My Journey Through Life - Part 3

In my Journey through Life, I will:

Take the high road: Forgive quickly, and live with integrity, empathy, and compassion

Snow Day

I have a really sweet work situation: I work as a Writer-Editor for the Amarillo Field Office, but I telework from the agency office in Santa Fe, where I live. One week a month I travel to Amarillo to interact with my co-workers, but, for the most part, my work is done electronically. I can call in to meetings and participate via speaker phone, and I simply tunnel in to the field office file network and/or email my work back and forth. I am trusted to work independently and in a self-directed way, and I cherish that trust.

I was scheduled to be in Amarillo last week. Last weekend, seeing the approaching storm on the 5-day forecast, we decided to postpone the trip. Sure enough, both Santa Fe and Amarillo were hammered with snow. On Wednesday, the snow hit Santa Fe and by that afternoon, the Amarillo office left early as the storm approached. So Wednesday and Thursday were snow days or early departure/delayed openings. However, as a teleworker, I can simply work from home – there is no need for time off because of snow. I was faced with one of the strongest ethical dilemmas a teleworker can encounter – when all of your co-workers are sleeping in because of snow, the teleworker is physically at “work”, and is expected to put in the hours as if s/he is at the office. My normal workday starts at 7:00 am -- who would know if I slept in? Who would know if watched the morning news or game shows? I would know, and that’s all that matters. I logged in to my computer promptly at 7:00 and put in my 9-hour day. On Friday morning, it was really cold and windy but sunny in Santa Fe, and I went to work as usual, like all of the Santa Fe-based agency workers. Amarillo was still digging out of the snow and had a 2-hour delay; I work in Santa Fe, however, and I am trusted to make the right work decision: to work where and when folks in Santa Fe are working. 

Ethical behavior and acting with integrity means taking the high road, and knowing that I did just that kept my inner candle lit.