More than a decade after the Internet allowed millions of people to work at home, the next phase of telecommuting involves, well, not working at home.As a remote worker, I can almost understand this. There are plenty of days when I need to get out of my home office. I pack up my computer and head over to the Bauhaus, Starbucks, or another coffee shop. Sometimes that change of scenery helps me concentrate -- helps me slip into the zone of productivity.Organized "coworking" -- the concept of working solo alongside like-minded independents -- has spread to dozens of cities.
The irony of coworking isn't lost on organizers, including Kevin Bachman, who set up a group north of Atlanta as part of an informal Web-based network called Jelly.
"The reason people work alone, is because they're looking for freedom," said Bachman, a 34-year-old Web developer who telecommuntes part time. "It may be ironic that you crave isolation, but you also want to be socially interactive with others like you."
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But I don't do it to talk to other people. I do it to be surrounded by people going about their business and for some visual stimulation other than my desk. One of the benefits of being a remote worker is being able to work and be productive without people popping their heads into your cube every ten minutes for "just one quick thing."
But if a remote worker misses the community of the office and the friends they make at the workplace, organized coworking may be a solution.
3 comments:
Great post - thanks for the heads up about the CNN story. I think I must be a recluse because I don't really miss the face-to-face interaction in an office setting. Or maybe it's just because I get enough face-to-face interaction with the little people that live in my house!
We opened Office Nomads six months ago and have been watching Coworking spread across the world. Some folks are still a little confused and others are over joyed to have found an alternative to working from home or out of coffee shops. We don't spend much time trying to convince anyone. Instead we invite people to come in and if it works it works. We are having an open house this Friday if you are interested and next Monday is our monthly free drop-in day.
If I do telecommute, it would mainly to have flex hours. I like working alone in a quiet room. I don't like distraction. If I need a break then I'll find other stimulations, but other than that, I lock myself up in my home office.
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