Because We Both Know It Needs to Be Said. The Tacky Side of Telework.

Okay, so no more putting this off.

I have to get this off my chest now or I’ll never be able to go on and intelligently discuss work-life balance. I won’t be able to discuss that in the context of important developments in technology and distributed work arrangements, and satellite centers (these were to be the topic today instead of this) because I’ll keep feeling like I need to say something about working from home. And each time I type the phrase “work from home” I feel that I lose credibility.

Why do I feel like I lose credibility by using the phrase “work from home” in a sentence? Because I do. If someone stumbled on this blog and saw those words, if they were hip to the relentless scams using that same keyword phrase, they'd hightail it elsewhere.

Why? Becase there is a tacky side to talking about telework. 

And I know you know what I’m talking about

You know those ads and marketing materials that glorify the work-at-home and make a million while playing with your kids every five minutes (and making dinner and cleaning since after all, you’re still home, even if you’re “working” right?)… These are ridiculous ideas promoted by predatory companies with motivations that have zero to do with helping workers better juggle their work and family responsibilities. They are selling something—nothing more. Because plenty of people are buying. 

Why are people buying? Because such crap appeals to the most base of human instincts when it comes to working—not having to bother with social trivialities, not having to get up on punch a clock and be lorded over, etc..

These sources prey on the feelings of helplessness, the sense of being without autonomy, the crushing strain of feeling one is not able to experience life to the fullest because of a position that demands one’s soul. These sources shamelessly prey on those trapped in a difficult work situation that leaves them drained and without ample time for family and friends. There are the worst kinds of predators in my opinion, and their numbers seem to be growing.

Frankly, when it comes to RemoteRevolution,  I am not concerned with the personal daily habits or problems of individual remote workers right now—my mission here is to discuss the larger-scale implications, developments, theories, ideas…not to glorify or worship remote work for individuals who are in such restraining work environments. Because I don’t. I’ll leave the rest of this discussion to others who do a far better job of exposing these schemes and offer a realistic, balanced presentation of what it truly means to be a remote worker. Because it’s not all roses, that’s for sure.

I want to clearly distance myself from that element within the topic of remote work that defines the tasteless, the unrealistic, the predatory, the short-sighted.

I see remote work as a critical part of a possible solution to many of our greatest environmental, societal and economic woes, not as a personal fix for a lack of foul work-life balance for an individual worker.

The books and websites that sell the dream are correct about one thing--yes, you can work in your pajamas, and yes, you can go for days on end without ever fixing your hair or taking a shower, for that matter. You can totally let your personal hygiene slide. Great. That’s gross, but whatever floats your boat.

When you get right down to it, the tradeoff for these relatively minor releases from the everyday commuting world are astounding and rarely covered in the materials looking to feed people’s desires to work without a supervisor, without a commute, and in the comfort of one’s own home.

There is a big tradeoff. While this blog is dedicated to exploring the benefits of remote work, I want to make it clear that this is being promoted for large reasons—for sustainability, for positive environmental change, for a much-needed alteration in traditional work systems that are no longer necessary due to developments in information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the knowledge versus production economy that has already emerged and already dominates.

Ever since this blog started I’ve been trying to find ways to get around the “tacky” side of telecommuting and I have decided that since I can’t, I am just going to devote one full post to the issue and leave it at that. As the topic emerges in other posts, to make myself feel better about things (if nothing else)

Despite the extraordinary degree of flexibility telecommuting offers, it is by no means a guaranteed solution for creating a sense of work-life balance. For many, once the novelty of working outside of the office wears off, there are a host of challenges to confront as an entirely new set of issues involving the combination of work and life emerge. This is particularly true for those who are tasked with child or elder care responsibilities.

It is hard. It takes a vast, long series of adjustments for the worker as well as that worker’s family and friends. Remote work is not for everyone and these are but a few reasons why that is.

This post will be a reference spot for when I discuss larger-scale topics related to work-life balance issues, alternative work arrangements, and other topics that emerge that require a disclaimer.

I am going to go on this week to talk about the future of working environments and will be discussing some of the problems many have with working exclusively in the home. I will be looking at the work of some innovators who are creating new spaces within the hybrid spaces—places for people to work and communicate.

But yes, this all had to be said first.