Dorm Life with a Paycheck

I recently came across a New York Times article detailing my company's flexible work schedules and plans. I think it is fairly straight on in its descriptions, and it's got me thinking about my overall regard for how we treat workers and workplace flexibility.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/nyregion/31vacation.html?pagewanted=all

Dorm life with a paycheck... that is how I explain my current work arrangements to friends and relatives. It almost feel like graduate school all over again in terms of my daily work. I do take a bath in the morning and I don't go to work in my PJ's in my living room. I do dress up, make breakfast, and still proceed to formally "work" from home. And I love the flexibility I currently have. Although my current employer is just pretty average in terms of salary and medical benefits, the flexibility is unmatched by anything else I've seen out there.

I can meet up with friends for dinner, after they get off from work. I can have lunch in the different neighborhoods of Brooklyn and not having to settle for mediocre and overpriced cafeteria food. I can watch TV while waiting for long and slow Perl scripts to finish running. I can also read my Java, SOA, and whatever technical books on the bed, much like what I did sometimes in grad school!

So there, it does feel like a college dorm rather than real work, except you are getting paid to finish the projects and not just receive a letter grade at the end of the term. I do know other more "mature" telecommuters have their reasons why they prefer to work from home which are different than mine. But then, it works out for me and I'm generally happier with the setup. So does anyone want to have lunch somewhere on 7th Avenue one of these days?