Independent working — do you have what it takes?

IT Business, an online publication aimed at Canada’s IT industry, published an interesting article that contemplates what factors should be considered by teleworkers and their employers when seeking ideal work results. The piece, titled Tough Questions to Ask Before You Say “Yes” to Telework cites a recently released survey by WorldAtWork that points to major growth in telecommuting in both Canada and the U.S.

WorldAtWork is “the world’s leading not-for-profit professional association dedicated to knowledge leadership in total rewards, compensation, benefits and work-life.” The report — 2008-2009 WorldAtWork Salary Budget Survey — notes that the combined factors of a desired work/life balance, rising gas prices, and ever-improving technology have lead to big percentage jumps in companies allowing teleworking:

Telework grew considerably in the U.S., from 30 percent of organizations saying they offered it to employees in 2007 to 42 percent this year. In Canada, the increase was even more significant, from 25 percent to 40 percent.

We’ve published more than a few posts noting some obvious pitfalls of solo working either independently as an entrepreneur or as a telecommuter working for a company. The isolation/lack of collaboration is easily the biggest obstacle. But IT Business, scrutinizing more from the employer side, takes a look at other potential problems.

These are framed as a series of questions and detailed answers aimed at helping employers decide if teleworking is a viable option for some employees and also helping them examine beforehand what expectations to have. For example, the question is posed: Just because a job can be performed remotely, should it be? And even if it is performed remotely, should employees have to put in at least some face time at the office? (The article suggests the answer to this one is Yes.)

Other questions remind employers to consider how performance will be defined and measured — for instance, if one worker can get twice as much done in half the time, “is that a win-win situation, or poor use of a company’s business asset?” In other words, should a hyper-productive employee be allowed to work half-days for full pay or should s/he be required to be available by phone/computer for X additional hours, even if all work for the day is completed?

Other questions about creativity and collaboration come up. Which got me mulling a topic I stop to ponder from time to time. As a freelancer who has been mostly self-employed or contract employed for the better part of twenty-five years, I sometimes forget what it takes to hack this lifestyle. And I say “hack” purposefully because, no matter what all those office workers are daydreaming about when they imagine working at home, there are certainly moments of strife and angst for those of us on the other side of the fence. Though I hold that I’d much rather deal with this sort of strife than the puffy beige walls of a cubicle, it doesn’t mean solo working is always Easy Street.

Once again, let’s get it out of the way — there’s the isolation factor. Some days I go totally bonkers working alone. Even when I’m aware that I have to go out and seek some human interaction lest I wind up curled in a fetal position feeling too alone to drag myself to the keyboard, it can still be hard to actually get up and go out. But such interaction is crucial to survival (which is why, let me state that-which-could-go-without-stating: I can’t wait for LaunchPad Coworking to open.)

Also, one must be a total discipline freak about deadlines. Not just meeting them, but setting them. Because for all the yakking that goes on about the freedom of independent working, in the end we all need some structure to our day and to our work. Which for me translates into both deadlines-for-work-due and (I admit I’m not so good with this next one) deadlines for when to walk away from the computer. The one thing that might be harder, some days, than actually sitting down to work is remembering to get up and stop working after X amount of time.

I think also — based on commentary I’ve heard from some folks when they hear I work for myself a lot of the time — you need to really be equipped with a pair of cojones gigante. I mean, I don’t feel that brave, I just do what I do because that’s what I do. But apparently some folks view my need to hustle for work, often live without insurance, and never know for sure where the next paying gig is coming from as Living Without a Net. (Ha, perhaps this is why I knit so compulsively — symbolic net making?) A lot of people can’t work that way. For me, it’s just about all I know.

So for those considering asking the boss about telecommuting, and for those contemplating quitting the day job in favor of freelance, remember: it’s not enough to ask that super-tired cliché question: Would I like to work in my pajamas? (Oh I am so sick of hearing that.) You have got to ask yourself, very honestly, if you have the sort of psychological makeup that can handle being non-office-bound.