Working from home - 'don't wear slippers'

Following silicon.com's great working from home experiment - in which the editorial team left the office for the day - readers have been letting us know about their experiences and offering their advice.

The majority are very much in favour of working from home (WFH).

silicon reader Chris Tolmie said: "WFH is great from time to time. It allows for catching up on key projects, saves fuel, saves space and saves time. I should do it more often."

John Smith, a computer programmer, said: "I decided I wanted to leave my last IT post as I was fed up with the daily commute and restrictions working had placed on my life. I now work from home. I work when I want to... and I don't get interrupted all the time by telephone calls and emails."

He added: "I think people who work in IT should get the chance to do it. I can program just as well at home as I can in the office and I am a lot happier!"

Jeremy Wickins said: "I can't understand why more people don't do this... WFH is a good thing - try it if you can!"

silicon.com reader and IT sales manager Chris Down said advances in WFH technology have been huge but also a mixed blessing.

WFH - all the coverage

♦ The great working from home experiment
♦ Leader: What can we learn from working at home?
♦ Top 10 tips for working from home
♦ Upwardly Mobile: There's no workplace like home
♦ Lawyers warn of working from home pitfalls

He said: "Everything has become far more immediate and my working day tends to be more eight-to-six than nine-to-five."

Top tips for those considering making the move to working from home also came flooding in.

One reader said you must have a fast internet connection, "otherwise working from home will be more frustrating all round".

He added: "Also try and have some work you can do offline without the need to connect to the internet."

Another reader offered advice on how to manage the sometimes overwhelming number of phone calls, emails and instant messages from colleagues: "So as not to be constantly checking email and voice mail, I let people know I will check it hourly. If there is an emergency, they can page me."

Digital media consultant Rob said: "Make sure you get dressed. Another little thing I do is not wear anything like slippers or such like. Make sure you separate yourself from house lounging mode."