Best Buy tested “people are free to work wherever they want, whenever they want, as long as they get their work done” policy, and found productivity increased 35% (see article above!)

Excerpt: “At most companies, going AWOL during daylight hours would be grounds for a pink slip. Not at Best Buy. The nation’s leading electronics retailer has embarked on a radical–if risky–experiment to transform a culture once known for killer hours and herd-riding bosses. The endeavor, called ROWE, for “results-only work environment,” seeks to demolish decades-old business dogma that equates physical presence with productivity. The goal at Best Buy is to judge performance on output instead of hours.”

I loved this article about your experiences as a remote employee. As an early user of email via AppleLink at Apple UK we had all the benefits of email contact with HQ in California, but not the huge influx of mail that everyone has to handle every day. It was when I worked at CompuServe that I first experienced the enormous advantages of being able to do my job from home, or where ever I could get an internet connection (sometimes via those plug in PCMCIA/mobile phone modems).

At the end of the day this has been great for both my employers and for me. I can be productive no matter my location, and for me as it means I can avoid traffic snarl ups, and be with the people I want to be with, no matter when or where. I’m now at PayPal and there’s a real commitment to WLB or work life balance - so it’s not about face time as much as results. I feel very fortunate with this. BUT as I head out on my first international tour as part of my job I’m still packing - 1 laptop, 3 mobile phones (US, UK, work/blackberry), 2 iPods, a digital camera and the obligatory hair dryer. You should see my check list for cables and adapters!!!

Best wishes from San Jose

Judith

Web 2.0 has the following elements:
- Often does not look like a web-based application, more like a desktop application (check out piczo and what you can do to your custom homepage on piczo), or check out zoho creator or google spreadsheets
- Is a mashup of APIs from disparate sources, ie. Yahoo Pipes, Google Earth, etc.
- Uses LAMP, AJAX, etc.
- Often involves social networking (blogging, forum, unicast, etc.) or collaborative elements, such as those allowed by google office.
- Has the ability to be reconfigured per the visitor’s needs ie. column display order and sort order and sort sequence for a list of credit card or mortgage products. Or perhaps the search results of specific types of cars for sale with various features in different locations
- Often involves “feeds” from other sites, whether RSS or Dapper generated or push or pull

I enjoyed reading about your remote working experiences. Some companies get it. Others don’t. Cisco (I know you don’t have a favourable impression of it, but it’s because they haven’t focused on the home consumer as much as on their corporate customers) is also considered a very good employer.

Rgds,
Faisal.