Working from home.. Where?

[BobSaunders]

Hypothetically as we are becoming more remote working nowadays due to Skype and email..

If you were dedicated to work from home, but needed an airport (within one hour) that flew to major destinations direct - London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, (and connection to) NYC, and Asia.

Where in the EU would you live with a young small family? South coast of Spain? Balearic islands? England? Wales? France?

Fast internet connection and 4G mobile signal is a must! Staying in the EU due to working hours (0700-1900hrs GMT).

[BobSaunders]

SystemParanoia said:

You guy that have managed to become "Digital Nomads" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_nomad )

Are you self employed ? or have you lucked out and managed to find an enlightened employer that isn't stuck in the stone age ?

Enlightened global organisation.

My boss is in the US - i see him once a quarter in Paris or London to get drunk. His boss is in France - i see him once every two months in Paris or London to get drunk. I see my direct team once a quarter in Paris or London to get drunk. And my indirects once a year to get drunk.

They do not care where i am, as long as the work is done.

[BobSaunders]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

Same list and requirements. Except i have a little one.

[BobSaunders]

Sheepshanks said:

BobSaunders said:

Where in the EU would you live with a young small family?

How young - is schooling needed now, or in the near future?

I know many have to get on with it, but just dropping kids into a school can be hard for them.

Six months.

[BobSaunders]

ClaphamGT3 said:

We spend three months of the year based near St Emilio in the Dordogne. 45 minutes to Bordeaux airport and I can be anywhere I need to go in Europe, or hop to Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle or Schiphol for intercontinental

Do you rent for the three months?

[BobSaunders]

RanchoGrande said:

what are these awesome jobs that allow this kind of lifestyle?

I work as a "head of" in a global organisation, my position is in IT security.

[BobSaunders]

It's a matter of employing people that you know are self motivated, enthusiastic, and trustworthy to be able to deliver.

90% of the people through the door at interview time i find are not self motivated or enthusiastic, or i would not trust to work from home.

Anything regarding work using a PC nowadays can be delivered from home.

Skype, email, document collaboration tools, etc. have all made remote running of teams easier.

[BobSaunders]

Shnozz said:

BobSaunders said:

It's a matter of employing people that you know are self motivated, enthusiastic, and trustworthy to be able to deliver.

90% of the people through the door at interview time i find are not self motivated or enthusiastic, or i would not trust to work from home.

Anything regarding work using a PC nowadays can be delivered from home.

Skype, email, document collaboration tools, etc. have all made remote running of teams easier.

I would have thought that with the tech advancements it would also be easy to remotely manage staff with little difference to whether they were sat in an office reading PH all day... surely its relatively measurable in most professions and with connected IT systems, relatively transparent?

That said, I do find that mates of mine who WFH on an occasional basis still very much view it as a skive. Being self-employed I love the flexibility of location and hours, but skiving is of no benefit and holidays are a thing of the past (but then I happily trade 2 weeks on a beach to 52 weeks a year on a beach with a laptop).

I think you have hit the nail on the head with this - "That said, I do find that mates of mine who WFH on an occasional basis still very much view it as a skive".

Yes, it is very much expected that if you get everything done on a friday then you can sign off - but on a tuesday it's a big no no.. you stick your head up and ask for more.... sir.

[BobSaunders]

Announced for us today that by 2020 the entire business will be working from home two days a week. It means that they can seek to reduce property and building needs - smaller buildings only needed for people needing to be there.