Up at 5AM: The 5AM Solutions Blog

As telecommuting has grown in popularity across many industries, working from home is something that many of us 5AMers do at least part of the time. It sounds just about perfect: Work somewhat flexible hours, wherever you want, wearing what you want, and listening to whatever you want. Plus, the rush hour commute from my bedroom to my office could make anyone jealous! These "occupational hazards" of the telecommuter might sound lighthearted, but in all reality, they can (and do) make a huge impact on the economy, the environment, and individual worker productivity. Last April, Inc.com published an article on telecommuting statistics with some impressive numbers as reported by the Telework Research Network. Some highlights of the estimated benefits of working from home - if 40% of our workforce were to telecommute at least half of the time during a one year period - included:

• $200 Billion
 in productivity gains by American companies
• $190 Billion
 savings from reduced real estate expenses, electricity bills, absenteeism, and employee turnover
• 100 hours 
per person not spent commuting
• 50 Million tons
 of greenhouse gas emissions cut
• 276 Million barrels 
of oil saved - Roughly 32% of oil imports from the Middle East
• 1,500 lives
 not lost in car accidents
• $700 Billion 
total estimated savings to American businesses

Not mentioned in the list is another figure: Approximately 80% of diseases are shown in some studies to be triggered by stress. 80%. Granted, working from home is work like any other, and is not without unique challenges, but eliminating the commute itself, commuting expenses, forced encounters with unpleasant coworkers (ha! in fact where improptu collaboration and inspiration arises), and separation issues with children or other family members requiring care surely help temper the stress level of the telecommuter. Aside from that, not dining out for lunch, keeping time that would have been lost on the road (allowing for more meals cooked in the home) and not going to after work happy hours, in theory, all cut down on the potential for additional unhealthy choices.

Over the time that I have spent telecommuting, I have come to realize that working from home, with all the flexibility and relative lack of occupational stress could potentially relax some individuals too much. It is very easy to sit at the desk in your home office, or at the kitchen table, and work in a pair of sweats or PJs all day. By dinner time, going to the gym (or anywhere else) can start to sound like a true inconvenience. Plus, there is always something else that needs to be worked on - and the home office is never truly closed. So to some degree, working from home can foster the feeling that your work is never done. Not having the black and white structure of 8am to 5pm can mean that the telecommuter workday might end up being 9am until 10pm, or even 10am until midnight. If you are not self-aware, the line between home and office blurs, and personal time and work time blend together. This can be a serious challenge.

I have heard about this problem from many peers, and the identified solution is often the same: Structure and self-discipline. At 5AM, we believe that we are privileged to be a critical part of an industry that has the capacity to change the human condition for the better. Two of our mantras are “Be Good” and “Do Well.” These simple yet multi-dimensional messages don’t just pertain to our business skills and ethics, but are also relevant on a personal level. I want to benefit the human condition through my research, projects, and work. But I also want to "Be Good" and "Do Well" for myself, too. I have come to realize that working from home doesn’t have to lead to a sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle without work-life boundaries. To the contrary, by design it allows for more potential hours in the day to be a healthier, happier person - and a more productive and creative employee. The key is in exercising that potential. I have recently dedicated myself to the task of applying some of those estimated 100 hours saved by not commuting to some early morning gym classes. I will be starting my days earlier, and adding a healthy amount of structure, so that I will feel more energized and can optimize my productivity across the board (...and maybe even have an official end of the day once in a while).

I tweet infrequently, I dabble in Facebook, but LinkedIn is a habit. My addiction started soon after receiving my first invite to connect more than seven years ago. On more than one evening I’ve stayed up way too late looking up past colleagues and classmates, seeing where their career has taken them and uncovering mutual acquaintances. Not long ago I even wrote a Firefox extension to help enter my publications into my profile. And since I’m coming clean, I’m sure the day that my connections surpasses that magical number 500 (at which point LinkedIn gives up counting and simply reports 500+), I’ll throw a small, self-congratulatory party – at least in my head.

Before my family and colleagues stage an intervention, let me make the case for why LinkedIn isn’t a habit that needs breaking, but a valuable tool for the biotech professional. First and foremost, in a field where some people seem to change jobs faster than they change their socks, LinkedIn is now my dynamic and up to date address book to keep in contact with old colleagues. Second, LinkedIn is my online resume and professional presence, important when you’re trying to bring in new clients or land a job. Finally, my professional network is a resource that I can tap for referrals and answers to technical questions. That same network serves as a highly targeted audience to which I can promote interesting tidbits like this blog post… or perhaps something of real value.

LinkedIn is just one service in an ever increasing arsenal of social networking tools – including Twitter and Facebook – that are available to biotech professionals. LinkedIn wasn’t built specifically for researchers/scientists, however, and it’s been very interesting to see sites like Labmeeting, Nature Network and the now defunct SciLink (to name just a few) tailor their services to this niche. These sites bring some nice features to the table, for example allowing scientists to share and collaborate on research. With the addition of Groups and more recently Publications, however, LinkedIn has come a long way in becoming a more useful tool for biotechnologists. Still on my wish list is a deeper and more sophisticated integration of publication data (e.g. creating a parallel network of co-authorship and integration with tools like Mendeley and CiteULike) as well as a richer network model where you can identify folks in your social graph by relations such as “boss”, “co-worker”, “advisor”, etc.

Having had the linking habit for this long, I’ve started to develop some rules of thumb to get the most out of LinkedIn that I thought I would share:

• Tend Your Profile: I once heard Auren Hoffman (RapLeaf CEO and networking guru) say LinkedIn was the way to put your cv online without ticking off your employer. That may be the case, but let’s face it – unless your resume shows up in one of those “how not to write a cv” books, your LinkedIn profile is bound to be seen by a lot more folks than your resume. Keep it polished and current.

• Tend Your Network: What you can do with your network of contacts depends not only on the number of connections you have but the quality of those connections. My rule here comes from dear old Mom – don’t link with strangers. On the flip side, connect soon after meeting while the encounter is still fresh on both minds.

• Be a Groupie: So Groups on LinkedIn are a bit hit or miss. Some are just another avenue for spam, but others can bring together folks with common interests. The good Groups have given me interesting tips or links and others I belong to simply to show a little bit more about my interests and background.

• Watch Your Tells: In poker, a “tell” is a subtle sign that a player makers revealing something about her hand. In LinkedIn, a tell is an action that unintentionally reveals something (secret) about a person or company. When a “random” person suddenly links with multiple folks from a company, they’re probably interviewing there. When you notice that all your friends at Acme Co. have started updating their profiles, things at Acme are likely not going well. If you’re interviewing, working with clients or are just sensitive about public image, think about what information your actions might be giving away.

• Pay it Forward / Random Acts of Recommendation: When someone asks for a referral or introduction, I usually go out of my way to make it happen. I enjoying helping folks make connections and I know that someday I’ll be the one asking. As for recommendations on LinkedIn, I don’t care for being asked for them but I do like giving them to folks that rock without warning or mercy. This is something I need to do more.

As you can see, my addiction is probably not going away any time soon, but if you want to join my support group, I’d love to hear your stories. How are you using social networking for your job?