Jeremy Wickins

Sheffield, UK

Researcher, Biometrics and Social Exclusion

My wife and I love the choice. I'm doing a PhD, and teach for two universities. I can do most of my research from home, and I also field most student queries by e-mail: the discipline of writing down a query is good for them, and often answers their own question.

Also, because I'm good and kind, I answer e-mail queries every day, which means a better service than the "office hour". However, close to exam times, and when marking, I tend to use the office - more student need a bit of face-to-face reassurance, and marking tends to use acres of desk space.

Also, the cat-menace is reduced - sick on a computer is one thing, sick on an exam paper is another!! However, the biggest advantage is being able to choose when to go to the office if I need to - I can often miss the busiest times, unless I'm scheduled for the dreaded 9am seminar!

My wife also works for two universities, one nearby, the other -two hours away by car or three-and-a-half by train (public transport - wonderful, innit?!). WFH means that she only needs to make the journey once a fortnight or so, saving a fortune in travel and reducing load on the transport system.

I can't understand why more people don't do this. Okay, it takes a certain change of attitude, and, as illustrated in the article, when you first start there are all sorts of problems that you never thought of, but if WFH became normal many of these issues would become routine, and therefore either a) easy to deal with, or b) non-existent, because there would be an easy method to set up a computer.

I could go on, but I won't, other than to say that WFH is a good thing - try it if you can!