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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
How-to book for becoming a telecommuter, October 30, 1997
By A Customer
Meade, Jeff. 1993. Home Sweet Office. Princteon, NJ: Peterson's.
This is a self-proclaimed "how to" book intended for a general audience interested in learning more about becoming telecommuters. Meade attempts to motivate readers to take the company initiative by convincing employers that telecommuting is a beneficial alternative for both employer and employee. Meade's tone is light and humorous while covering a lot of territory. Benefits he discusses include time flexibility and freedom, coziness (there's no place like home!), informality, less interruptions, and no commute. However, he doesn't discount the pitfalls, such as choas caused at home, loneliness, the inability to separate work space from personal space, and professional jeopardy (out of sight, out of mind). Using many personal testimonials of telecommuters, Meade takes the prospective commuter through the process of becoming a telecommuter. First, he asks the reader to take a test to see if he has the kind of personality or job type that is compatible with telecommuting. The next step is convincing the boss. This is where his argument falters. It is hard to imagine a low level data entry clerk approaching her boss about telecommuting if she may not even be allowed to take off five minutes early for lunch. However, his tips for convincing the boss (more productivity, less absenteeism, less overhead) as well as negotiating techniques are well written and comprehensive. One subsection is entitled "Six effective tactics for overcoming bosses' resistance". These include defining flexibility and productivity as employer benefits, developing a work contract ("managers feel more secure if everything is spelled out in a memo"), and using information about competitor's telecommuting programs. It was amusing to read his review of hardware and peripherals.. Although this book was written only four years ago, most of the groundbreaking computer equipment he touts as "musts" are already completely outdated. He recommends the 486 to the 286, although the price is a little prohibitive...Meade also discusses other office equipment needed: fax machines, copiers, and telephones equipped with voice mail. The telecommuter, Meade warns, must negotiate upfront what office equipment will be supplied by the company and what must be supplied by the individual. Other issues Meade addresses are the legal ramifications such as workman's compensation, zoning restrictions that prohibit working at home, and taxes. The IRS, according to Meade, is very narrow in its allowances for home office deductions if the individual is actually the employee of a company and not a self-employed consultant. He also discusses the problems associated with perceptions of work and home and stresses the importance of keeping these two spheres as separate as possible. Frequent evaluation is necessary, expecially if the telecommuter is tempted to work long hours because the office is just in the next room. Although Meade's style is redundant and his "if I can, you can, too" attitude beomes a little tedious, I believe this book is a useful tool for the person with the right personality, right job, and right boss to become a telecommuter. More important, it illuminates many of the reasons that telecommuting is taking a while to catch on.
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