This is in Canada :)

I work with project managers and business analysts across our company who work the same way. Employee engagement is measured by a third party yearly and is tied into our executive leadership teams performance metrics. Also my performance bonus is tied in part to our customers likelihood to recommend our services to their friends and family.

This may be an isolated case, but it's proof that you can have a large faceless corporation bent on market domination and still have a great working environment.

I am part of a large telco (13k+ employees). I work from home, have a Blackberry and check my email religiously. I am not penalized for turning the BB off for the weekend if need be however, putting out that fire on Sat means my Monday is free for drinks on the patio. I prefer to manage my own time and not have weekends forced upon me.

I am not required to work on a weekend and there is no expectation to do so. But taking care of something when I have free time almost always means I can make that time up later. I have been in this role several years now and I feel my employer has consistently supported a good work/life balance.

Granted, that is probably the exception. Not the rule.

A few years back while doing Tier 2 level support for a major Canadian telco, I started seeing overheating alarms from some Nokia DSLAM's. The odd thing was that it was -40C outside at the time. It turns out the fan's on these DSLAM's froze solid and the devices thought they where overheating and throwing alams left right and centre. We had to put a tarp over them with a heater during the winter to make sure they kept going.

There are alot of variables here that may affect how well this will work for you. Are you required to be at a computer most of the time? Available for meetings at a moments notice? I have been doing this a while and this is what I have learned thus far:
- Family are difficult co-workers. Keep boundries but also keep things flexible. That's half the fun of working at home. The abillity to help out the wife / take a break with the kids, etc... Don't try and keep an imaginary wall that only exists between 9 and 5, if you do you may as well have gone into the office.
- I take frequent breaks to keep myself sane.
- Dont try to make your home the office. Make your area comfortable, I would rather the cubicle be in the office than in my house.
- You will feel like you're not as productive for a bit at the beginning, that is normal. Keep track of your progress and wait for your work to speak for itself.


Hope that helps,
Nick