The great working from home experiment

It's said working from home can be good for productivity, the environment and work/life balance. Work Wise, an initiative set up to encourage the UK to adopt smarter working practices, has been cheerleading the benefits during Work Wise Week - culminating in the second annual work from home day last Friday. silicon.com got on board, banishing the entire editorial team from the office for the whole day.

With two reporters out on the road following stories, not everyone was working from home but working remotely was the order of the day - all silicon.com employees were aiming to work as if in the office without actually setting foot in the building.

It's something we've only ever done once before. While many of the silicon.com team regularly work from home or while on the road, we've only ever once had to run the website with everyone out of the office - on 8 July 2005, after the London bombings. So how did the experiment go?

silicon.com is extraordinarily fond of IM and it's our remote communication tool of choice. Without a commute to look forward to, I decided to log in half an hour earlier than normal - and I wasn't the only one. Perhaps equally relieved at Tube-dodging or just expecting early technical hitches, several of my colleagues were also already online.

It's a wise move, as we find ourselves unable to access our email list management program via the SSL VPN we typically use (routed via San Francisco). After several IM conversations between the team, managing editor Sylvia is able to get access via CNET's German VPN and we manage to send our daily newsletter - arguably one of the most important tasks of the day - at the same time we would if we were all at our desks.

Sylvia tackles VPN problems

Early start of the day goes to editor-at-large Will Sturgeon: "I'm awake anyway so I log on and check a few emails. Normally at this time I'd be getting ready to leave for work myself but I'm able to get an early start and get lots done before other people start popping up online. Also, with such an early start under my belt I won't feel (too) guilty watching a bit of the test match on TV later and getting out to do a quick food shop down the supermarket."

We're also able to hold our daily 10AM news meeting via IM conference at the same time, with most team members checking in from home and reporter Gemma Simpson logging on from an Earl's Court Starbucks using a T-Mobile hotspot for connectivity and a blueberry muffin for sustenance.

Gemma working from Starbucks

For sub-editor Natasha Lomas, remote working means a rare chance to attend the news meeting as she's normally travelling in to the office at that time. The virtual confab is a more stilted affair - IM etiquette means constant pauses as team members don't want to start 'talking' over each other and put less detail into pitching stories. "Virtual banter doesn't quite work but we gave it a good go," Natasha says.

Tech problems crop up in the background. News editor Steve Ranger reports missing email and slower than average connection as he's using a 3G card for internet access. He adds that his cat Jack is also hampering his working efforts by sitting on his arm - not normally a problem in our Southwark offices. Editor Tony Hallett is also having Outlook access problems and a crashing laptop, while Sylvia's best efforts to set up her MacBook for remote access have hit speed bumps. In the office a quick call to tech support would have solved the problem but WFH means Sylvia will have to wait til next week to get her laptop set up.

Steve's workplace hazard

By late morning though, most of the team are surprised at how efficiently the system is working - ubiquitous high speed access is treating them well and the VPN is co-operating and, one team member informs me, the cricket is remaining watchable. Chief reporter Andy McCue logs off to meet a CIO contact. The venue is nearer to his home than the office so he's pleased to have saved himself time on the journey, meaning he can afford to spend longer talking to Betfair's CTO, Rorie Devine. He's also able to fit in dessert, apparently.

WFH also means many members of the team choose to spend their lunch hours differently. Natasha meets a friend and checks out the connectivity on offer at her local library (free wi-fi). Tony finds time for the gym, Will for the supermarket. Several others choose to work through their lunchtime - not a common occurrence in the office.

Natasha's home office

Reporter Tim Ferguson is out with mapping company Tele Atlas but checks in with a couple of text messages, letting us know how the article is going.

Gemma comes back online after attending an event and once again finds a coffee shop with excellent wi-fi. It looks like the franchise has worked out people often stop for a surf and some caffeine but it seems they don't want them to stay long: tiny, laptop-unfriendly tables and uncomfy seats - not to mention a distinct lack of plug sockets - mean Gemma is soon off in search of a better remote-working venue. She ends up in another coffee shop, once again paying through the nose for overpriced wi-fi and no plug socket. Her laptop eventually runs out of battery, meaning our IM umbilical cord is cut.

Tony encounters tech problems

As the day draws to a close, some members of the team have had enough of IMs and are beginning to miss actually talking to their colleagues. "Sometimes WFH feels more hectic to me than working in the office - especially if I'm trying to keep track of what other team members are doing or hold any sort of meeting," said Sylvia. "Then IM and chat conferences really fail and leave me feeling out of control and out of the loop."

Will also reports a frustrating experience with poor sound quality for a conference call, while others find friends and family members more willing to interrupt the working day in a way they wouldn't dream of if we were in the office.

Others, however, find they're freed up from unnecessary interruptions. Tony believes WFH is his most productive time of the week.

Shortly before we all log off, Tim logs on after finishing his day with Tele Atlas - WFH means more flexibility not only in location but in timing, allowing us to timeshift our day if we need to. Sylvia sums it up: "It's true what they say - I start earlier and work later when I WFH. But I also cut out an hour-and-a-half in commuting time so I don't mind. I'm sure my boss doesn't mind either."

Tim checks in