Garland Group Blog

ROWE Perceptions

July 8, 2009 Brad

We spend a lot of time talking about the negative ‘work-only’ effects of a ROWE environment (AKA sludge) but what’s interesting is the sludge we didn’t expect. My audio post expands on that. Love to hear your thoughts!

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  • Heath

    You said it best.
    Your time is whatever you want to do with it. That is the essence of ROWE.
    However, I was a little mindful to only get with Mark if I absolutely needed to while he was in Tahoe.
    Maybe it is best that way…have some time between vacation (not available at all) and ‘at work’ where we are basically available whenever.

  • Heath

    You said it best.
    Your time is whatever you want to do with it. That is the essence of ROWE.
    However, I was a little mindful to only get with Mark if I absolutely needed to while he was in Tahoe.
    Maybe it is best that way…have some time between vacation (not available at all) and ‘at work’ where we are basically available whenever.

  • Denis

    Regarding “what is vacation in a ROWE”, I think that if I am ROWEing in another city or different local location, then no one should think twice about contacting me. My position on this point is my availability is the same as a normal ROWE work day.
    But there will be times when I will take vacation. Then, my family will have my undivided attention. (with the exception of an emergency, which can also occur in the reverse scenario).
    These are my thoughts. It is good to have these discussions – to work out expectations.

  • Denis

    Regarding “what is vacation in a ROWE”, I think that if I am ROWEing in another city or different local location, then no one should think twice about contacting me. My position on this point is my availability is the same as a normal ROWE work day.
    But there will be times when I will take vacation. Then, my family will have my undivided attention. (with the exception of an emergency, which can also occur in the reverse scenario).
    These are my thoughts. It is good to have these discussions – to work out expectations.

  • http://thegarlandgroup.net/ Brad J Garland

    Absolutely Denis. That’s why we have decided to modify the true ROWE environment a bit and still have vacation days for those ‘off the grid’ times. The main issue, if there really is one, is knowing when those ‘off the grid’ times occur and I’d say it’s a personal choice, your choice.

    For example, I’m technically ‘off the grid’ this week for my vacation but I chose not to be because I know its not that big of a deal to my family to check in a few minutes each day but again, that’s the decision we made.

  • http://thegarlandgroup.net Brad J Garland

    Absolutely Denis. That’s why we have decided to modify the true ROWE environment a bit and still have vacation days for those ‘off the grid’ times. The main issue, if there really is one, is knowing when those ‘off the grid’ times occur and I’d say it’s a personal choice, your choice.

    For example, I’m technically ‘off the grid’ this week for my vacation but I chose not to be because I know its not that big of a deal to my family to check in a few minutes each day but again, that’s the decision we made.

  • http://beta.thegarlandgroup.net/ Mark

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  • http://www.thegarlandgroup.net Mark

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