Whitepaper: The Legal Risks of Data Loss - How safe is your business data when your employess work from home | 28 Apr 2009 | ComputerWeekly.com

Whitepaper: The Legal Risks of Data Loss - How safe is your business data when your employess work from home 28 Apr 2009 ComputerWeekly.com

How will the Budget affect your business?

From Business Link
The Chancellor gave his Budget Report on 22 April 2009
Read the report and further information on the HM Treasury website - Opens in a new window.

The Business Payment Support Service which helps businesses that are having difficulty meeting payments due to the existing economic conditions, has now been extended to support businesses currently making losses. The extension applies to corporation and income tax.

The Three Line Account Limit is being increased from the current amount of £30,000 for trading or self employment income and £15,000 for property income to permanently align it with the VAT registration threshold to £68,000 from the tax year 2009/10.

This is relevant to small businesses who can restrict the information they provide in their tax return to just their turnover, total allowable business expenses, and net profit or loss, rather than having to provide a detailed breakdown of their expenses.

There is a new temporary rate of 40 per cent for capital allowances - first year allowance for expenditure on general plant and machinery.

Corporation Tax rates for the financial year 2010-11 will remain unchanged with the main rate at 28 per cent and for the financial year 2009-10 the small companies rate will be 21 per cent.

For more information go to Business Link

MEPs back EU maternity leave increase

EU Politics News - theParliament.com

Plans to increase maternity leave and introduce paternity leave provisions will help women achieve a better work-life balance and "indirectly" increase female participation in higher positions, according to Edite Estrela.

The Socialist MEP's report, proposing to increase minimum maternity leave to 20 weeks with six weeks at full pay, was adopted by parliament's women's rights and gender equality committee on Thursday.

The report also called on member states to provide for a minimum of two weeks paternity leave, a central measure for Estrela, who is the vice chair of the women's rights committee.

Beating the downturn by staying at home to work - Watching the Web, Opinion - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Beating the downturn by staying at home to work - Watching the Web, Opinion - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk: The web offers a low-risk way of starting up in business.
So you won’t be surprised to learn that these entrepreneurs are not alone in their quest for online riches.
Let me introduce the “mousewives”, as they’ve become known — women who work from home using their computers to boost the family income during the recession.
According to one piece of research, almost half of stay-at-home mothers use the internet to make money.
The survey, by the European Inkjet Systems division of Kodak (www.kodak.com), found that one in 20 made at least £200 a month, with many earning much more.
The work ranges from selling CDs and books on eBay to doing accounts for other businesses.
It also encompasses market research work, secretarial services, party planning, mystery online shopping and web site design.
The main motivating factor is that money can be made with a relatively small investment. In many cases, the additional investment is nil, because the budding entrepreneurs already have a PC and internet connection.
There’s a web site dedicated to “mousewives” at www.mouse wives.com, as well as an online magazine at www.wahm.com (the initials stand for “work at home moms”, so you’ll gather that the site is American). Incidentally, the reason I keep putting “mousewives” in inverted commas is that some of the women engaged in running their own business from home object to the term.
They prefer the word “momtrepreneur”. Whatever the preference, there’s no shortage of clever shorthand for the practice!
Some stay at home mothers have branched into online franchises for everything ranging from toys to jewellery. See www.wahm. co.uk. In fact, the web is packed with sites dedicated to this new breed of businesswoman.

Work Wise Week 2009

Work Wise Week this year will run from Tuesday, May 12, until Monday, May 18.
This will be the fourth year that Work Wise Week has been run by Work Wise UK, an initiative led by the TUC, CBI and British Chambers of Commerce which promotes smarter working practices, such as flexible, remote and mobile working, and working from home.

It aims to give half the working population, some 14 million people, the opportunity to work smarter by 2011.
"This year, smarter working is more relevant than ever," said Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK. "With the recession biting hard, businesses have to find ways of improving productivity, and smarter working practices are an integral part of the solution."

The themed days will take a different approach this year. The week will consist of the following:

Mobile Office Day (Tuesday, May 12) - the first day will encourage people to work while on the move, instead of travelling to a central office.

Remote Office Day (Wednesday, May 13) - this day will encourage people to use remote offices instead of travelling to a central office. These would include serviced office space, touch down centres or even hot spots such as coffee shops.

Virtual Meeting Day (Thursday, May 14) - this day will encourage people to conduct meetings by audio or video conferencing or go online instead of travelling to meetings.

National Work from Home Day (Friday, May 15) - this will be the fourth time this popular day has been run. It will encourage people to work from home on that day, instead of commuting to their usual place of work.

Smarter Travel Day (Monday, May 18) - the concluding day of the week will encourage people to travel outside peak times. Coming into work an hour early, and then leaving an hour early at the end of the day, or going an hour later, and leaving an hour later. This will reduce the peak rush hour, and make the commuting experience far more bearable for many.

European Parliament: How should we help balance family and career?

(EP Press release)

Equal opportunities for men and women, equal pay for equal work, freedom from unfair discrimination: these are fundamental European values. But how far should we go to achieve them?

How far should we go to ensure that people don't have to choose between career and family? How much do we invest in making these things happen? There are practical choices to be made, laws to be enacted and action to be taken. The choices are yours, when you cast your vote in the June 2009 elections.

Times have changed. Many may recall times when women were expected to bring men their...slippers and a woman's role in life was to have and raise children and obey their husbands. Maybe times haven't changed as much as we think.

More women than ever are managers or involved in politics. In 2006, the number of female managers in the EU was 32.6% and the number of women MEPs rose from 16.3% in 1979 to 31% in 2009.

But women in Europe still earn on average 17% less than their male counterparts and one person in 10 has suffered at one point in his/her life from some form of bullying, harassment or violence at work.

According to the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, a woman working full-time works 40 hours a week, while men work on average 43 hours. But can we say that men work more than women, given the unpaid hours that many women put in caring for children, sick or elderly relatives and doing household chores?

And in a world where people live longer and have fewer children, is work-life balance really an option or more like an obligation for the legislator? And are men being given the choices they deserve?

In any case, the MEPs you choose will be the ones to decide on what more (if anything) needs to done in Europe on many issues that could affect your work-life balance, such as job sharing, teleworking, flexitime and compressed working (where full-time is compressed into fewer days), maternity leave as well as part-time and temporary work. What else would you like them to do? Make your choice clear with your vote on 4-7 June!

Remote worker awards

Remote Employment has announced the Remote Worker Awards! They are currently working with prominent sponsors to highlight how remote and home working benefits the environment, business productivity and employees' quality of work life.
Everyone who works remotely or works from home and employers who have remote workers are able to enter. And anybody who wants to work from home can also enter to win a £15k home based franchise of their very own as well as other great prizes, one of them being a Garden Home Office worth £10k!
There are consumer awards for working professionals and anybody who wants a career change, as well as business categories for Home Businesses and Employers of Choice who allow their staff to work remotely or work from home. This is one of the UK's highest prize awards.
If you work remotely or work from home, have a home-based business or employ remote and home workers, the Remote Worker Awards is waiting to hear from you!
See more about judges, supporters, categories, terms and conditions, and how to enter at: Remote Employment

The availability, affordability and protection of content in digital Britain

The UK Government on Friday invited views on the role a 'digital rights agency' should play in protecting and promoting the legal use of copyright content online, and how industry, consumer groups and government can work together to create an environment where investment in creativity is rewarded.
Creators, commercial rights-holders and consumer groups are all asked to respond to a discussion paper exploring the potential benefits of a new agency and the impact it would have in combating unlawful online file-sharing and piracy.
Minister of State for Intellectual Property, David Lammy said: "The real prize here is a rights agency that sorts out the complexities that keep consumers on the right side of the law, and ensure artists get properly paid.
"We need to make it easier for consumers to do the right thing. The internet has become an integral part of daily life. You shouldn't need to be an underwriter to take out an insurance policy, and you shouldn't need legal training to surf the web."

Minister for Technology, Communications and Broadcasting, Stephen Carter, said:
"...in the new digital age, copyright infringement has become easier and more socially acceptable, so it's clear we need some form of legislative backstop for the protection of rights as well as new and innovative ways to access legal content."
He added:
"Today we have published proposals in the form of a Straw Man on digital rights. That Straw Man could be torched, tolerated or a touchstone for the start point of constructive debate and design. I for one hope it is the latter."
Key issues raised in the discussion paper published by the Intellectual Property Office today include:

• 
  How to educate and change consumer behaviour towards copyright material;


• How to support industry efforts in developing new and attractive legal ways for consumers to access content;


• How to support legislation to address consumer activity that breaches civil copyright law and how to tackle persistent infringement;


• How to enable technical copyright-support solutions that work for both consumers and content creators;


• Whether or not the Agency should be an independent industry body with back-up legal powers held by Ofcom


• How such an agency can be funded.

All these issues will be publicly addressed in a discussion forum later this spring but comments are welcome before then.
The concept of a 'digital rights agency' was initially recommended in the Digital Britain Interim report, published at the end of January. The report represents an ambitious and strategic plan to accelerate growth in the digital industries and cement the UK's position as a world leader for innovation, investment and quality.
For more information please contact: James Thomson at IPO press office 0207 5966 547 or Una Flynn at BERR press office 0207 215 5256.

Top 10 Must-Haves for Mompreneurs--Mompreneur Must Have List--Entrepreneur.com

Top 10 Must-Haves for Mompreneurs--Mompreneur Must Have List--Entrepreneur.com

Successful women business owners weigh in on the people, places and things they can't live--or work--without.

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The Ultimate Small Business Twitter List

The Ultimate Small Business Twitter List

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Web searches for jobs increase by 20% with seniors the fastest growing group

Web traffic to career development sites increased 20 per cent year-over-year in January, with 65+ being the fastest growing age group in the career development category according to a report released in February.

Nielsen Online reported that unique visitors to career development websites grew from 41.5 million unique visitors in January 2008 to 49.7 million in January 2009. CareerBuilder Network was the No. 1 online career development destination in January 2009, with 20.8 million unique visitors. Yahoo! HotJobs and Monster took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, with 11.7 million and 9.5 million unique visitors.

“With the current unstable economy and rising unemployment rate, more people are heading online to search for jobs, and interestingly not just the unemployed. The career development category also grew 20 percent year-over-year among at work users, suggesting that many people are trying to build up their resumes and get a sense of the job market before the next potential layoff,” said Chuck Schilling, research director, agency & media, Nielsen Online.

The number of unique visitors 65 and older to career development websites grew 41 percent year-over-year, increasing from 2.5 million unique visitors in January 2008 to 3.6 million in January 2009. This was the largest increase year-over-year among people aged 18 and older.

“While 65 used to be considered the age when most people retired, we are seeing a trend towards later retirement or partial retirement. Much of this desire to stay employed longer can probably be attributed to the fact that people are living longer and feel the need to keep generating income and sock away more retirement savings, especially in light of the current economic climate and its effect on people’s nest eggs. There’s an opportunity for publishers and advertisers to appeal to this niche market by providing content that’s relevant to longtime career holders looking for their next position and trying to shore up their retirement savings,” said Schilling.

At Work Anywhere knows that the 65+ age group has a lot to offer in terms of experience and wisdom. We intend to support 'silver surfers' by assisting them to find opportunities that will make the best use of their life experiences and professional skillsets to the advantage of all concerned.

Thinktank says UK will have problems providing broadband for all

Broadband thinktank Point Topic found that nearly 30 per cent of all households in Northern Ireland and more than a quarter of homes in Wales are currently unable to achieve internet speeds of two megabits per second, which the Government promised would be available to all homes by 2012.

"Towns such as Basingstoke and Milton Keynes which people might expect to be well connected have notspots," said Tim Johnson, chief analyst with Point Topic. "The scale of the task is massive and in order to achieve it there needs to be co-operation between government, the regulator and operators such as BT," he said.

Point Topic has produced a regional breakdown of areas that currently do not have much net speed. The thinktank has produced a map showing which areas of the country lack the infrastructure needed to deliver the high-speed broadband access outlined in the recent Digital Britain report.

The report’s author, Lord Carter, pledged that every UK home would have access to broadband by 2012, and set a minimum speed level of two megabits per second, a speed which the Government has determined would be sufficient for the delivery of online services.

But critics have warned that unless the internet infrastructure throughout the UK is sufficiently improved over the next few years, the Government’s target will remain unobtainable.

"We think that fibre is the right way to go. That will provide the UK with a future-proofed network," said Mr Johnson. BT has pledged to provide fibre to around 40% of the UK but with the caveat that "market conditions must be right".

The report, the full version of which is due in May, laid out the government's commitment to broadband and suggested that some of the gaps in coverage could be filled with mobile broadband.

But mobile broadband has met with criticism too, as it can be expensive, slow and service can be affected by the volume of users. “There are issues with the network and services drop off the more people who use it,” said Alex Salter, from broadband measurement site SamKnows.

Internet usage has become almost universal across middle Britain and over 15 million households have broadband. The average broadband Brit now spends more than 16 hours a week online and downloads can be 200 times as fast as in the last millennium. Many now rely on it as a tool to work fulltime from home or anywhere.

“Now we’ve reached the point where losing your connection or just being in ‘slowband land’ can be incredibly frustrating. Fast internet access has changed the way we work, listen to music, watch TV, stay in touch with our friends, shop and plan our lives, “Johnson points out. “It has touched every corner of our lives not just everyone’s life.”

“If you live in a densely populated area in the UK, chances are you’ll have access to over 2Mbps of bandwidth. About 84% of households are in the right place to get reasonable speeds according to our analysis,” says Johnson.

Practical tips on creating a work area at home

More than 20 million people work from home at least once a week in the U.S., according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2008 there were more than 2.5 million home based businesses in the UK.

Wireless technology has made this easy at a time when a struggling economy has forced many people to spend more time at home.

If you work at home full time or just require a place to sort mail, pay bills and check your e-mail, having a dedicated space to get the job done is essential.

Most people who didn't have a computer at home ten years ago have one now. A working area or office space when buying a house has now become a serious consideration for many. More and more people need a dedicated place at home to work from.

If you're short on space look for an unused pocket of space that can be fitted with shelves, cabinets, (electrical) power and a chair. Use your imagination! A Washington D.C. architect converted a bedroom cupboard in her apartment into her work space. She removed the clothing rod and installed shelves and a countertop that flips down as needed.

She also removed the cupboard door and replaced it with a bookshelf on wheels that's connected to a ceiling track. When she wants to close up her office, she simply slides the bookshelf in front of it. (For the non-architects among us, keeping the door works, too. So does installing a curtain rod to hang a pretty panel in place of a door.)

If that converting your cupboard sounds like a it of a gargantuan task, then consider smaller adjustments such as placing glass over an old table with an uneven surface, so you can keep the table and transform it into a functional desk.

Think beyond boxes for storage. Use jars and trays to hold supplies, or coloured boxes or plastic drawers on wheels.


Whether you have an entire room, a converted closet or a tiny nook carved out of a corner, the basic essentials for any well-run office are the same. You need a desk, a comfortable chair, storage, paper and pen, and proper lighting. You don't have to spend a lot.

Don't overlook vertical space, where tall bookcases or hanging shelves can provide extra storage. Using vertical space makes a space look cleaner, neater and less cluttered.

Have you got any useful tips for creating a working area at home? Write in and tell us! Share your ideas and mistakes, what you saved money on and what you indulged in.

Help with free self-promotion on the internet

If you're starting a new business or project and want to create more awareness about it on the web, but aren't quite sure how to go about it, then Launch your Project is a good place to start.

Getting a new site or information about yourself into search engines can be quite a task, let alone getting awareness of your project on the web.

Launch your Project aims to help you by publishing your press release or a good description of your project on their site with free links. This will help you to get quality links, better traffic and more awareness of your project on the web.

The site is run by a php developer who says of himself: 'I have tons of ideas, and not enough attention to get people to use them. I don’t have a lot of money, so I have to make people notice by making a lot of noise. This project is one of the ways I am making noise.'

This is a free service as of right now, to help people get their project noticed. If you need help getting people to see your project or just getting it off the ground, give this site a try, you will be surprised. Plus its a free article about your site, and a free link to it too!

At Work Anywhere will certainly be using this as a promotional tool, what a great idea! We hope to pass the word on to as many people as possible who want to find work, post work, network, market themselves or create opportunities for free. Our beta version will belive in March, come and have a look!

Searches in the UK for home-working positions on the increase

As more people have internet access and understand more about the world wide web, and as technology progresses and continues to develop, so working from home or anywhere, being a mobile worker has moved away from the niches of media and IT into the public domain.

Fuelling this is the global recession which has led to the highest level of unemployment in 17 years in the UK and inflation hits an all-time high, a figure which is likely to rise as more job cuts are made. The result is more people working from home, or searching for home-based jobs.

According to UK job search website TipTopJobs.com, figures released in February show that people applying for home-working positions on job boards have almost doubled in the past month.

Applications for home-based roles during the month of September leapt to 1,673 from 1,176 in August – an increase of 42 per cent.

As 26 per cent of individuals cited family responsibilities as the main reason for seeking home-based employment, it is evident that worries over child care costs and lack of work-life balance are the key factors behind the increasing volume of home-working job board applications.

Home-working job searches may indicate lack of confidence in economy. Corinne Dauncey, Careers Expert from TipTopJob.com, said: “We forecast an increase in home-based applications as it’s becoming more acceptable to work from home. However such a sharp rise is not in line with our predications. We believe it’s another worrying sign that consumer confidence is low and that candidates are worried about the current economic turmoil.

“Economists believe headline rates of inflation are now set to fall back, with oil prices having recently dropped, so it will be interesting to see what happens to these applications, whether they continue to rise or fall in line with inflation.”

In the meantime, for those looking to work from home, there are a wide range of vacancies available through online job boards and job search engines. As long as workers have access to the internet and a telephone, it has become an ideal solution for those struggling with a long commute, redundancy or childcare issues.

Visit At Work Anywhere in March to see our beta version. We are all about connecting people and creating opportunities.

Working from home: Pros and cons

Working from home has a lot going for it. For a start, you don't have to put up with office politics or people standing over you. And the only commute you have is from your bedroom to your desk.

That said, working from home is not for everyone. You need to have a certain sort of mindset to be able to work on your own, without people around you. And there are some pitfalls to watch out for. Read more on the Sydney Morning Herald blog.

I find working from home is a bit of a double-edged sword, but I think the pros out-weigh the cons, horses for courses.

The freedom and flexibility I now have are great, my work/life balance is greatly enhanced, I don't miss the commute or the office politics, but I do miss the camaraderie, the banter, talking work and kicking ideas around. These are things that can be covered over the internet but it isn't the same as human interaction.

On the bright side you can take as much holiday as you want, when you want. If you work over the internet and are going somewhere with a good connection, you can take your work with you. On the other hand, you don't have paid leave, sick leave or compassioante leave. You don't work, you don't earn - simple.

It can be distracting to work from home as there is so much going on around you, wheras an office is simply a workplace. Therefore I find a certain amount of self-discipline is required if you are to be productive, motivated and focused.

It's a good idea to leave the house at least once a day, and to exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes. If you have the space, keep your working area seperate so you can walk away at the end of the day. Try to maintain a routine, but change it every now and then.

Lots of tips and advice like this will be on http://www.atworkanywhere.com/ when the beta goes live in March 2009 and we'd love to hear your opinions!

Do you work from home? Do you prefer it from office working? What advice would you give other people working from home?

Government releases help package for UK businesses

The Government has released a help package for British businesses. The range of new help is being made available for those who need it, from people seeking employment or training, to small businesses with cashflow problems and larger businesses needing working capital.

There is a range of free support to find finance, raise productivity, or save money by reducing waste and saving energy. Whether you need to increase cashflow, keep your staff on, improve their skills and flexibility, or simply reduce costs, you can get help to keep your business healthy.

The support outlined in the 'Real help for business now' PDF guide helps to secure credit and finance for businesses by helping with managing your business in more difficult times and provides help with investing for the future.

You can get information on the packages of support available to businesses by visiting Business Link or by contacting your local Business Link adviser by calling 0845 600 9 006.

If your business is based in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also get access to
real help with finance, managing your business and investing for the future through your local
business support networks:

• Wales: Flexible Support for Business: http://www.business-support-wales.gov.uk/realhelp.aspx or call 03000 6 03000.
• Scotland: www.bgateway.co.uk/realhelp or call 0845 609 6611 and http://www.hiebusiness.co.uk/
  or call 0845 609 6611.
• Northern Ireland: www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/realhelp or call
  0800 027 0639; and http://www.investni.com/ or call 028 9023 9090.

Or, to use an online interactive tool to identify for yourself areas of your business that could improve, click on the ‘Get a health check for your business’ link at Businesslink.

Website review for teleworkers - Directgov

Are you employed and working from home or thinking about it? A question commonly asked is, ‘What are my rights?’

This page on Directgov (UK government website) explains the difference between homeworking and teleworking, and the pros and cons of each. It also covers security risks related to your work and the equipment you use.

Whether you want more flexible working hours and a work/life balance or not, Directgov provides information on working time regulations and contracts of employment, as well as a section and links on where to get help.

Genuine work from home schemes damaged by scams

This month the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) launched its 2009 Scams Awareness Month to raise awareness of mass marketed scams, which cost the UK public £3.5billion a year. Every year an estimated three million UK consumers fall victim to scams sent by post, email, text, the phone and internet.

One of the main target groups in the UK are work from home scams, particularly in the current economic climate when many are desperate to find a new or extra income to make ends meet. Often the schemes sound too good to be true and target the inexperienced work from home contractor.

Caution should be exercised on any proposal which requires the homeworker to buy into a scheme prior to them receiving any work.

"Only 2% of people who get taken in by these scams actually report them," said Mike Haley, Director of Consumer Protection at the OFT. "Our research shows that over 300,000 people each year are falling victim and it's on the increase because of the economic climate.

At Work Anywhere supports the OFT initiative and believes that such scams are incredibly damaging to the genuine 'buy in, sell on' opportunities.

These scams are also affecting the entire credibility of working from home/anywhere over the internet which is reaching out to non-traditional internet workers who need as much encourgement and assistance as possible. Crediblity is the keystone on which this potentially large market will be built upon.

What can I do?

OFT's advice to anyone who thinks they have been drawn into a home working scam is to contact them at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk or 08454 040 506.

The OFT is warning consumers to be vigilant during the economic downturn as scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated at using techniques to exploit personal and economic difficulties.

The OFT's advice to consumers who receive a possible scam offer is: 'Stop, think, and think again'. Do not be rushed into sending off money to someone you do not know. How likely is it that you have been specifically chosen for this offer? Millions of people are likely to have received the same offer. Think again - read the mailing carefully. If you are unsure, speak to family or friends and seek advice.

More on the BBC.

Recruiters are using Web 2.0 tools to find new talent

Entrepreneur.com has written an interesting article about how internet tools such as social networks, blogging and other Web 2.0 networking tools are becominging increasingly popular to hire people. As employers learn more about how to use these tools, the way recruitment is done looks to change radically.

Case studies include San Francisco PR entrepreneur Jason Throckmorton, founder of $5 million LaunchSquad, Ben Swartz, co-founder and president of Chicago-based interactive marketing advisory firm Marcel Media, estimates he's hired three-quarters of his 21-person staff using Web 2.0 resources.

InsidersReferral.com Inc.'s job site Jobirn (jobirn.com) hooks up candidates, employers and recruiters via IM rather than conventional but slower e-mail and TheCareerMole.com sets up a channel for current employees to mentor candidates and provide information about company culture and jobs.

Some people believe that nothing will replace human recruiters, and I certainly agree that nothing replaces a face-to-face conversation as there is only so much you can learn from a piece of paper, the rest emerges from body language for example. However, so much can be gained from Web 2.0 recruiting.

It can save time, money and facilitate rapid communication; by checking out a person on a social network you can see who they are connected with and there's an old saying that you can judge a man by the company he keeps.

The world is a small place, by checking out those connections, you're bound to know someone who knows someone who you can make discreet enquries of. You have access to timely and accurate information, time can be saved by quick responses by all parties.

Increasingly, large and small companies are encouraging employees to maintain their own blogs - yet another thread in a potential recruit's history.

At Work Anywhere intends to harness a lot of these concepts and we're including them in our product - live at the end of February. You can register and have a look now while the site is under development, feedback is welcome!

vixdw.atworkanywhere@blogger.com has shared: Recruiting 2.0 - Entrepreneur.com

Recruiting 2.0 - Entrepreneur.com http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2009/february/199...
vixdw.atworkanywhere@blogger.com sent this using ShareThis.

To commute or not to commute - for that is the question

What are the benefits of working from home? What makes it different from working in an office environment? Is it that moment of irate and carbolic fury upon the discovery that your crucial delivery deadline is likely to be stalled by the idiocies of your broadband provider, who naturally cannot be reached other than via a longwinded call centre in India?

And as charming as the young lady is in her endeavours to assist you, your fury is only increased when she informs you how wonderful the weather is at her location in comparison to how foul and cold it is at yours.

Or is it that moment when your oldest child decides to go cross-eyed, spurt quantities of blood from her nostrils and promptly passes out in a flopping backward motion across your dressing table whilst trying to explain, ‘Mummy, I don’t feel very well’.

Of course, had I been working in an office, after a two-hour commute through the lightly snow-covered excuse for a railway infrastructure, I would have arrived to find that our internal network was down due to a scheduled upgrade the previous evening and to be told by the IT support fascist that of course all my files would be safe and that the system would be up and running in the near future. The word future conjuring up decades of delay rather than minutes.

Then there is the moment when the spotty IT geek goes a slight shade of pale, gulps, apologises for the inconvenience whilst whispering on his mobile phone to his supervisor, smiles, and departs rapidly. Needless to say the network revives itself after four hours to which my workstation looks remarkably clear of the clutter that usually is strewn across the screen.

This would seem a bonus if the same did not apply to the ‘My Documents’ folder. Upon contacting the IT department as to where my files are, a quiet all-pervading silence is their only response and ‘We are working on it’ before the phone is put down.

At which point my daughter’s school has finally got through to me and the first lines of the school nurse, ‘Ah, Mrs Player, it’s so good we’ve been able to reach you. We have a slight problem, we believe that your daughter might be carrying a bug and we therefore would be grateful if you could remove her from our establishment as we wish her not to infect the rest of the school.’

The realisation that my workday has now just been cut in half at the cost of half a day’s leave and the damage to my professional reputation due to a lack of deliverance on commitments due to a combination of circumstances out of my control dawns on me like the resounding thud of an unwanted tax bill.

All of this is topped by the scintillating garnish if another commute back home.

Rewind, phew, that could have been my day, but it wasn’t, for my partner and I work from home developing a site for people who work from home or anywhere (www.atworkanywhere.com).

My daughter did pass out with blood spurting from her nose (she’s OK now), but my husband was able to accompany her to hospital for a check-up while I laboured in peace curled up under my warm duvet.

I did experience problems with my internet, but fortunately didn’t lose any work or miss any deadlines as the issue turned out to be a minor inconvenience caused by an OS upgrade conflicting with our router which did not affect Vista but crashed XP.

After completing my daily quota, I cuddled up with my oldest daughter on the sofa, lit the fire and watched some dubious TV. About to go out training now and tomorrow is another day and another dollar. I think the benefits of working at home outweigh the considerable tribulations of working in an office, despite days like this.