I work from home, that's my benefit and my curse. Most people (even the reader, possibly) assume that because I work from home that I'm sitting at my desk in my underwear drinking a latte with Jeopardy on in the background and when I feel like walking away, I can. This is not an accurate picture--except the underwear, as long as you have a shirt on and your camera framed right, even video calls aren't a hindrance to free air flow.
However, I have found that there are only two types of work-from-home workers. The first is the one that prevents the rest of us from progressing towards the world of "telecommuting": the lazy asshole that works for an hour a day and watches Jeopardy the rest of the time then tries to nail the accelerator the day before the deadline and produces crappy code, if any at all. These guys should be hired as salespeople because they have the best spin lines for why they've accomplished absolutely nothing. The second type--presumably my type--is the type that is so in tune with his work environment being in his home that he doesn't notice the sun went away hours ago, and he's still coding. It's not until his wife or children come into the room and say, "Hey, you haven't eaten for a while, do want me to get you something?" To which you reply, "Umm, maybe. What time is it?" Then, with a tilt of the head, they say, "Saturday."
I don't like the word "telecommuting" by the way, it sounds like you're faxing yourself to your company:
"Sorry everyone, Bob was going to be here for the meeting, but his sister picked up the phone in the middle of his telecommute and he lost his feet." I realize that's only funny if you (a) have ever used dial-up internet, and/or (b) ever used a real fax machine--a technology that should really die, but somehow hasn't.
Working remotely is a phrase I like, but is useless to me because I picture playing an NES style video game where you have to circumnavigate cubicles and hang out around water coolers and bathrooms while trying to do as little work as possible. "Don't get too close to the HR department or you'll lose all your ethical credibility points!"
Honestly, though, the best phrase to describe working from home is working from home. You are at home and you are working. It's not a dirty phrase. The negative connotations will not vanish simply because you've started calling it something else. In the words of George Carlin, "American English is loaded with euphemisms. 'Cause Americans have a lot of trouble dealing with reality."
In short, I work from home and I yield results. I put in more than sixty hours a week; I have days that are just as unproductive as the cubicle jockey's regular day, but most of my days yield solid measurable results. Ask yourself, no matter what you do or what you work on, do you really add value to yourself? I'm not asking if you add value to the company; somehow, there is this magical thing that happens when you can afford to load your office with a 3:20 ratio of super-productive developers and regular human beings--you get value (you wouldn't get the same value with 3:10, or even 1:1, and I'll share my theory of why in a later post). The real question that truly satisfies a real desire in all of us is, can you see companies seeking you out for your abilities? I can and I do and I work from home.
Ok, so I work from home, but now everyone usually wants to know how I did it--because they missed all the stuff I said about sixty-hour work-weeks and it only being for the truly deranged. To tell you the truth, look far and wide. I would almost attribute my current job to luck after I consulted for about a year. It wasn't that I wasn't targeting remote jobs, it was just that I was target any jobs or contacts at the time that could land me contracts, and someone got a hold of me that was looking for more in the long-run.
But, don't be discouraged, the "remote" work is out there. You don't even have to look in specific areas anymore as long as the computer is a/the tool of your trade. It's becoming more and more popular among small-to-medium-sized businesses living in the virtual space--online companies as well as brick-and-mortar businesses and manufactories. I sit in front of six monitors and listen to jazz for most of my day, and there are companies out there that know in order to get the best out of me simply let me be in my own space. Those are the companies and cultures you should target if you're ready to work some of the longest--and most rewarding--hours of your life.
(My real setup)