Wall Street Journal

Working From Home
Can Be a Tough Sell

By KEMBA J. DUNHAM
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

From The Wall Street Journal Online

PUBLIC-RELATIONS consultant Dawn Silvia yearns to land another telecommuting job like the one she held for about a year with a "virtual" PR agency. Yet her four-month search hasn''t produced a single offer.

Employers impressed by her credentials simply refuse to hire telecommuters, she says. When it comes to telecommuting, she huffs, "a lot of companies talk the talk, but they don''t walk the walk." Many businesses have long promoted the work-from-home option for people who favor flexible schedules, or who face arduous commutes. An estimated 24 million Americans regularly or occasionally telecommute, says the International Telework Association and Council in Washington. That''s up from some 8.5 million in 1995, according to Find/SVP.

But in a sign of mounting disaffection with the once-popular perquisite, more companies now allow only proven stars, rather than newcomers, to telecommute. Other employers have created tough hurdles for would-be home workers. Some concerns no longer allow even existing employees to participate.

Why the change of heart? Many bosses believe telecommuting causes resentment among office-bound colleagues and weakens corporate loyalty, says Tom Ferrara, president and chief executive of CareerEngine.com Inc. Others say telecommuters miss out on last-minute office meetings and can''t interact as readily with other workers. Most of the 650 employers surveyed in August by CareerEngine.com, a New York-based network of career Web sites, said they expect to hire fewer people who work from home.

Yet managers rarely publicize their negative sentiments about telecommuting. "In an environment that''s candidate-driven, companies want to paint the picture that they''re aggressive and [sensitive to] family time," Mr. Ferrara says. As a result, some help-wanted ads falsely promise telecommuting.

Nancy Dyal is hunting for a writing job in the publishing, new-media or entertainment industries where she could work part time and telecommute from her San Francisco home. She often sees online job listings that seem to suit her needs. But about a quarter of the time she discovers that a job doesn''t offer as flexible a work setup as advertised. "It''s baffling that companies aren''t willing to use telecommuters, particularly at a time when they''re crunching [for workers]," says the 49-year-old woman.

Some would-be telecommuters pursue a more aggressive approach. Jeff Waggoner, a free-lance speech writer, scours business publications to find profiles of companies that seem desperate for workers or specifically tout the work-at-home perk. Nevertheless, Mr. Waggoner''s two-year quest for a corporate telecommuting job remains unfulfilled. "I guess companies aren''t as desperate as they seem," says the 48-year-old job seeker, who prefers to work from his Nassau, N.Y., farm outside Albany.

Certain Internet start-ups, known for their laid-back workstyles, are surprisingly unapologetic about opposing telecommuting. "We''re creating new things and building new solutions," explains Barbara Beasley, executive vice president of people at Fort Point Partners Inc., an Internet services firm in San Francisco. "We need people working side by side, in the office, sharing ideas."

Kay Morgan, a vice president at Management Recruiters International Inc. in Cleveland, thinks many employers big and small simply don''t try hard enough. "A lot of companies have been dabbling in telecommuting without a structure, so they run like scared rabbits when it doesn''t work out," she says. "There needs to be a full commitment to making it work."

Steve Manes, a 50-year-old software developer, negotiated a telecommuting arrangement after he joined Grey Direct, a New York marketing-services concern, two years ago. The Grey Global Group unit, which lacks a formal telecommuting policy, let Mr. Manes work from home several days a week because he had a more efficient PC and better software there.

But within months, Mr. Manes says, co-workers began telling him that top management disapproved of his telecommuting deal. "Although no one came right out and said anything to me, all the talk made me feel like I was on my way out," says Mr. Manes. The rumors persuaded him to resign in April 1999, he says. A Grey Direct spokeswoman says that while the company tries to make flexible arrangements for staffers when possible, Mr. Manes''s job required him to be in the office full time.

Ray Marcy, president and chief executive of Spherion Corp., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., human-resources consulting firm, once thought telecommuting would be the wave of the future. Now, he permits only existing employees to telecommute, and for no more than six months at a time. Staffers can telecommute multiple times, but they must work in the office for a year before doing so again. Mr. Marcy says he realized "you just miss out on the value of hallway conversations and the quickly scheduled five-minute meetings."

Tricia Chamberlain, a Spherion middle manager, was eager to return to the office after she telecommuted full time for six months last year. "It''s hard to put a value on what you lose when you don''t have eye-to-eye contact," says the 29-year-old.

While she telecommuted, Ms. Chamberlain led a team that planned a national tour for Spherion''s chief executive to see clients and employees. But because she wasn''t on site, the team made decisions at the office without her knowledge. "The decisions that were made were good ones," she says. "But it just became difficult to manage budgetary expenses and nuances of the events."

The telecommuting perk has even lost its sizzle among major corporations with highly structured programs. At AT&T Corp. -- a longtime backer of the practice -- the number of telecommuters has "hit a plateau," says spokesman Burke Stinson. He estimates that about a quarter of the company''s 80,000 managers work from home at least one day a week, but that the proportion has not grown in recent years.

Mr. Stinson blames the standstill on inadequate broadband, or high-speed, connections for home offices as well as employees'' perpetual need to schmooze. "There''s only so far you can go with telecommuting," he admits.

Most job seekers keen to telecommute believe it comes down to trust. Ms. Silvia, the PR consultant, haggles for hours with potential employers that desperately want to hire her as long as she doesn''t work from home. "They''re all saying the same thing: `We want you in here, at a desk where we can watch you and trust that you''re doing your job,''" says the 28-year-old woman.

Persistence pays off for some job hunters, however. Sara Purcell recently gave up her dream of a book-publishing career because she couldn''t find a telecommuter job. So earlier this year, the 33-year-old Philadelphia resident became a work-at-home telecommuting strategist for Zer0to5ive LLC, marketing consultants in Wayne, Pa.

But even advocates like Ms. Purcell have seen the limitations. Two months ago she was asked to participate in a client meeting via conference call. But when the time came for the call, she waited -- and nothing happened. Attempting to call in herself didn''t work, either. "An hour later I found out the meeting did happen," she says. "It had just been decided that it ''wasn''t necessary'' to include me."

JobsDB.com

USING YOUR PERSONAL GOALS TO GET THE JOB YOU WANT
By Anthony Raja M. Devadoss

"Every human mind is a great slumbering power until awakened by a keen desire and by definite resolution to do."

Edgar F. Roberts

THE QUESTIONS
"What are your personal goals for working? Where do you see yourself in five years?" These are questions which most of us are not prepared to answer, when asked.

These are also inescapable questions often asked by every employer who wants a new hire. Coming from a friend or relative, such queries may seem benign, perhaps even a little whimsical or philosophical as those closest to you are truly interested in your future plans.

On the other hand, during a job interview, the same questions can disqualify you for employment and send you straight out the door.

The basics of goal management are simple and easy to apply to any career advancement strategy. They include:

DOING THE RIGHT THING
Long-term goal management offers you the skills and tools required to decide how best to utilise your time right now so that you will be more likely to be doing the right thing for your career in future.

How then do you guard against the myriad of interruptions and distractions that can throw you off course? The first step is having clear long-term and short-term goals and prioritising what you need to do to achieve them.

There are always more things to do than there is time to do them. The number of responsibilities we are obligated to do have greatly increased especially in the last 10 years but there is still only 1,440 minutes in a day. That is an element that will never change.

Tom Bay, a former consultant for Franklin Covey Co. Inc., recommends designating tasks you simply must do as priorities. If you have ten or fifteen items on your to-do list, choose three to five that are truly double AA priorities. "Invest your time in those [priorities] that will give you the best ROI - return on investment," he says.

TAKE THE LONG VIEW
When making decisions about how to spend your time, weigh the short-term benefits against the long-term ones. Choices made for the long-term ones often lead to a greater payoff.

Tom Ferrara, 29, President and CEO of CareerEngine.com says that a common mistake people his age often make is chasing money rather than opportunity. "I could have, at any time, taken a sales job and made more money than starting up a new business," he says. "If I was just after the money, I''d have chosen a path other than the one I chose, which was more time consuming and more stressful."

But, he says, the career experiences and satisfaction of building a business from the ground up far outweigh the short-term financial benefits of working for someone else.

When thinking about what you want to do, consider what will be best for you in the long run.

DAILY FOCUS TIME
Call it quiet time, planning time or focus time. Make time to prepare for the coming day. Tom Bay, author of "Change Your Attitude: Creating Success One Thought at a Time" (Career Press, 1998), says, "Get focused either at the end of the day for tomorrow or at the beginning of the day for that same day. You''ve got to take time in the morning to really get yourself organised."

Take 15 minutes to plan and focus on what you want to accomplish for the day and the amount of time you have to do it. "Instead of just charging ahead, as so many seem to do, in a reactive mode, carefully consider all the possibilities and actively plan the steps you will take," says Mr. Bay.

This will help make sure you plan to do the right thing.

UPGRADE TIME
Being organised will also save you time. While you need to concentrate on your high-priority tasks, you won''t be able to find those crucial documents and papers you need to work on if you are disorganised. Budget time for organising. It could be just an hour every day, week, month or even just 15 minutes& whatever suits your work style and schedule.

Consider fitting an "upgrade" day into your schedule. This will motivate you to finally learn the software you have been using but never really understood, or experiment with new equipment that could multiply your productivity tenfold.

Use this time to take a seminar, hire a consultant or attend a trade show. The time and energy you devote to upgrading skills and equipment will work to boost your career.

SOUND MIND, SOUND BODY
Many say, "I don''t have time to exercise" or "I don''t have time for lunch." Think again, if you want to maximise your efficiency and advance your career in the long run. Taking some time to exercise, even if it means taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking your car a little further from the door, will increase your daily productivity as it improves your fitness and stamina.

THE ANSWER
Questions about future career plans have become interview classics. Job seekers cannot expect to avoid the issue. Therefore, if someone asks you about your next five years, you should realise that there is no perfect answer.

After being out of the comforting structure of college a while, you will realise that life doesn''t often respect your plans. While it is good to have goals, it is not recommended to stick to them too rigidly.

An important point to remember: companies want people who are flexible and will not panic if the unexpected happens. But you also do not want to seem disorganised by just giving an "I don''t know" answer.

Be honest, focused, realistic and flexible. Just keep in mind what your interviewer really wants: someone who will work well on the job. That should guide you to giving an appropriate answer.