In the process of writing about flexible working for this issue, the Director editorial team decided to put the theories to the test. With the help of a friendly IT department and some new software, we attempted to produce the entire issue from home, with mixed results

The idea was simple. Put together the August issue without being in the office. The IT department identified Aqua Connect, a Mac-based terminal services solution, as the best means of providing remote access to our server. The system allows users to manipulate files in Quark XPress—the publishing software we use for Director—on any Mac or PC. Since the software is stored on the server, along with all the required fonts, the only user requirement is for a decent broadband connection. A powerful new Mac server was installed (in fact it was a heavily pumped up Mac desktop). The entire set-up process took about three weeks and once some issues around network security had been resolved the process was, according to our IT guru, "relatively straightforward".

Probably the biggest issue with any such system is the heavy reliance on bandwidth. The faster the broadband, the better the connection to the server and the less latency users will experience.

The email system we used was Outlook Express, the webmail version of Microsoft Exchange, via an SSL connection. This simple tool was perhaps the biggest factor in allowing the experiment to work as well as it did.
Thanks to Aqua Connect for providing us with an extended trial of the software and to the IoD's IT department and Supportplan for making it all work, most of the time.

Elizabeth Knights-Ward, Editorial Assistant
"I had my doubts about the success of this exercise. I expected to have problems tracking the team down if I needed them. I was also confused about how to support a team that wasn't there. But communication seemed better. The team were more available than usual and work continued the same.

Questions were answered immediately, regular phone calls came through to check progress, and although they were not physically here, I was able to get hold of them. But while remote working worked, it made a big difference to the office. It's hard to feel part of a team when there is no team around you." 

Tina Nielsen, Associate Editor
"I had only worked from home once or twice before but had felt a bit out of things, because there was no access to email. With Outlook Express available, that changed. I enjoyed not wasting time travelling to the office; instead I'd go for a swim or a run before getting down to work. Although my office phone was forwarded to my mobile, I had fewer distractions and was able to be more focused. Communicating with the team was easy as we were all on mobiles and email.

I did miss the office banter. I am also very methodical at work and I found being at home threw habits and routines out of the window. I'd forget things like brushing my teeth, and I'd have breakfast in front of the computer and only break for 15 minutes at lunch. In the afternoons I'd get tired because I hadn't been outside much. Having said that, now the technology is in place, I will make more use of it."

Sarah Hanson, Associate Editor
"As my home internet connection was down at the time, I only worked from home when I was writing. The great thing about it is you get fewer interruptions from the telephone or colleagues playing music videos on YouTube. I was far more productive. Interviews were definitely easier without the background noise.

I was given a Blackberry, which I'd never used before. The novelty meant I checked email all the time—even at 11 o'clock at night. As soon as I saw the little red light flash I just couldn't help myself. I was glad to hand it back at the end of our experiment. I prefer to have a clear boundary between work and leisure time and I don't have the self-control to stop myself checking work emails out of office hours.

I missed the structure of the nine-to-five day as well as face-to-face contact with my colleagues. I also missed the routine of my daily commute and particularly my walk from the station to the office. I felt quite lethargic for not doing any exercise. I could have got up a little earlier and gone for a run, but the temptation to lie in was just too much."

David Woodward, Deputy Editor (online)
"I'd already sampled the cloud earlier in the month, having written an article on the rise of enterprise 2.0 from home. Instead of using Microsoft Word and emailing the copy from my Yahoo account to my work account, I used Google Docs, which mimics the best bits from the Office suite but stores the data "in the cloud". It worked without a hitch, but gaining remote access to our server wasn't so easy. Frustratingly, I could access the server "remotely" from the office, but not from outside. In the final week we suddenly struck gold with a fully working connection.

The timing was perfect: it coincided with the second day of the first Test at Lords. So while Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell went about destroying South Africa's attack, I set to work editing and proofing August's pages from my living room, using software designed solely for an Apple Mac, beamed straight to my Toshiba PC Laptop via Aqua Connect.

I expected to be frustrated by a sluggish connection. But I experienced hardly any latency. The connection to my laptop was perfect, faster than at my office desk.

There is much to be said for face-to-face contact, particularly when solving problems. But given a reliable home connection, the benefits of starting work earlier, taking a longer lunch break and working later when necessary, outweigh the advantages of office-based work."

Amy Duff, Deputy Editor
"As someone who's laughably resistant to change, I was interested to see how this initiative would work, and how easily I would adapt to a different working culture. I was pleasantly surprised. There were always going to be technical glitches—according to one of our IT wizards, we're one of the first UK organisations to use Aqua Connect—and it was frustrating when I couldn't access the server. When it did work, it was quick and efficient and I felt euphoric.

I'm more productive at home and enjoyed the flexibility and the chance to listen to BBC Radio 6 while I worked. But even though we kept in touch via email and our mobile phones, I missed the office banter. I found the pile of washing up in my line of vision off-putting. And come to think of it, my squeaky, broken chair would have sent the health and safety officer running for the hills. I was nervous that important files would be lost or duplicated because our routine and organisational structure had altered so much. This proved to be unfounded. In the end, combining flexible working with a solid, consistent dose of office-life makes for a happy and creative employee."

John Poile Art Director
"We have to work flexibly on a magazine anyay. If you have a deadline you work until the job is done. The most interesting thing was working with Aqua Connect. When we got it working, I was impressed. You can work anywhere, on a PC or a Mac, and don't have to load up all the fonts. I can see that being useful, especially when it comes to working with freelance designers, who often like to work from home.

I didn't think they'd be able to get it set up and working in the tight time-span, but it worked well in the end. Stability varied and it was quicker when accessed through a business broadband account. I have found myself working very early in the morning, if I'm awake. If I think of something in the evening I can just try it out there and then. I liked that I could work for a couple of hours and then go off and catch up with something else. I've probably been more productive and had more ideas sitting at home than I would have had in the office. I've been very positive about the whole experience. I think it's a step forward."

Richard Cree, Group Editor
This experiment, although inevitably a little false, brought into focus many of the theories about the benefits and drawbacks of flexible working that we've written about for years in Director. There are plenty of both. There is a certain reassurance in seeing the team you manage physically working in the office. Flawed though it is, there is a tendency to judge how hard people are working by how many hours they put in at their desk. But this job is all about outputs rather than inputs. I'm also lucky in having a team dedicated enough to making sure that the work always gets done.

I don't care when or where people work, so long as the pages come together in the required way at the required time. The technology is nearly here to make it feasible for us to access our files remotely. Aqua Connect worked well, once initial hitches were ironed out. When broadband speeds improve, the performance will be even better.

My job requires me to spend a lot of time in meetings, so I was in the office most days. On the days I did manage to work from home, the biggest pleasures were the lack of a commute and the ability to work the hours that suit me best, which means a later start and finish. 

Although Aqua Connect worked well, at the moment we can't afford to put it in place. But it won't be back to business as usual. As a result of this experiment, our working arrangements will definitely become more flexible. People will work where and when they work best. And we will all spend the odd day watching cricket while working from home.