Should You Let Your Employees Work From Home?

I found this on LinkedIn yesterday (8/18/2011) but since I did not comment fast enough the source had to be fond again.  So, thanks to the power of the Internet…

Some parts of the chart are “cute” (a polite way of saying stupid…) and some arguments weak (employee playing World of Warcraft) but it is still interesting and useful.  I’m partial to working in the office because it gets me out of the house and because people have less on a tendency to lie to you face to face.  But that is me.

Most people tell you the truth most of the time and if someone is playing World of Warcraft at home on a business day he should be fired anyway.  I say let people work at home as long as they you give them tools to facilitate communications and to securely exchange data.

What do you think?  As always questions and comments are welcome.

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Comments

[Shim Marom]

Ha, cute, thanks for sharing.

[Yves Racette]

Being, as you know Patrick, a veteran of work at home, I would say that working from home is not necessarily for everybody. There is potential for a lot of distractions. However, when you develop some self-discipline, working from home also has potential for being even more efficient than when working from the office.
I completely agree that all tools should be available to allow quick and full access to peers and secure project repositories.
Finally, I believe that the project manager should set clear and measurable goals and deliverables to make sure the employee remains "honest" and focused and that the job gets done and meets expectations.

[Patrick Richard]

Yves,

I agree with your points. Tools wise I felt naked this morning when my home phone an Internet access were down. Management, project or otherwise should indeed set expectation specially for reachability and business hours, and be willing to enforce them as not everyone is a disciplined as they should. That being said, I just stole 2 minutes from work...

[Freelance web design jobs]

If an employee wants to have extra income yes, they have right to choose what they want because their working not only for their self but for their family.

[Patrick Richard]

Hello whoever you are and thanks for the comment.

I do believe that what employees do in their free time is up to them only. That being said an employee should not work on a second job during regular work hours; this can result in dismissal in many jurisdictions.