Reverse Telecommuting

There are so many new words being birthed by the changing workplace.  Words like “googling” as a verb, electronic immigrants, prairie dogging, ohnosecond, blamestorming, seagull manager, chainsaw consultant, flight risk, assmosis, uninstalled, and cube farm.

We all understand the term “telecommuting” – when you have work from the office to complete at home.  How about the opposite of that – “reverse telecommuting.”  This is the commonplace practice of bringing personal work to the office. It’s no secret a whole lot of time is spent with employees paying personal bills, making personal phone calls, making flight arrangements, medical and social appointments, reading online newspapers, updating FaceBook, and texting family members – all on company time.

Arguably, some of these can only be handled during normal work hours, but how much is acceptable?  According to a recent survey by Salary.com, the average worker admits to frittering away 2.09 hours per 8-hour workday, not including lunch and scheduled break-time.  Yes, companies assume a certain amount of wasted time when they determine employee pay.  However, the survey indicates employees are wasting about twice as much time as their employers expect.  Estimates are that employers are spending $769 billion per year on salaries for which real work was expected, but not actually performed.

Would you be willing to be paid for results only, rather than for time spent in the office?  Would that increase or decrease your compensation?

Show me the money – in my paycheck!

Here’s a question I received a couple of days ago:

“Dan – I work for a large corporation and have recently applied for a new position. The person in this position before me has the same credentials as I do and about the same experience. They have offered me the position for about $5,500.00 less than what was being paid to the previous person.  What do you think is the best way to handle this situation?”

 Here are some guidelines:

Pay is NOT based on:

• Your age
• Your previous salary (or the previous salary for the position)
• Your degrees
• Your work history
• The amount of your mortgage payment
• How long you’ve been unemployed
• Whether you’re married or single

The only criteria for determining your value is:

• Your unique value and level of responsibility

 The biggest mistake people make in negotiating salary is:

• To discuss it too soon

 Check sites like Salary.com to see a realistic range

I just want security and great pay

I’m reviewing tons of coaching requests today – trying to catch up and make the appropriate referrals.  In the information profiles I saw things like this:

I have been a professional interior designer for 29 years, since I got out of college.  ….. There are NO, repeat NO interior design opportunities in Miami, Florida…… Interior design is a luxury.  It is the first thing to go in a market like this.

And this:

I work as a waiter/bartender with uncertain and varying hours. I make minimum wage plus tips. I grabbed the first job I could get because of the economic conditions in our area. I do this job to keep the lights on and food on the coffee table, nothing more.

So I took a break for lunch.  First I stopped at the post office.  In leaving I said to the guy behind the counter, “Have a great day.”  He replied, “I would but I have to stay here.”  My next stop was Home Depot.  When I got to the check-out I cheerfully asked the gentleman there, “How’s your day going?”  He responded quickly, “It’ll be great in about 4 hours.”

How can any of these people expect to be at their best?  To be seen as making a valuable contribution to those organizations?  Yet I also see that the guy who took the job to keep the lights on, nothing more, saying:  “I want to see my hard work pay off quickly and get me promoted/noticed in weeks or months, not years. I like to see results right away.”

Now I’m going to go jump in my Mercedes for a little spin.  I think I’ll even put the top down because I deserve the best it can offer.  If it fires right up and gives me a thrilling ride, then I may decide to put a little gas in the tank – but not before.  It’s the American way.