I have thought a lot about the nature of work – I expected work as we know it to change along with the digital revolution we have experienced in the last decade (and more).
The whole concept of home-based, remote, virtual telecommuting seemed like a given – like technology would offer up this previously impossible flexibility. Unfortunately technology has far outpaced the modernization process of much of the corporate world. Perhaps I was spoiled working in tech companies that eventually enabled an almost 100-percent work-at-home arrangement. Moving into a much slower, older, commodity-driven, old-fashioned company, I have time-warped back to 1998. Not just in that remote work is a bit frowned on but also in that the simple tech problems that were just being overcome for the everyday office work (e.g. not having enough space to save a file on your own computer) are still actual everyday problems. It’s an environment in which IT is something rambled about and elevated in theory only without actually baking it into everything we are doing.
And it’s frustrating. Doing business this way is stupid and slow.
But on a personal level, it is killing me.I am a more organized and prolifically productive person when working from my home office – it’s what I am used to.
If anyone knows of a company (preferably in Oslo) that needs a writer/marketing communications person (among other related talents) and will allow for working at home four days a week, I will always come in on the fifth day with LOADS OF COOKIES. And of course loads of cookies/baked stuff for the person who can give me the winning suggestion.
