TechCommGeekMom

Many companies have embraced flexibility in the workplace, either through scheduling, laid back dress code or allowing remote work. However, a recent surge of big companies taking a step back on allowing employees to work from home is bucking that trend.

Source: They Want You Back: A Push Against Remote Employees

The IEEE seems to have a lot of good articles out this week about the topic.  I think the paragraph in this that struck me the most was this:

Managers note that remote work allows employees to set their own hours and work style, which can hinder progress if everyone’s not on the clock at the same time.  Set meeting times and offices with open floor plans are intimidating to those employees that are used to working in solitude at home, research shows. Striking a balance is key, but an obstacle for sure.

How is that so different that working in an office, but working with other branches or global offices around the world? I’ve worked with European companies whereby people got up very early in the morning in the US to accommodate a meeting, or someone in Europe stayed a little late at work. I used to have early morning meetings with India with someone who would conduct our meetings from home. Or heck, just within the US, we have four time zones to content with. How is that so different whether you are in the office or at home? And don’t even get me started on the open floor plans. I’ll just say that I see them as a writer’s nightmare.

The problem is that most managers don’t know how to find that balance. This is something that needs to be addressed in the corporate world.  We’ve become a world that lives to work, and not work to live.  That’s not right. If you enjoy your job, that’s fine, but there’s more to life and more to who you are than your job.

What do you think? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom

If telecommuting is off the benefit table, what can job seekers ask for instead?

Source: Are You Flexible? Flextime Schedules are Growing in Popularity

While most people know that I’m a huge advocate for remote work, I also advocate flexible schedules. I’ve been fortunate enough that in most cases in my career, I’ve been able to benefit from this, even before I was married and had my son.  I’ve always been an 8-4 person rather than a 9-5 person. I always want to beat the traffic by a little bit, and have most of the evening to myself. I think these hours reflect most of my school hours as a kid, which just always stuck with me. Sure, there’s been some variations, but I don’t remember too many instances where I actually worked from 9-5 in my entire life.

Just like remote work, there are many positions that can benefit from this kind of flexible work schedule. It helps so many people find that work-life balance as they care for their families and themselves! In some instances, it’s also better in certain departments, as that way there’s longer continuity during the day. I remember when I started my career MANY years ago as a consumer relations representative. We had people come in for the 7-3 shift, an 8-4 shift, a 9-5 shift, and a 10-6 shift. This way, during the main hours, we were fully manned, yet we could be manned during most business hours for most American time zones.  Most customer services places have it stretched out even more, depending on the business.  Even the last job I had in an office was one where I was allowed to work from 8-4, and that way I could get home at a reasonable hour before the worst of the traffic hit, and be home for my family.

Read this article, and include your comments below as to what you think about this kind of work arrangement. Is this a compromise for those who want to work remotely, but can’t for whatever reason? I think in some instances (not all), it could be.

–TechCommGeekMom

Ageism is forcing some to look outside Silicon Valley, but tech hubs offer little respite

Source: Ageism is forcing many to look outside Silicon Valley, but tech hubs offer little respite

Tom Aldous of The Content Era posted this article on his Facebook page, and it seems to flesh out an important topic of what’s ailing the tech industry, including technical communications. If you had read the comment thread to this on Tom’s posting, it seemed to be that the sentiment of some that most older workers are not willing to learn new things, and are often “riding out the latest tech craze” until retirement.  But there were others in the thread–including myself–that disagreed with that.  Tom’s commentary, which was correct, was that no matter what age you are at, you have to constantly challenge yourself to stay current and relevant; otherwise, you are bound to have problems.  Several of us who make up Baby Boomers and GenX alike feel that we do our best to learn things, and we’re always eager to learn more, and yet, the opportunities are still not always there.

Despite what this article says that ageism is an issue–and it is–there’s another problem going on as well. That’s the fact that from my experience, especially recently, employers want “unicorns”–something that’s rare, and in some cases, unreal. They want someone who can do it all. For example, there’s a great position that’s nearby me for a large publishing house that requires a technical writer and content strategist who understands DITA. Since DITA is not a big thing down here, and I’ve been working on my DITA skills, it sounded great–until I looked at the rest of the requirements. Perhaps I’m in my own la-la land, but they also wanted someone who understood VBA and Xquery/Regular Expressions, among other things. Well, that’s web developer stuff, so unless you’ve done web development before, you’re not going to have that skill. I asked my husband how hard VBA and Xquery was–could I learn it? He said sure, but it’d take a while. But he also looked at the job description and questioned it. Do they want a technical communicator, or a web developer? Maybe in California, they finding people with both skillsets might be a dime a dozen, but in Central New Jersey where it’s mostly pharmaceuticals and finance, you’re not going to find a person with both of those skillsets, and if you do, they are a…unicorn. They are a rarity. I know this position has been open for several months. But they aren’t the only employer in the area that is like this, and it makes for a frustrating time looking for new opportunities.  I’m sure I’m not alone in this.

There are lots of very experienced people out there who can do the work, do it well, and can learn. Nobody wants to teach anymore. I understand wanting as little ramp-up time as possible bringing someone in, but it’s not realistic from what I can tell from my own experiences. Nobody wants to mold employees anymore. They just want cloned worker bees, and we aren’t that. We are people–individuals who bring a plethora of experiences and insights, and learning capabilities.

So, how do we get tech employers to a) stop with the ageism, and b) stop looking for unicorns? I don’t have any answers for that. Do you? Include your comments below.

As companies gear up to hire new talent, and re-examine their benefits, work-from-home (“telecommuting”, “WFH”) falls stage front and center once

Source: Why Work from Home Doesn’t Work? Culture and Cognitive Bias. | Kunal Kerai | Pulse | LinkedIn

I think almost everybody knows I’m a big WFH advocate, because I’ve done it, and done it successfully. I actually work better as WFH employee contractor.  One thing that I think this article misses out on, because once again, the millennials and Gen Z are spoken about most, is Gen X.  We’re at a point where if anyone wants the work-life balance, it’s us! We’re the ones who still have kids in school, but have put in our time as office employees. We still have many years to still work, and yet we’re expected to have the energy and commitments (which are significantly less) than someone half our age.  I definitely feel there’s a cultural and cognitive bias against WFH, and I don’t get it. I really don’t. Some jobs, yes, you need to be there. Scientists, teachers, any kind of laborers, yes. But technical communicators? Not as much.

This is an interesting article that looks at the phenomenon of why, in this age of global digital communication, that we still don’t have more WFH positions or companies that advocate for it.

What do you think? Include your comments below.

 

This summer has been a bit crazy for me already.  I’ve been busy, but not busy, if that makes sense.  Between work-related things and things going on at home, I’ve kept busy. In other words, life is getting in the way, but I manage.

I was wonderfully surprised to receive notification that my proposal was accepted for the TCUK (Technical Communication – UK) Conference hosted by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC).  The conference will be held in Nottingham, UK in late September.  You can check out their conference site for more information.

I’m looking forward to going, as I rarely get to go to conferences outside of the U.S., and enjoy hearing from European perspectives on content and technical communications. Not that it’s all that drastically different from American or Canadian perspectives that I’m used to hearing–at least professionally, but how they come to the similar conclusions can be different since corporate culture can be a little different.  I’m also hoping that I’ll finally meet some of the people that I’ve only known through social media over the years. I see this as a great networking opportunity, too. You can never meet too many technical communicators, especially when you live in an area that have so few! I’m excited to be going to the UK, as I haven’t been there in over twenty years, and it’s one of my most favorite countries.

So, I will be ready and armed with my presentation (and perhaps a spoon), and looking forward to learning some new information, and meeting old and new friends.

Will you be going to TCUK 2017? Let me know in the comments!