On the (un)importance of cubicles, telecommuting, et al...

How important is it, or how attached are we, to a cubicle? I've always asked myself that question, though I never really sit down and formulate my thoughts on that. The article in NYTimes today, on the rethinking of office workspace and cubicles, comes quite timely. I might as well add a few thoughts on that.

I've been telecommuting for more than eight years now, long before telecommuting becomes hot topic, work/life balance a vogue, and offshoring of work becomes prevalent. Most people express such envy for me when they hear how I can organize my work and life with much more ease.

I must say, the kind of flexibility is really valuable, particularly if one has kids at home. As long as the work is task- and goal-oriented, it should be relatively easy to allow workers to switch to telecommuting. Afterall, there is little point for companies to waste money in real estate, tie up the space, tie down the workers to the assigned cubes, and do the work that they could well have done anywhere else. It saves money, and it makes sense. Or so we thought...

But things do not always turn out so easily. My telecommuting path hasn't taken such straightforward path. Even though my work has always been task- and goal-oriented, the management of my last employer didn't let anyone telecommute. The office was quiet as graveyard (since little interaction is needed) since no one needed to collaborate often in order to get their job done. Everyone could have turned themselves into Dilbert and work at home in their pajamas. But the old-fashioned management wants to see bodies physically at their desk whenever they want by (even though it rarely happened). It doesn't make sense.

Having telecommuted for so long, I must say, I enjoy the flexibility, but I miss my cube. Even though I don't need to interact with others much while I'm doing my work, I still like to feel - yes, to feel - that I'm part of a larger community. For a long time, even though I telecommute, I still maintain my cube at work, albeit rarely used. My cube is my last hanging thread with a physical community that I used to call office. But since my telecommuter work status is officiated, I have given up my cube. The good thing is, I don't need to force myself to go back to office for a few days a month for no good reason. The bad (or good too) thing is, everything is now virtual. I do my work whenever I want, as long as I get it done, as per schedule.

Yes, that is quite quite nice. When kids are sick and have to stay home, or I need to attend PTO meeting for school, or when cars need to go to repair shop, or when I need to pop out to some grocery or run errands, or if I simply need to take a power nap, and some such, I can easily squeeze that into my day, and continue doing my work at night. I can get to continue building my career without sacrificing my family or personal life.

But - and there's always a but - I'm always on. Even though I don't need to be around, 24 x 7, I feel the compelling need to be online for work purpose. It's as if I feel the need to show others that, yes, apart from my assigned work, I can do more. Yes, it's all psychological. Telecommuters feel the need to justify their existence. In this day and age, when work can easily have been done 50 times cheaper by some no-name guy in India or China or Russia, the feeling of job insecurity is palpable.

Naturally, having a cube is definitely no guarantee any job security at all. But like I said, it's all psychological. It's as if the cube justifies our own existence. If you want to telecommute, you'd better be darn sure of your own self-worth. If you are an insecure person to start with, I can tell you that you won't feel good telecommuting at all, losing that opportunity to connect to someone and something physically.

Coming back to the topic of workspace, do I really miss my cubicle? Deep down, I know I still do. Cubicles (and rooms) are one very physical and powerful way to measure one's importance in the company's hierarchy. If I get my window or corner cube or room, if I get a cube or room twice the size of the guy next to me, I know instantly where I am in the pecking order. When everything is virtual in a telecommuting world, there's no way for you to tell, unless you're very sure of where you stand, in the large scheme of things.

So, while everyone's complaining about their cubes, and how they're tied down to it, they should be careful of what they ask for. Once you become virtual, your employer can get rid of you much more easily (as long as the next guy can pick up whatever work you're doing). That next guy can be in India, or China, or Ukraine, or Philippines, or Chile.