Profiles in Teleworking, Debra Haslam: new teleworker enjoys keeping tabs on her grandkids

Since the release of the MSIS Teleworking guidelines in April, several MSIS’ers have been taking advantage of working remotely and some have blogged about it (including Drew Montag and Jack Kufahl). “Profiles in Teleworking” is part of a new series where we check in to see how things are going for both our newer and established MSIS teleworkers.

What is your primary reason for Teleworking?

My son and his family live in Fort Myers, Florida and my daughter lives in Southern Shores (Outer Banks "OBX"), North Carolina. They work full time and my grandsons (4 and 6) are in school all day. I wanted to spend quality time with them and teleworking from their locations was the best way for me to spend time with them on evenings and weekends. Instead of using vacation days for a visit when I would be alone most of the day, I used my vacation time to travel from Michigan to OBX, and from OBX to Fort Myers and back. By incorporating telework into the schedule, I was able to take a week's vacation to spend with the boys between their school year ending and sports camp beginning. I also was able to spend some quality time with the extended family members who live in the area. 

Debra's Teleworking Set-Up

What are the advantages?

The primary advantage is specific to my personal situation as I was able to spend extended amounts of quality time with my family while still being able to work. I love my job and if I didn’t have the opportunity to telework, I would have had little time with the family. Overall, this was a “quality of life” issue for me, and it was “the best of both worlds” -- time with my family and being able to continue working doing what I love to do.

By being out of the office, I was more organized, and more conscious of “perceptions” and found that I was able to positively build and nurture collaborative relationships in a different way. When in the office, very few of my interactions were through face-to-face meetings because of the location of the business owners, product owners, and the technical support teams. By incorporating Blue Jeans and Google Docs into scheduled meetings, I feel that I am learning to develop a remote camaraderie in a more meaningful way than when there are the ad-hoc interactions.

Overall, I feel that I am more relaxed and productive. I think partially it may be because I am not involved in the “office drama” as it happening and focus more on what I need to get accomplished.  

What are the disadvantages?

Both of my children live in areas that are considered “vacation locations,” so I found that I had to overcome the perceptions that I was “laying out on the beach”, and enjoying myself without really working. After having conference calls and Skype Chats with colleagues, the perceptions changed. 

Debra enjoys Mother's Day with her daughter
in North Carolina

By not being in the office, you become somewhat disconnected with the team(s), but not necessarily individuals. A down-side is that you are not included in the ad-hoc discussions that take place in the office, but at the same time, all interactions are focused on problem solving, or sharing information which I find to be beneficial. 

You have to make an extra effort to reach out to individuals you may not have a current business reason to be in contact. You see each other in the office and may chat, whereas, you either have to schedule time or reach out on a regular basis to “keep in touch.”  

I had to make a conscious effort to get up and move around on a regular basis since all of my interactions were computer based. 

What “home comfort” has meant the most to you?

I feel extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to be able to continue to work for a Department in which I am passionate about supporting the mission for the Medical School, and feel that I am a valued, contributing member, while being able to spend quality time with my family in their daily lives. 

I have to say kudos to my daughter and son, and especially my daughter-in-law as I stayed in their homes for the extended stay.  Everyone was extremely gracious and, although, we all enjoyed the time together, I know that having your mother / mother-in-law stay in your home for a month is disruptive. However, I did find that the boys didn’t want me to leave, and everyone wanted me to be closer all of the time. The opportunity has been “priceless.”

Debra celebrates Memorial Day with her son (who is a pilot)
and grandsons at Lee Count Mosquito Control