Survey says more companies offering teleworking, but which ones and who's doing it?

about little things going on and potential clients; things like that. Chris [Shipley] and our CEO have to make a concerted effort to contact me about new information, etc. so some of that camaraderie is missing. However, with all the Web 2.0 technology like Twitter and Skype, it's easier to maintain.

I've been teleworking since 2001, and you definitely have to be a certain type of personality to make it work. It's great, but it can be a little lonely, and you are never away from work.

It has so much flexibility on the other end, especially for working moms, which makes it ideal. I can pick up my children from school/daycare and work around their activities.

Jennifer: It wasn't difficult to do the work; once I got set up with a couple of computers and screens all over my desk, two phone lines, a fast printer and direct-to-the-office DSL modem, it was about the same as being there in terms of work-related productivity. In many ways I was more productive because I didn't get distracted by the hallway conversations. In some ways I was more out of the loop, of course. If I had been doing more high-profile projects, or projects involving more people, it would have been very difficult. I think by taking a telecommuting assignment, I sort of limited my ability for advancement, as the high-profile projects involved too much daily interaction. But I was looking to scale back on projects at the time of the assignment anyway, so that was no big deal.

The difficult part was getting away from work. When I worked at the office, even though I would often stay there until 9 or 10 pm, when I came home I was home. But when my office was in my home, I never could get away from it, working late at night and sometimes all night, very often.

Would you take another job that involved teleworking?

Carla: I wouldn't take anything other than that at this point. I said that before I even joined Guidewire.

Jennifer: Yes, but I would try to do more planning as far as how many projects I would accept, and be more realistic about deadlines and how much time it was really going to take. This is just an aspect of my own personality, not of telecommuting at all.

Would you take a job now that didn't offer telecommuting as an option?

Carla: No, and I said that before I even signed on with Guidewire. I'd consider a co-working environment to combat some of the loneliness, but I don't think I could ever work in an office again. I've grown too used to making my own work schedule.

Jennifer: If it was local, and I could get to the office via bicycle or public transportation, yes absolutely. I am in fact looking for that sort of job.

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