Are you a moofer?
Posted 2 July 2007 at 8:34AM by Simon Dickson in Email and communications
I never realised I was a professional moofer. If you haven't heard the term - and since it's only just been thought up by a PR agency, there's no reason why you would have done - it stands for 'mobile out of office', and describes the growing phenomenon of working away from a large office space, without a negative effect on your productivity. (Or indeed, as many would claim, with a positive effect.)
To introduce the world to 'moofing', Microsoft recently launched a special blog on the subject, and set up a project office in a tree in Pimlico Gardens, central London. It only lasted a few days, which is unsurprising given the weather we had, but the point was well made.
It's a useful repository of knowledge, data and ideas on flexible working. For example: if you do need to work from an office, why not start the day at home? If you're spending the first hour of your working day clearing out your email, you might as well log on from your home PC and do it remotely. Then, when you travel into the office an hour later, the roads might well be clearer, or the train fares might be cheaper. Of course, this plan may backfire if we all start doing it...
I've been working mainly from home for a couple of years now; and whilst it does require a certain amount of self-discipline, I can't recommend it highly enough. With more than 80% of UK internet connections now broadband, and a growing proportion at 2Mbps or more, you can work as efficiently from your home study as from an office desk. Indeed, if you're technically savvy, you can probably boost your efficiency significantly, by tailoring your home PC setup to work just how you want it.
Tags: broadband, flexible working, microsoft, Mobile working, moof
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