She says her lack of face time has affected her career in some ways. Although she is conscientious about office hours and responding to phone and e-mail messages, some students at evaluation time hold it against her that she is not always in her office. Merit raises are tied to university service, but colleagues often don't nominate her for committee assignments because they know she regularly copes with child-care and transportation issues. Discouraging as all of this is, I have come to accept that this comes with the choices I have made to try to balance work and family life. My work life is simply not going to be the same as it would if I had no husband and children to think of.
More face time can preserve balance.
Four years ago, attorney Constant Marquer III relocated to Cheyenne, Wyo., and began telecommuting to his New Orleans law firm. Because the firm was small and he knew everyone, being out of the office didn't really matter, he says. The work got done, more efficiently and at less cost. Clients did not care at all. But when his firm merged with another law firm, he went from knowing everyone to knowing fewer than half of his co-workers.