I work much better off-site as well, and in fact I currently do. Remote contracts are few and far between anymore. I suspect that companies that demand on-site are (in my perhaps tainted opinion) paranoid about not being able to monitor/control their workers.
I was very fortunate in that I worked entirely from home beginning in early 2001 (after the dot-com collapse in the SF Bay Area when my last on-site contract concluded as the company folded), and with only a couple exceptions, it has been that way ever since. The latest exception is that I took a chance and moved up here to Montana back in July for a "real" job. In the first week, I learned that my boss was a major micro-manager. I wasn't hired to be a developer -- I was hired to be HIM. He was so anal that he wanted me to write code EXACTLY the same way that he did -- the same style, down to the last intimate detail. And you should have seen his code -- it was AWFUL. What little I saw of it, that is. He was so paranoid about people stealing his code that the only time I got to see any of it was when he thought I could use some of it instead of writing stuff from scratch. It's no wonder he didn't make it working for other companies and had to start his own. At the promise of a cut of the profits of the project I was working on, I agreed to abide by these ridiculous requirements. Then after five months, they conveniently ran out of money and let me go. There are many more details, but it doesn't matter in this context. I was insightful enough to see this coming, and picked up a new remote contract a week prior, and am now MUCH happier. The best part is that I'm making more money. Personally, I am 100% DONE with working a "real" job on-site all the time. It's either remote contract, with occasional on-site as needed, or I'll go find another line of work entirely. Rob Christian N. Abad wrote: > Hello All: > > I'm curious as to why so many companies demand (note the use of the word > demand versus require) that CF developers work onsite. I consulted for > several years and only accepted opportunities that allowed me to work > remotely. I now run my entire company from the comfort of my home office. > (Yes, all of my resources work remotely - an arrangement we all find > beneficial and extremely rewarding.) > > So why, then, do many companies demand (there's that word again) that CF > resources work onsite for project work? I mean let's get real; do you > really expect a resource to relocate to some undesirable location to work > onsite for a company that views them as an expendable resource on a project > that lasts only a few months? It seems you could attract higher caliber > developers if you weren't so rigid in the work arrangement. After all, > telecommuting is not new by any stroke of the imagination... > > Disclaimer: I understand there are exceptions for work arrangements that > require security clearance, like DOD and Government opportunities, that's > now what I'm talking about here... > > Thoughts? > > ~Christian N. Abad > President, Accessible Computing > > Accessible Computing, Inc. > 1210 McLaughlin Drive > Charlotte, NC 28212 > > 704.248.8855 (office) > 704.248.6682 (fax) > > http://www.accessiblecomputing.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:11:2969 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/11 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:11 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.11 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
