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Book Carole "Your presentation was intelligent, interactive and energetic – just what we needed as a closing keynote to this Forum"
Purva Hassomal, Leaders of Abu Dhabi, Family Business Forum Director
World Authority on Executive Stress, Carole Spiers
explains the pressures of flexible working
If you've ever been a commuter stranded at home during a transport strike, you may have wondered whether you would be better-off employed as one of those teleworkers who are allowed to perform a full-time job in the peace and privacy of their own office.
Yet 'your own office' is just a notional zone, where peace and privacy are not at all guaranteed. If you have a family, it may take a big leap for them to perceive you as being 'at the office' when they can clearly see you, perhaps casually dressed, in what they regard as home territory. Neighbours too will not immediately realize why you should be off-limits through the day; indeed, some of them will be taking advantage of you in the most irresponsible fashion.
Or if you're solo, you may experience the opposite effect - unnatural isolation from normal peer-group interaction, which you take for granted until it's suddenly not there.
Are you right for it and is it right for you?
One priority is to ensure that you fully understand the terms of your new 'virtual' day's work, away from notice-boards and supervisors. Responsibilities need to be spelt-out more clearly. Also, be sure that the company is suitably geared for teleworking, with the necessary IT support that enables remote access to internal systems and networks.
The biggest factor about homeworking is that you have to be the right kind of person to make it work, self-discipline being the prime quality - you simply have to be able to summon yourself to that desk, whatever the distractions or other excuses for failure. You will also see the need for a formal Time Management philosophy (for example, it will pay you to establish the difference between 'important' and 'urgent').
If all these factors are in favour, then your move into teleworking could indeed remove a lot of needless daily pressure and enable a new stress-free working life.
Key points about teleworking
- Homeworking allows you to do a full-time a job in peace and privacy
- 'Virtual teamwork' also carries a risk of isolation or family conflict
- Chiefly, you need to be right kind of character and personality for it
Another key insight from Carole Spiers, World Authority on Executive Stress,
Motivational Speaker and BBC Broadcaster.
