aCtu·
ally dWlSlons that have naver &harm any
annmerclal mltl eState. Tracy Hargtl!,dis
Irlct !lales mlUllI,8'f!r !or Amerlcan e:xpress
Corporate Servl~s, menages a team of five
f~ a small Gpare bedroom In her Glen
. Ridge home, Mra HarlJ1Ui'S husband. T. S.,
atso tetecommute!J, tim between their tod
dler, Cooor; thelrdoa. Madtsan, nnda tlaby
sitter then'l" nat mucb room !eft, so he: renls
\us oWn offiCe space In the middle of town,
0110 of Mr.;. Hargen'a biggest Challenges
Is "trying to build camaradt:!rlc" In her
.ales team, all wot1tlng OUl 01 their homes.
The bondIng that would normally come
trom sitting fogether in the I'I8fJle offiCe and
eating the same lousy cafeteria chill hlllJ 10
be achieved dellbtrnlely. So Irw year, Mra
"araen'!> team wenl to a Yankees game (It
snowed) and sponSOred a charity that in·
volved a telethon, a golf oull"l and vl!llIl'Ij
stell: children, She alllO enrourlll6S team
memberswllllktoone another on the phone
when they're having a rough day. And they
meet informally, sometimes: slumS Cr0s5
legged on the floor In jelUlS, tudiscu5ll goals.
Altftoush Mrs. Hargen nt.JW says shecan',t
ImllIine a life Ihat would Involve dre»lng
up a.ll1ht time and a km8 dally (X)mmute,
. not everybody could manqe th~ ute style
She bas chosen- Jt;an Bellas. oWner of the
deSign concern Space. notes thnt fnere have
been cases In which whole: dlvls1t:ms 01 com
panlea have resisted plans to lei .hem work
at bome. "It's a very blj emotlonallSsuo,"
she saya. She poIntS out Ihnt many people
live m.man hOuses, Where there Is 00 epare
bedroom or Where Utere may be a lot of
commotioo during the day. "People who nfe
avallabl! ta telOcommute are of a class thaf
hasatra real esta«r," Ms. Bellas poJots OUI.
''It's at the senior management level where
you'll have the lUXUry Of an extra room,"
For many people, Jhe idea 01 ratllagOl.lt of
bed, puttlog on leans and walklag down the
heli to work would be lID unimaginable
luxury, But the life oJ the telecommuter Is
not &l\'faytneet.ltean be lonely. For lOme
peopla. w!tho'llt dl:scipline, It can 00 a set-up
for failure. For Other penple, wiUl too mUCh
disdpltne.1t can expand one', Job Into a 24
hour oceupatlon. "It can be the WGrksboik'a
dream," Mr. Gordon says.
Then there's the I"ue of proving to the
people WhO matter tbat you'J1!' DClwIUy do<:
Ing something prodUCtive When you're nut 01
rem1la," he says. ''That Is, frankly, una
work," Even the consulUmt Galt Nelson.
who helps «»npanles IIt!t up telocommutlng
programs, admits to BClUng a l\!t1e nervous
when she calla employees whD work at home
anddoesn'{ gel lUI answer. "You still haveto
8el rid 01 some of your bIasea," abe says.
"People nrc used to managing by H'tlng,"
And.then there ere the telecommuting
eqil!Velenw of SllOWStorms. earthquakes
and trafflc Jams.. Ulre a computer that ps
On the (rlu. When them'. no technician In .
Bight. Or a loca! power outBJJI! beclluse a
tree leU during las( night', IItnrm. Runnlng
O'\.lt 01 toner for the printer. Or not 001ng able
to 108 on t.o Amertcan Online (or" month.
On the other hand. maybe it's really lust a
maner of attitude, "The lntemet can be
slow -It cookl be held up beeauseo! AOL
bullhenl'S alol of work we doott line," Mr,
Byramjl 8ayt philosophically, "If I can't
work, I tan r<!:1ld. If I CJlU'( read, 1 cQII th!nk,
i U I Clln't think, I'm In trouble."
.
�HOME OlFlFnCE
The Call of the Fridge
Putklin£ Pound Cake~ Calories
Are Home Office Pit/alls;
'Tapioca Talks to Me~
much trouble with the fridge? The same qualities
that enable them to get work done at home in the
first place. says Stephen P. Gullo. a New York diet
doctor. "Our eating behavior is influenced by
our personality," he says. "People who work
at home like to do things their own
way. They are intense. They do not
tend to be moderate people. So why
should it be surprising that when it
comes to their favorite foods,
they're not satisfied with just a
little?"
,,
By LAUREN LIPTON
Special toTUE WAI..I.. STREET JOURNAl..
AVID KOHN is disciplined
enough to have earned an
M.B.A. and a Ph.D. and
passed a CPA exam. He is focused
enough to run his businesses and
investments out of his home in
WestchesterCourlty,N.Y.'
'
But he has no willpower at
all when it comes to tapioca
pudding. ,"1 hear it calling all
the time," says Dr. Kohn, 54
years old, who, among other
things, is chairman of Charles
Booth ProfessionalHaircare. "1
,have my office just off the kitchen,
, and the food talks to me. It says, 'Dave,
I'm luscious.' .. After two years of working from
home, Dr. Kohn discovered he had put on 15 pounds.
Having a home office has its perks, but often
weight loss isn't one of them. While gOing to the
office has its own temptations-bagels at business
meetings, gummy bears on co-workers' desks
working from home, even just for a day or week
end, is no piece of cake.
Or maybe it's too many pieces of cake. Any
body with a home office can empathize with a
1996 survey of home-business owners by In
come Opportunities magazine. The survey
found that 36% reported eating and drinking
more since working from home. Almost one
quarter admitted to using eating and drinking
as an excuse to take a break. And-surprise-
D
TwoPitfaUs
Having a home office
is no piece of cake-or maybe
it's too many pieces of cake.
one-third reported gaining weight.
What makes so many people with home of
fices-who often thrive despite the lack of formal
structure and corporate supervision-have so
Compliments Of
GIL GORDON ASSOCIATES
10 Donner Court
MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ 08852
Add to that two major pit
falls of working too close to the
fridge. Pitfall No. 1 is that left
overs and munchies are always
just steps away.
"It's aWful," says Gail Parent.
The Los Angeles comedy writer, who
won an Emmy last year for her work on
HBO's "Tracey Takes On.... " says work
ing at home lets her indulge her habit of
,"continuous grazing" while she writes;
"I'm not kidding," she laments. "When 1get
a job, I really evaluate how much money it will pay
and how many calories I'll take in. I'm happy for a
minute, and then 1think. '.Dh my God, I'm going to
gain weight.'" When Ms. Parent goes to a produc
tion office at Universal Studios, where she is work
ing on a midseason replacement sitcom for CBS,
her snacking is more under control, she says-be
cause apubJic pigout would be unseemly.
Pitfall No.2 is what Janie Williams calls "free
flowing time." When people work at home, they
may not have a typical 9-to-5 day, with a natural
pause for breakfast and a designated lunch
break, so they often fail to schedule meals alto
gether. 14s. Williams, 52, has gained at least
Please Turn to Page WllC
�Wlle THE WALL STREET JOURNAL FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9,1998
NY
,
HOME OIFIFICE
"
1/,
.....
Continued From Page WI
15 pounds since starting a bookkeeping and
tax business out of her Long Beach, Calif.,
home five years ago. "Oh. yeah. My weight
has gone way up," she says. Often, she
gets so busy that she forgets to eat for
hours, then finds herself in front of the re
frigerator, gulping green olives out of the
jar. "It happened today again," she ad
mits. ''I'll be starving and eat whatever's
most accessible. "
Ten years ago, Gary Waldron, 57, went
from working at a Chicago advertising
agency to running a marketing company
from his home in Wheaton, III. He probably
hasn't had a sensible breakfast since. "I
: Have a question about your home
office or equipment? We'll answer
selected questions here. Sorry, no
individual replies are possible. Write:
home.office@news.wsJ.com
I
(I
The Call of the Fridge
syndicated television show, recommends
three small, low-calorie meals and two
light snacks at three-hour to four-hour in
tervals daily. To avoid devouring whatever
is convenient, such as olives or cookies,
'" "have a plate of cut-up veggies on your
i desk ready for when you need it." She also
~ suggests keeping tuna, whole-wheat
:Ii! bread, fruit and healthful soups on hand.
.•;.. Meanwhile, seasoned home-office
~1i:';N~!rr
workers have devised a few ad
~ ____=__ ditional coping strategies.
Some only allow themselves
into the kitchen a certain num
used to fix breakfast every morning before ber of times a day_ others do something
I went to the office," he remembers. "Now physical-Mr. Waldron walks his dog
I start to work at about 6 a.m., and I'll just when they need a break.
Regina Corby, 34, of Lyndhurst, N.J.,
have it cup of coffee." Four hours later, "I
locks food in her car. "You have to do crazy
will schlep upstairs to the cookie jar, ab
solutely ravenous." Recently, he attacked things to keep the weight off," says Ms.
a cookie with such gusto that he broke a Corby, who lost 60 pounds three years ago
and now works part time as a Weight
tooth.
Watchers group leader. Her home office is
Some Solutions
in the kitchen, but she's not tempted. "My
But it is possible to keep things under son's football team is having a dinner
control. One way is to seek professional tonight, and right now I have pound cake
help. Since July, Dr. Kohn says he has lost on a tray under the seat of my Voyager."
others enlist unsuspecting family
"all the weight I'd gained" by enlisting Dr.
members as diet cops. Ted C. Fishman, 40,
Gullo, whose program includes a tailor
a candy-loving free-lance writer from
made diet, weekly monitoring and an arse
nal of pithy commandments, such as: Chicago, says the only thing that keeps
Thou Shalt Not Work in the Kitchen and him from snacking nonstop is the fact that
Thou Shalt Not Eat While Standing Up. his two children aren't allowed to eat junk
But it costs.$695 to get in Dr. Gullo's door, food. "The only time 1 can't really eat is
and half-hour follow-ups are $195. A more when they are home," he says, "because I
have to set a good example."
frugal option? Some common-sense behav
ioral changes. .
The rest of the time, though. he longs
Those who forget to eat, or who have for a weight-loss product just waiting to be
invented: "A bungee cord on my oHice
trouble with unstructured time, should ac
tually schedule meals. Carrie Wiatt, a Los chair that would stop just short of the re
Angeles nutritionist and host of her own frigerator. "
�Working at Home the Right Way
To Be a Star in Your Bunny Slippers
BY MELANIE WARNER
Nearly nine million US. workers have become telecommuters, and many ofthem
are staying on top oftheir jobs and getting promoted. Here's how they do it.
ure, working at home can be good
for your health. No horn-honking
commute to add stress, no germ
, laden recirculated air to keep that
flu virus incubating, and no harsh fluores
.cent lighting to wear away your retinal tis
sue. If you've got kids, it can also be good
for your family life. You'll never miss an
other school pageant, and you can finally
become the soccer parent of your dreams.
But what about your career? That's a
much trickier question. Telecommuting
presents fewer opportunities for sucking
up to various Pooh-Bahs at the office, an
essential component for getting ahead at
some companies. And being out of sight
and out of mind can have its drawbacks.
Witness the telecommuting engineer at
Bell Labs who missed an important last
minute meeting because no one told her
about it. Or the homebound research an
alyst who wasn't among the chosen when
his boss was awarding promotions. "It
seemed like you weren't around much,"
the boss explained.
But wo~king at home doesn't have to be
a one-way ticket to corporate palookaville.
You can still succeed at your job while gaz
ing out over a row ofpotted petunias in
the backyard. One study done in 1993 for
the Small Business Administration found
that telecommuters actually get promoted
at greater rates than nontelecommuters,
And there are plenty of signs that working'
at home is getting to be more acceptable at
more 'companies. Gil Gordon, a tele
commuting consultant based in New Jer
sey, estimates that at least two-thirds of
FORTUNE 500 companies currently em
ploy telecommuters. New York-based re
search f.irm Find/SVP puts the totalnum
ber of telecommuters at almost nine
million, morc than doublc the number in
1990.
The trend is taking off at some house
hold-name.,companies, which view tele
commuting as a cost savcr. IBM, for ex-
S
ILLUSTRATION BY RANDALL ENOS
ample, used to maintain a surplus of office
space, occupying more offices than there
were employees. Now the company's gone
mobile, with employees telecommuting,
"hoteling" (being assigned to a desk via a
reservations system), and "hot-desking"
(several people using the same desk at
different times). About 10,000 employees
now share offices with four people, on
erage, although we suspect that CEO Lou
Gerstner won't walk in and find someone
hoteling in his cornersuite.
To figure out whether you should start
working at home more-{)r less-consider
the following factors.
av
themselves more easily to telecommuting
than others. Positions that require·a lot of
independent work, such as sales, and some
kinds of consulting, writing, .and research
analysis, are a natural fit. People wh()se jobs
require numerous unscheduled meetings
with co-workers, such l;IS those held by
many managers, present more problems.
Some companies explicitly state that they
don't want managers telecommuting. Trav
elers Insurance Cos:, for instance, encour
ages telecommuting in jobs where the need
to manage is minimal or nonexistent.
The right job. Many tele
commuting consul
tants insist that
nearly all of to
day's white-collar
jobs have some
component that
can be done as
well or better
outside the of
fice. Yet cer
tain jobs lend
But telecommuting as a
manager is notimpossi
ble. Though it's gener
ally assumed that face time
with employees is essential,
too many meetings with the
boss can be harmful. Ed
. Kirk, vice president of the
consulting firm Telecommut
ing Inc., suggests that managers
ask themselves whether they get
more work done .when their boss
is out of the office. "Everyone
says yes, but no one wants to as
sume that they're getting in
March 3, 1997
FOR TUN E • 165
�other people's hair," says Kirk. Once the cent. Bulls game or boast about a winning
sting of realizing that your employees weekend at the riverboat casino. Says Gil
don't need you 24 hours a day eases, you, Gordon: "/t's like the old saying that the
as a manager, might understand how you hospital is a terrible place to get healthy.
could benefit from being out of the office The office is a terrible place to do work."
a couple of days a week. Most studies show
that people's strategic planning skills go The right boss. Whether you get duly re
up dramatically when they telecommute warded for the hard work you do at home
because there's uninterrupted time to depends on your boss. You could be at
think clearly. "Who needs that more than home discovering cures for lethal diseases,
managers?" asks Kirk.
but unless your boss recognizes your la
Managing remotely can also work well if bors and shines the light upon you when
you're directing a team of senior-level em you're not there to do it yourself, working
ployees. Claudia Baker, a global director at home won't be much of an asset to your
of business development at IBM, manages career. "There's certainly plenty of com
a group of 2S people she sees
panies in which managers are
in person only once every few
nervous about the idea of re
PEOPLE WORKING
months. She says mobility has
mote supervision," remarks
AT HOME ARE 5%
worked for her because her
Franklin Becker, director of
TO 20'% MORE PRO·
employees depend on her for
the international workplace
DUCTIVE BECAUSE
big-picture direction-not
studies program at Cornell.
THEY HAVE FEWER
day-to-day instruction. "It
A nervous boss can become a
DISTRACTIONS.
jealous, spiteful, and untrust
would be a real deterrent
if I had young people who
ing one-someone who's go
needed guidance and counseling. It would ing to be suspicious that you're home cra
be pretty hard for me to be there all the dling a bag of Doritos and watching the
time for them to bounce ideas off," says Rosie O'Donnell Show.
Jan Smith, a creative director in corpo
Baker, who splits her time between travel
ing apd working from her home in Boca rate marketing at Hewlett-Packard who
Raton, Florida.
works at home two days a week, wasn't
sure at first how her boss would react to her
The right person. Working at home isn't for telecommuting. Every day when Smith
everybody. It's not just compulsive snackers arrived in her office (down the stairs
who should think twice. ("Some people from the bedroom), she would call her
should not work under the same roof as boss to let her know that she'd arrived.
their refrigerator," warns Gordon.) The
best telecommuters can motivate them
selves easily and have been at their job
long enough to have established
solid relationships with co-workers.
E-mail can't substitute for
impromptu meetings at the
water cooler or one-min
ute pitch sessions in the el
evator with someone you've
, / been trying to catch all week. :
The right reason. Although telecommut
ing had its genesis in work-family flexibil would also
ity programs of the early Eighties, many E-mail her
telecommuting consultants advise that you boss twice
shouldn't work at home primarily because a day with
you want to be there when Suzy charges lengthy updates
home from school. Rather, make the deci on her work. After
sion based on·whether you think you can . about a month of this
be more productive at your job by working communication avalanche, Smith's boss let
out of the office at least a couple of days a her know it wasn't necessary to be so dili
week. Studies show that people feel that gent and that she trusted Smith completely.
they are anywhere from S% to 20% more But Smith was onto something. Sending a
productive when they work at home, sim few extra E-mails and voice mails cim go a
ply because there are fewer distractions. long way toward overcoming the distance
Nobody's stopping by to reenact the re of telecommuting and letting your superi
166 • FOR TUN E
March 3, 1997
ors know how much work you're doing.
Who knows'? You might even find that
you're schmoozing more with your boss
than your office-bound co-workers.
But beware of traditional command
and-control bosses, who are unlikely to
deal well with telecommuting employees.
In those cases, you basically have two
choices. Stay in the office or find a new
boss.
The right company. Technology is what
makes working at home possible. A com
pany with telecommuters needs to make
a considerable investment in new tech
nology so that employees can do their
jobs no differently at home than they
would in the office. This entails more
than just a few new laptops. Among the
essentials: a telephone system and com
puter servers that allow mobile em
ployees access to things like company
files, telephone listings, and, of course,
the softball team gam~ schedule.
Not all companies are willing to make
this technological com:initment, particu
larly if there isn't a large group of em
ployees telecommuting. And not all.com
panies are equally generous about
covering the costs of the equipment and
facilities you'll need in a home office.
Many companies cover the cost of a new
phone or fax line, but not computers and
fax machines. At Hewlett-Packard, for in
stance, telecommuters have to buy new
computer equipment. GTE will spring for
office systems and 'equipment only
when it doesn't duplicate what em
ployees use at work.
Your company's wholehearted
commitment to telecommuting
also means hiring additional
technology support staff so that,
when your home computer
crashes in the middle of a four
{ page E-mail to an irascible new
client, you nave someone to hy
perventilate with. And, to ad
dress the inevitable employee dis
comfort with tele,~ommuting, the
ideal company will have some sys
tem in place to educate managers on
how to work.,with telecommuters.
Travelers, for instance, gives orientation
programs for telecommuters and their
managers. The company also gives ses
sions for co-workers who do not telecom~
mute. The more investment in manage
ment training, the better the chance that
your boss will give you rightful praise for
all that hard work you do in your bunny
slippers. IJ
�..
--~
ml}e NewUorkmhltes
Business
Sunday, August 17, 1997
Section
3
For Stay-Horne Workers~ Speed ButIlps on,the Telecollllllute
By SUSAN J. WELLS
THERINE ROSSBACH swears that
she will never work at hQme again,
After telecommuting fQr years for
two publishing cQmpanies in New Jersey
and CalifQrnia, Ms. RQssbach thought twice
when Sage Publishing, based in Los Ange
les, wanted to hire her as acquisitions editQr
on the East CQast - a post that required
telecommuting frQm her hQme in Mamaro
neck, N.Y.
"I hated it thQroughly," Ms. RQssbach
said of her previous experience. "I'd do my
grocery shopping in the middle of the day
when there werenQcrowds, and then I'd end
up working. until 2 A.M. I had no structure tQ
my workday and felt totally isolated. I
cQuldn't win."
Co
Her solution? She persuaded Sage to lease
'her an ortice in a building in nearby Rye, '
N.Y., as a conditiQn of accepting the job. "I
like getting up and gQing to 'the .office' every
day," she said, "It's a separate, prQfessiQnal
environment that gives me the discipline
and structure I need tQ get my work done." .
Ms. Rossbach is'n't alQne in her rejection
, of telecommuting, the wQrk-at-home trend
that has grown along with the Internet,
personal-computer ownership and flex time.
ThQse whQ study telecQmmutlng say it is
still groWing, but they acknQwledge that it
may have hit a turning point - SQme say a
coming .of age - for some of the' same
reasons Ms. RQssbach and others have dis
covered,
"There's kind .of a fork in the road occur
ring right nQw," said Gil Gordon, whQ has
.operated a telecommuting consulting firm
in Monmouth Junction, N.J., for 15 years.
"There was a lQt .of miivete surrounding
telecommuting - it sounded great tQ IQts of
people and everyone thought It'd be easY.
But it's really nofthat easy. And a 10t'Qf
w.orkers and their, companies are just now
realizing this."
, Forty-twQ,percent .of cQmpanies of vari
ous sizes have telecQmmutlng arrange
ments, accQrding to a 1996 study of 305
North American business executives by the
OIsten CQrporation, a Melville, N.Y., staffing
services cQmpany. That figure is up from 33
percent in the 1995 study. But the companies
surveyed said that .only 7 percent .of their
employees ever telecQmmute - a number
that has held steady fQr fQur conseculive
annual surveys.
,
What is happening? One of every five
telecQmmuting arrangements falls, esti
mated Christena Nippert-Eng,' assistant
Continued on Page 14
�1.4
~" ~.
F
.,
THB NBW YORK TIMBS, SUNDAY, AUGUST 17,1997
EARNING
IT
Speed Bumps on the Telecommute
Continued From Page 1
professor of sociology at the Illinois Insti
tute of Technology and the author of "Tran
sition to Telecommuting," to be published
by the University of Chicago Press.
Dr. Nippert-Eng says there are two rea
sons: Employees have unrealistic expecta
tions, and employers are afraid of losing
control.
"You need significant individual skills to
manage yourself and your work from
home," Dr. Nippert-Eng said. "People think
telecommuting may be the ultimate way to
balance work and family, but for a lot of
them, working at home is just another
stress producer."
.
One former telecommuter found that he
could not concentrate on his work because
his dog barked too much. Dr. Nippert-Eng
said. If the master was home. the dog fig
ured. it was play Hme. Another telecom
muter. Dr. Nippert-Eng said. found that
because she was the only work-aI-home
professional on her block, her house became
the drop-off point for U.P.S. packages and
other deliveries; neighborhood children
even gathered there after school.
ROM the employer's perspective, "the
workplace is still designed to value and
reward commitment to the office and
being there to prove your worth," Dr. Nip
pert-Eng said. "The authoritarian, surveil
lance-type concept of management really
hasn't changed that much yet,"
Peg Mauer, a technical writer who lives in
Piercefield, N,Y., experienced that attitude
first hand: She worked for a big company In
Rochester for 21 years before asking to
telecommute full-time. Her managers, she
,said, thought about the request for two
years, then said no. "Telecommuting is a
power and control issue, not a money issue:'
she said. "Management still perceives it as
a risk a risk they're scared to take." She
ultimately left the company as a result.
Although many companies see benefits in
telecommuting - lower real estate costs,
lower turnover and increased productivity
- the list of growing pains is also expand.
ing. And both the benefits and disadvan
tages are difficult to measure.
'" liken telecom muting to a Rorschach
test," said Tom Miller, vice president of the
emerging-technologies research group ~f
Find/SVP Inc., a consulting and research
firm based in New York. "Everyone tends
to see what they want to in it. It's really a
slippery term, and t,herefore that makes it
difficult to research."
Estimates of the number of American
F
telecommuters range .from 9 million to 42
mIllion, In Its latest study, a phone survey of
2,000 households conducted in April, Find /
SVP said there were I Ll million telecom
muters nationwide.
'
IDC/LInk, a New York-based technology
research company, uses an extremely
broad definition of home workers. It in· '
cludes self~mployed contractors, part-tim
ers and even people whO simply bring work
home from the office at night. The company
estimates that there were 32.7 million work
at·home households and it projects annual
growth of 8.2 percent through 2001.
"Whether you are or are not a telecom
muter is not cut and dried," said Mr. Gor
don, the
telecommuting consultant.
"There's a mix of work gOing on."
But one thing is sure: telecommuting is
on the rise. "If the economy ,Is doing well,_
there are more jobs, and companies feel '
safe about their future," Mr. Miller said.
"Then employees and their managers tend'
to be more agreeable to flexible work ar
rangements that can benefit both of them."
Some advocates of telecommuting agree
with the estimates and heavily promote
them; others. do not. Robert Moskowitz,
president of the IOO,OOO·member American
Telecommuting Association in Washington,
'said his group generally considered the
numbers overstated. Gail Martin, executive
director of TAC/the International Telework
Association, also in Washington, tends to
believe the numbers are reliable and possi
bly understated.
Dr. Charles Grantham, president of the
Institute for the Study of Distributed Work
in Walnut Creek, Calif., Said: "The lack of
uniformity is rampant. In my opinion, a real
problem is that no one has done a complete
and large~nough random sample of U.S.
residences to really find out what's going on
out there."
R. GRANTHAM bases his research
on independent studies coupled with
market data from the Bureau of La
bor Statistics. lie breaks the numbers down
this way:
• Some 9 mlll!on to 14 million American
workers are telecommuters, defined' as
those who work from their homes on.. a
regUlar basis (at least two days a week) for
an outside company.
• From 10 011111011 to 12 million are home
based workers, or those who run businesses
from their homes.
• Some 12 million io 16 million are Inde
pendent contractors who work for multiple
companies.
Dr. Grantham predIcts that thellumberof
independent contractors will explode over
the next flve years, far outpacing the num
ber of telecommuters, Such contractors·
tend to be well·educated professionals who
can - and do - demand n better quality of
life. "And being Qut of sight, out of mInd with
the boss is II justifiable concern wilh tele·
commuters," he said - one Ihat IndIviduals
working for themselves don't have ..
The trend is somewhat self-regulating In
that employees who dislike telecommuting
stop - or the employer calls them back Inlo
the office,. On average, workers give up
telecommullng after 6 to 18 months, Mr.
Gordon estimated.
"Something happens at that poinl -. may
be the job changes, or there's a reason for
the employer to call a professional-level
worker back In, or the employee's personal
situation changes," he sold. "It's not always
a forever deal."
Legislation may also play II part In en
couraging
or dIscouraging - telecom
muUn!!.
D
A provision In the Federal budget and II\X
bills that would have widened the definItion
of Independent contractors - making It
eaSier for businesses 10 categorize telecom
muting employees as outside contractors
and thus save on benefit costs - did not
make It to the final verSion signed by Presi
dent Clinton on Aug. 5. Unions fought the
measure, but business lobbyists said they
, planned to push the issue again neKt year.
Under the new tax law, rules that take
effect in 1999 will enable more people to
deduct the costs of a home office. Reversing
a 1993 Supreme Court deciSion, the measure
lets home-offlce workers deduct eKpenses If
they do not conduct a subsumtlal amount of
admInistrative business elsewhere.
Other higlslation under consideration
would qualify employers' telecommullng
COSts - for an extra phone line, for example,
- ns tax-free transportation costs. ThIs
break would be similar to the transit subsi
dies for employers that pay workers' sub·
way farcs.
Despite their differences, researchers
agree on one thing: Telecom muting tends to
work best in companies that have clear,
formal lind tested .pollcles - instead of
haVing It start casually from the ground up,
as one worker persuades one manager to
. try it. "Formal arrangements are almost
always better for both parties," said Robert
:;traus, an analyst at IDC/L1nk. "Theset·up
Itself Is extremely Important."
ANY companies have just recently
latched onto the formal approach,
Consider Merrill Lynch. Since
putting a formal telecommuting plan In
place In early 1996, the firm, which had
sllldled telecommuting since 1992, has had
Just one dropout out of 400 throughllut Ihe
nation. Thnt womnn missed Ihe interaction
wlrh co·workers, a spokeswoman snid.
"We didn't just wake up one. morning and
say, 'We're going to. do thiS, O.K., let's go
with it:" said Cnmille Manfredonla, vice
president and director of alternative work
arrangements at Merrill Lynch, "1\ was a
well-thought·out structure,"
The company, which has 21 pages of
guidelines, developed a four-step prepara
tion process. Much like a family counseling
seSSion, It Includes a workshop in which the
employee and the manager dlscllss issues
that could polson the relationship, They con.
sider how to measure productivity, work
flow and lime management; how the tele
commuter will communicate with co-work
ers, Hnd how to quell fears of career saba·
M
�14
..
F
tage from being out of the office.
The final step Is two weeks of practice In a
telecommuting "lab," said Howle Sorgen,
senior vice president and chief technology
officer for Merrill Lynch's private client
technology division, where 170 of 1,700 sys
tems professionals telecommute. In the lab.
employees work alone. Even though they
are in the same building, they communicate
with managers only by phone and E-mall
just as they would from home. They also
learn how to troubleshoot problems with
their personal computers, software and oth
er equipment they will take home. Mr. Sor
gen's goal for the division Is 450 telecom
muters by the end of 1998.
Like Merrill Lynch, AT&T asks managers
and potential telecommuters to attend a
series of training courses offered through .
the company's School of Business and Tech
nology in Somerset, N.J.
The company now counts 36,000 employ
ees, or 55 percent of ils United States-based
managers, as telecommuters, said Susan
Sears, AT&T's telework project director.
The average telecommuter at AT&T spends
about six days a month oul of the office.
Jenny Nelson, a fire protection engineer
ing team leader for AT&T, has telecommut
ed for eight years. She started alter having
her first child, working from home part
continued the arrangement Infor
AT&T wrote a formal telecom
:y In 1992. She has an agreement
wilh the company that outlines her telecom
muting in detall- from her daily routine to
keeping in touch with the office to how her
work and productivity rire evaluated. "It
.gets very specific," she said. She now tele-,
commules Iwo to three days a week and
keeps In touch with the office by E-mail she estimates that she answers 40 to 60
messages a day - pager and voice mall.
THB NBWYORK TIMBS, SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 1997
"I love it. It's easier for me to meet
personal needs, too," said Ms. Nelson,
now has three children, ages 3, 6 and 8. "If
someone needs to come fix something at my
house, for Instance, I can be there." As part
of her agreement, she also participates in
what some AT&T employees call "the virtu
al water cooler," by meeting co-workers for
lunch once a week.
"I'm actually In closer contact with more
people now than ever before," she said.
Each telecommuter is expected to find
ways to Interact with co-workers on a regu
lar basis, Ms. Sears said. The goal 15 to keep
telecommuters in the loop.
"Telecommuters, and their managers
haVe to get concerns out In the open and
address them'up front," Ms. Nelson advised.
"If you don't have II good match, It won't
worlt well."
The best telecommuters, experts suggest,
Eite self-directed, self-motivated. Independ
ent, focused, well-organlzed, dependable
and have been In their Jobs long enough to
have developed solid, successful relation
ships with bosses and co-workers.
What about the boss? "U's tough for
managers to let go," said Dr. Nippert-Eng,
the sociologist. The best managers of tele
comll1uters are more likely to be good com
municators who put a lot of trust In employ
ees and value their suggestions. They also
tend to be more hands-off than hands·on,
and reward results, n.at appearances. '
The deCision totelecommute, said Mr.
Gordon, the consultant, comes down to three
slmphl factors: the suitability of the job, the
suitability of the worker and the manager.
and the suitability of the home environment.
"You can have the first two," he said, "but If
you're tapping Into the· PC on the kitchen
lable surrounded by three noisy toddlers, It
Just Isn'l going to work."
0
On-the-Job Issues, on the Home Front
New legal Issues could affect tlie growth
of 'telecommuting. Here is a sampling.
ACCOMMODATION A Federal District Court
jury in San Francisco recenlly awarded an
employee a schedule that Includes one day a
week of telecommullng, plus $90,000 In dam
ages, after his employer refused his tele
commuting request. The employee, Who
complained of back and neck pain from his
long commute 10 work, sued under the
Americans Wilh Disabilities Act. The em
ployer is appealing.
The case Is thought to be the first in which
II court has granted a worker a right to
telecommute. The employe'e argued that his
job did not require a lot of time in the office.
LIABILITY Employment lawyers are encour
aging companies to require telecommuters
10 sign' agreements releasing the employer
from liability for work-related Injuries and
negligence in the home office. But in some
Slates, il is the company's responsibility to
insure safety.
California labor laws, for. example, re
quire employers to provide a safe work
place, even If it Is someone's home. That is
one reason Hewlett-Packard, based In Pato
Calif., offers telecommuters a 33 per
cent discount on ergonomic furniture.
PRIVACY Just how much control can an
employer have over a telecommuler's
home? Call U, for instance, require an em
ployee to have a child-care or an elder-care
provider in place during working hours?
Watson Wyatt International, based In Be
thesda, Md., has II policy calling for the
telecommuter to have the same arrange
ments as when the employee Is In the office.
"That brings up. all kinds of workplace
privacy issues," said Chrlstena Nippert
Eng, assistant professor of sociology at the
Illinois Institute of Technology.
SUSAN }. WELLS
Making It Work
Guidelines for telecommuling al Merrill Lynch are included in a managers' booklet
on ailernative work arrangements.
The guide urges thai in assessing a potenliallelecommuling plan. bolh the job and
the employee be judged to see ilthe arrangement is likely to work, 1\ says thai a
delailed, formal proposal should be wrillen. and that the manager needs 10 assess
the proposal. Ihen discuss it with the employee and reach a linal wrillen
agreement. AUerward, Ihe arrangemenl should be reviewed regularly. The
handbook also oilers guidelines lor assessing whelher a job
or an employee ___
is well suited to le,'ecommuting.
IS THE JOB SUITABLE FOR TELECOMMUTING?
The job should be characterized by:
,
• AssignmenlS ltoal are clearly defined and easily measurable.
• Face-la-lace inleraction with coileagues(clients OIl an as-needed rather Ihan daily
basis,
• Work-relaled rnaterials Ihal can be moved easily from one localion 10 anolher,
lit Tasks (like wrlling; dala entry. phone contact) thai require long stretches of
uninterrupted lime,
•
'
• Th*il usa 01 electronic equipment lor produclivily and transmiSSion 01 information,
• Responsibilities Ihal can be handled Irorn a dlslance. (For rnanagers. Ihese would
include reporls; proposals and docurnentation thai require concelllration,)
IS THE EMPLOYEE A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR TELECOMMUTING?
He or she should be a:
• Sell·slarter who can perform in an unslruclured environment with minimal
supervision,
«I Self·disciplined individual who can separate job demands Irom home and farnily
needs, (Telecommuting is not a subslilule for dependent·care arrangemenls,)
• Belter-Ihall-average job perlormer with a history 01 solid performance appraisals.
including high marks for motivation
<I)
Flexible and goal-orienled~ wllh good planning and lime managemenl skills,
III Person who enjOYS working independently wilh
a rninimum 01 social inleraction,
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
C Assuming the employee leels qualiliad 10 lelecommule successfully. does he or sho
hl'IVe a sale. dedicaled work space thai can be inspecled? Is he or she willing 10
increase insuranca coverage? (If the requesllo telecommula is approved. Ihe individual
must have a homeowner's or lenant's insurance policy wilh a rider lor incidental
business use.)
�THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29,1995
;.~,', ";,;BYi$lJJ:$I:fr;LLEN~~~GER! ;'f,i
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Too Many Gadgets
Turn Working Parents
Into 'Virtual Parents'
ORKING PARENTS note:
From the folks who
brought you virtual real
ity and the virtual office,
now comes a new kind of
altered state: virtual parenting.
No one is pushing virtual-reality
headgear as a substitute for par
ents - yet. But if Martians landed
tomorrow and sampled a few high
tech ad campaigns, they might think
we were close.
Many marketers are. promoting
cellular phones, faxes,' computers
and pagers to working parents as a
way of bridging separations from
their kids. A recent promotion by
AT&T and Residence Inns suggests
that business travelers with young
children use video and audiotapes,
voice mail, videophones and e-mail to
stay connected, including kissing the
kids goodnight by phone.
A joint promotion by three compa
nies aimed at business travelers
urges faxing homework back and
forth or arranging family conference
calls - "a virtual family reunion."
Kinko's, the business-services chain,
promotes videoconferencing, and
Motorola pushes pagers for fami
lies.
These ideas can work well, of
course. Family use of all kinds of
high-tech gear is booming, and the
trend is meeting a real need for
working parents, who often wish they
could be in two places at once. When
Mark Vanderbilt, a network systems
engineer, was planning a scientific
expedition to Antarctica, he taught
his wife and three children to send
and receive live video feeds over the
Internet.
Philip Mirvis, a consultant and
University of Michigan management
professor, e-mails his nine· and 10
year-olds when he travels or works
late. And flight attendant Marianne
Bradley-Kopec of St. Petersburg,
Fla., made a video of herself Singing
lullabies for her baby; her sitter used
it to calm him, she says.
W
. . . . . :' ,.h:
~
UT AT THE RISK of sound·
ing cranky, I think some
marketers are pushing a
good thing too far. One joint
brochure by AT&T and oth
ers suggests to parents that if they
must miss a child's Little League
game, they call the field for a play
by-play account by cellular phone.
("All it's going to do is bother every
body!" says Susan Ginsberg, a New
York educational consultant who ad
vised MCI on another family·ori
ented campaign.)
More adVice from adland: Busi
ness travelers can dine with their
kids by speakerphone or "tuck them
in" by cordless phone. (If anyone
suggested to my kids that they cuddle
up with a cordless phone, they'd
probably throw it across the room.)
Separately, a management news
letter recommends faxing your child
when you have to break a promise to
be home, or giving a young child a
beeper to make him feel more se
cure when left alone.
The man who apparently coined
the term "virtual parenting" - Gil
Gordon, a Monmouth Junction, N.J.,
management conSUltant-sees a risk
in stich excesses. Mr. Gordon, a
telecommuting expert, was among
the first to warn against burnout
among high-tech workers who
overuse their gadgets. He uses faxes
and e·mail with his own kids, ages 12
and 16. But again he sees a hazard in
overusing technology, with working
parents' using it "instead of being
there."
High-tech gear fails families
when they try to use it:
1. As a substitute for warm hu
man contact. A New York banker
raised the ire of family members by
B
2. As a Band-Aid for too much
absence. At one East Coast company
that pressures employees to stay at
work late every evening, working
parents try to compensate by se
cretly sending e-mail home, says
Deborah Swiss, a Boston author and
gender-equity consultant. [n that
setup, she adds, no one wins
the
kids, their distracted parents or the
employer.
'
3. As a stand-In for adults. Sharon
Maltagliati, an Ellicott City, Md.,
entrepreneur, tested a computerized
calling system with 50 families to
check on children home alone after
school.
UT SO MANY parents failed
to provide adequate backup,
in the form of adults who
would step in when needed,
that she dropped it. "People
were using it like a babysitting serv
ice," she says.
As a working parent who grew up
on "Star Trek," it's easy for me to
harbor unrealistic wishes about tech
nology. During years of missing my
young children while traveling on
business, I looked forward to sharing
long talks from the road by phone. So
when my daughter reached first
grade, I called her one night from a
hotel room 2,900 miles away and
eagerly questioned her about her
day. A pause ensued. "Mom, when
are you coming home?" she finally
asked. After mulling my answer, she
reminded me that her favorite TV
show was on and hung up. (Some
times, I guess, you just have to be
there, )
The trick for working parents is to
find the middle ground where tech
nology enriches our ties with chil
dren, rather than underscoring sepa
rations. People already are drawing
those lines on work matters. When
AT&T tested an ad campaign for a
fax machine that could be used to get
work done on the beach, consumers
told researchers they didn't want to
work on the beach, an AT&T execu
tive told a recent conference.
We might do well, it seems to me,
to be just as thoughtful about llsing
technology in family life.
B
CarOl Lay
calling them only from his car phone
when stuck in traffic. His family
knew he was reaching out only dur
ing time he COUldn't spend dOing
anything else, says Wayne Myers, a
psychiatrist and professor at Cornell
Medical School.
Compliments Of
GIL GORDON ASSOCIATES
10 Donner Court
MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ 08852
(908) 329-2266
�GIL GORDON
ASSOCIATES
Rethinking The Workplace
May 11, 1999
Ms. Ruby Shamir .
Office of Domestic Policy
Second Floor - West Wing
The White House
Washington, DC 20502
Dear Ruby:
Thanks very much for contacting me at Dan Pink's suggestion about
your interest in telecommuting.
As promised, I've enclosed some
background materials for your review.
Please don't hesitate to call if you need anything else.
Yours truly,
6&~
Gil E. Gordon
10 Donner Court -
Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852 - (732) 329-2266 gil@gilgordon.com _ www.gilgordon.com
FAX:
(732) 329-2703
�e
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•
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•
HN
•
�THE Authoritative Source of Telecommuting Information and Analysis Since 1984
FEATURE STORY
The Crystal Ball: 99 Bottles of Beer on
the Wall-And Other Countdowns
""., ...........- ",>:":';'." ":''',:
l~!• •lIi~
Many parents have been
driven crazy by hearing their
children sing all 99 verses of
"99 Bottles of Beer on the
Wall" while in the back seat
of the car during long trips.
The kids get the pleasure of
singing about the forbidden
subject of beer while the par
ents grit their teeth, regretting
they ever taught the kids that
song in an attempt to keep
them occupied and distracted.
So much for creative
parenting.
[For those of you not famil
iar with it, the song begins,
"99 bottles of beer on the
wall, 99 bottles of beer. You
take one down, pass it
around, 98 bottles of beer on
the wall. 98 bottles of beer on
the wall..." and so on as you
count all the way down to the
last bottle of beer.
[The song also has its roots,
of course, in various college
drinking parties at which the
partygoers would attempt to
match their drinking pace
with the declining numbers
or at least that's what I have
been told ... ]
Throughout this year, we
will be bombarded with re
minders that we are counting
down to the big day-the
start of the new century on
January 1, 2000. Well, we're
going to avoid the big year
end rush by doing our count
down this January. If you are
melodically inclined, you can
sing along as we go through
the "1999 Telecommuting
Countdown"- with each
"verse" sung to the tune of
"99 Bottles of Beer."
Fear not-in the spirit of
the missing-digit problem that
underlies the Y2K chaos, I
have come up with only 9
not 99-items in this count
down list. They are part ob
servation, part prediction, and
part suggestion. As i~ always
the case with my "Crystal
Ball" columns, this one is
based on my reading, contact
with clients, and finely-tuned
•
l
eature Story
he crystal boll: 99 boHles of beer on
the wall-and other countdowns
Il
eal Estate and OHlce Space
.
osl MarrioH Services Ions "C ber
Flyer" dubs in airport bars; cobrado
"cyber-development" boasb Y2K
suitability, seeks to boost local
economy; Alternative workplace study
issued
Ij
ecial Topics
orthern Telecom and telcos join to
ffer "one-stop-shopping"; Service lets
our foxes follow you anywhere;
Personal office cocoon
e Lighter Side
1(j
"I will stop eating at my desk...1 will
p eating at my desk ... "
GIL GORDON
ASSOCIATES
Rethinking The Wflrkplace
�GQ4iAtiAA',MffiWIlW MlStiiiaM.ww-em@.¥'A"'MfHfH
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•
Publications have not been scanned in their entirety for the purpose
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visit the Clinton Presidential Library's Research Room.
'j
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�THE Authoritative Source of T.elecommuting Information and Analysis Since 1984
TELECOMMUTIN.G APPLICATIONS
"eyber-Agent" Follow-Up: Employee
Status Issues Clarified
•
At the end of my article in
the 12/98 TR about Willow's
"cyber-agent" program (that
uses self-employed, home
based agents to answer in
coming calls for multiple cli
ent companies), I commented
as follows:
•
My other concern about Wil
low is one I've had from the
beginning: are these Cyber
Agents truly independent con
tractors for whom the Willow
clients-and Willow-have no
statutory responsibility? I'm
sure that Willow and its clients
have considered this and feel
confident that the independent
contractor classification is sup
ported. Working against this,
however, is the Federal govern
ment's continued attention to
potential misclassification
cases-not the least of which is
. the high-profile case now in
volving Microsoft's "tempo
rary" programmers.
A mutual friend who is sub
scribes to TR forwarded the
article to Richard Cherry,
Chairman and CEO of Wil
low CSN. Cherry sent along a
copy of a May 15, 1998 letter
he received from Robert Sta
men, an attorney with the law
firm of Packman, Neuwahl
and Rosenberg. Willow had
asked the firm to prepare an
opinion about the tax status
of the Willow agents. In the
opinion letter, Stamen referred
to various IRS regulations and
rulings, including the well
known "20 factor test" the
IRS uses to help determine
whether an individual is an
employee or independent con
tractor.
The letter is too long to re
produce here, but the key por
tion is an analysis of the Wil
low situation against the
twenty factors. Stamen states
that the facts as presented by
Willow indicate that sixteen
of the twenty factors "tend to
support the classification of
CyberAgents as independent
contractors," while the four
other factors "tend to support
the classification of Cyber
Agents as employees."
Stamen concludes as fol
lows:
Based on our review of the
relevant authority, and subject
to the comments mentioned in
this Legal Opinion, it is our
J
plOyee Relations
he remote workforce meets the
emote workplace
gal and Regulatory Issues
erman phone company, union set
telework agreement covering 210,000
employees
7:1
12
al Estate and Office Space
nti-sprawl: the trendy issue of the
ear
Ij
PerviSOry Issues
tudy notes growth, importance of
boundaryless workforc.e"
U
··~.:·····
GIL GORDON
'.
ASSOCIATES
':L
"
Rethinking The Wbrkplace
';
;.
';
';!.::
�Clinton Presidential Records
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n1arker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff.
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visit the Clinton Presidential Library's Research Room.
�THE Authoritative Source of Telecommuting Information and Analysis Since 1984
TELECOMMUTING APPLICATIONS
Sending Video E-Mail while Eating
Lunch: The Road Warrior's Dream?
SUMMARY: This isan updatet~
an article in the September .... '.
1998 TR, whichdescribed how.
a Burger King franchise in
lower Manhattan installed
twenty PCsequlpped for· '.. .. ..
Internet access. CustomerS get •
twenty ininutesofaccesswith
certain purchases. This
....
innovative program, which·
began last summer, has been
expcmdedtolndtide "videoe~
mall postcards" that can .be •.
sent to friends, family or '.
colleagues. This may not be.· ..
what you have in mind as
......
"vldeoconferencing," but it'sa' .....
great example ofhow .....'. .
technology is changing our
.world· and our workplaces•.•.
•
._
•
. 'w
.,,'.:'."
If you remember the article from
last September's TR, you're aware
that Peter Abramson made a sig
nificant investment in his Burger
King franchise at 182 Broadway (in
the financial district) so he could
give his customers access to the In
ternet over a T-1 phone line. Spend
a few dollars for a meal and you
get to spend twenty minutes surfing
the Net on one of twenty Compaq
PCs-not bad.
Abramson's foray paid off, ap
parently. He told me he has seen a
dramatic increase in sales and store
traffic since installing the equip
ment. In late February he an
nounced the next stage in this
techno-dining trend, which he
describes as "the convergence
of video, data and lunch."
Starting on February 23
customers were able to send a
video email postcard to
friends, family or business col
leagues anywhere in world. To
send a video email postcard,
customers sit at a PC
equipped with a 3Com
Bigpicture® video camera and
follow simple instructions.
After taking a snapshot and
entering an email address and
message, customers send the
postcard to whomever they
want-presumably someone
who enjoys a Whopper and
fries. The new equipment runs
on newly-installed high-speed
symmetrical digital subscriber
lines (SDSL).
Abramson didn't mention
any plans to install a ma
hogany conference table, wall
to-wall plush carpet, or high
back leather chairs in his res
taurant, so I don't suppose
you'll mistake it for your
regular office or conference
room. But if you're in the
neighborhood, stop in and see
this latest example of "work
anywhere-eat anywhere."
CONTACT: Peter Abramson
(914) 636-0337
(914) 636-0338 (fax)
theabes@mcione.com
www.3Com.com/bigpicture
gal and Regulatory News
SHA announces proposed ergonom·
. s rule-telecommuting exempted?
ducts and Services
tual Private Networks come onto the
lecommuting scene; Herman Miller
ds "Levity" to furniture marketplace
ployee Relations
(telelbrother: pros and cons of
mote monitoring
upervisory Issues
Manage (and pay) for results, experts
ecial Topics
ughts on seeking, finding, and
......'IIl!!!I'.urturing innovation
GIL GORDON
ASSOCIATES
Rethinki..g The Workplace
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�Clinton Presidential Records
Digital Records Marker
This is not a presidential record. This is used as an administrative
marker by t~e William J. CI~ntonPresident'ial Library Staff
This marker identifies the place of a publication.
Publications have not been scanned in their entirety for the purpose
of digitization. To see the full publication please search online or
visit the Clinton Presidential Library's Research Room.
�THE Authoritative Sovrce of Telecommuting Information and Analysis Since 1984
EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
Getting Away from It All-. or Not
Respondents had to choose
only one, and here are the
·;~··5·>';·:':·:';'·:·
rankings:
36%-Working in the Same
Place Everyday
20%-Putting Out Office
"Fires"
;,~ 12%-Frequent Meetings
11 %-Distractions from Co
Workers
7%-Boss Hovering Over
You
S%-Office Noise
5%-Office Chatter/Gossip
[Ed. note: I have a summary
of the major findings of the
survey-including data on
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ers feel guilty about being
If people who work away
away; enjoy taking bubble
from the office actually
batns in their hotel rooms,
missed being there as much as and other important insights.
is presumed they will, nobody If you want me to e-mail a .
would ever leave his/her chair copy to you just let me know
for a moment. The reality is,
at <gil@gilgordon.com>.]
however, that the office prob
Surveys like this are, of
ably doesn't have an absolute
course, not definitive-and
hold on people.
not even necessarily indicative
A survey was done among
of how typical office workers
1,250 extended-stay (away
.would respond since these
more than five nights at a
1,250 people are away on
time) business travelers for
trips of five or more days
Residence Inn, Marriott
each-which automatically
Corp's. extended-stay hotel
puts them in a different cat
brand. One question asked
egory of office worker. That's
about the work activity that is probably why the "working in
least missed while away:
the same place everyday"
"What is the work activity/
came out as the least-missed
responsibility you most enjoy
aspect of office work; these
"escaping" while traveling on travelers probably wouldn't
business?"
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""l:..odUcfS and Services
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Home-office, furniture goes ups~ale
al Estate and Office Space
eel like you're on a "slippery slope" at
ork? Maybe you are
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pedal Topics
alth care group's telework guide
lable online; British L!brary's
orking director published;
workplace design book looks at space
and work methods
l1
13G
raHIc and Transportation
Gore ca!ls for program to ease traffic
congeshon
e Lighter Side
tale of a troubled teleworker
.
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GILGORDON
ASSOCIATES
Rethinking The Wlbrkpltlce
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Ruby Shamir - Subject Series
Creator
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First Lady's Office
Ruby Shamir
Is Part Of
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<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36351" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763277" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
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2012-0565-S
Description
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Ruby Shamir held the position of Policy Advisor and Assistant to the Chief of Staff in the First Lady’s Office. Previously, she served as Assistant Director for Domestic Policy in the Domestic Policy Council. This series of Subject Files contains materials relating to domestic policy topics, especially on children’s issues such as health, education, child care and youth violence. The records include memorandum, faxes, letters, reports, schedules, and publications.
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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Adobe Acrobat Document
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236 folders in 15 boxes
Date
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1999-2001
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Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Telecommuting [2]
Creator
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First Lady's Office
Ruby Shamir
Subject Files
Identifier
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2012-0565-S
Is Part Of
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Box 13
<a href="http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/Systematic/2012-0565-S-Shamir.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763277" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
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Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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Reproduction-Reference
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7/22/2013
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2012-0565-S-telecommuting-2
7763277