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Amy Johnson works from her home in Dixon, Ill., talking with clients and filing reports for her job as a fingerprint technician. In one way, though, she might as well be sitting at a desk next to her boss in Chicago.
艾米•约翰逊(Amy Johnson)是一名指纹鉴定师，她在自己位于伊利诺伊州迪克森(Dixon)的家中工作，在家里与客户讨论问题、提交工作报告。当然，她其实也可以在芝加哥坐在老板身旁工作。
Using a computer-monitoring program, Timothy Daniels, vice president of operations for Accurate Biometrics, can track whether Ms. Johnson and other employees are working - or slacking off. Once a week, he looks at summaries of 'what websites they're using, and for how long,' he says. 'It enables us to keep a watchful eye without being over-invasive.'
蒂莫西•丹尼尔斯(Timothy Daniels)是约翰逊所在公司Accurate Biometrics的运营副总裁，通过一款电脑监控软件他可以了解到约翰逊和其他员工是在工作还是在偷懒。丹尼尔斯每周会查看记录了他们上什么网站、上网站的时间有多长的总结。他说，“这可以让我们保持关注又不至于会过度侵犯（员工的隐私）。”
Ms. Johnson knows her computer is monitored, but 'it doesn't bother me,' she says. 'I'm not doing anything I shouldn't be doing.'
约翰逊知道她的电脑受到监控，但是她说这并未让她感到不舒服，她没有做任何不应该做的事情。
Working from home used to be a welcome break from the stress and interruptions of the office. (And let's be honest: It also offered the flexibility of squeezing in some errands or a nap between conference calls.)
在过去，在家工作是一个摆脱办公室中的压力和干扰的受欢迎的方法。（而且，说实话，在家工作时间灵活，我们可以挤出时间办些杂事或是在电话会议的间隙打个盹。）
These days, working from home is more like being in the office, with bosses developing new ways to make sure employees are on task. Some track projects and schedule meetings on shared calendars. Others require 'virtual face time' via email, instant messaging or calls. And some, like Accurate Biometrics, monitor computer use of employees, both at home and in the office.
现如今，随着管理者想出新方法来确定员工是否在干活，在家工作越来越像在办公室上班了。有些公司会跟踪项目进度并在共享日程表上安排会议，有些公司则要求通过电子邮件、即时消息或者电话来进行“虚拟面谈”。另一些公司，比如Accurate Biometrics，会监控员工的电脑使用情况，无论他们是在家工作还是在公司上班。
Gartner Inc., a Stamford, Conn., technology-research company, predicts use of computer security-monitoring programs will rise to 60% of employers by 2015, from fewer than 10% now. The systems are used mainly to secure sensitive data and comply with government rules, but they also generate lots of personal information on employees' online behavior. To avoid violating employees' privacy, employers should tell employees they're being monitored and track only business-related activities, attorneys say.
康涅狄格州斯坦福德(Stamford)的技术调研公司Gartner预计，到2015年，企业的电脑安全监控软件使用量将从现在的不足10%升至60%。这些软件主要用于保护敏感信息，同时也是为了遵守政府的规定，但是它们也会生成许多有关员工上网行为的私人信息。律师称，为了避免侵犯员工的隐私，企业应告知员工他们受到监控并只跟踪与工作有关的上网活动。
The security program Mr. Daniels uses, InterGuard by Awareness Technologies in Los Angeles, is used by financial-services, health-care and other employers to track productivity, prevent leaks and comply with security regulations. Like most monitoring programs, it also allows Mr. Daniels to see whether all his employees, including 16 office workers and 24 who work from home, are using their computer time in productive ways. Employees know the program is in place.
丹尼尔斯所使用的安全软件是洛杉矶Awareness Technologies公司生产的InterGuard，它被一些金融服务和医疗企业以及其他企业用来跟踪员工的工作效率、防止信息泄露以及遵守信息安全方面的规定。与大多数监控软件相同，它可以让丹尼尔斯查看其所有员工（包括16名在办公室上班和24名在家工作的员工）是否在有效地利用电脑。员工们都知道该监控软件的存在。
Such programs can help bosses spot people who need help, as well as those who are wasting time, says Elena Proskumina, a sales specialist for NesterSoft, a Woodbridge, Ontario, maker of a monitoring program called WorkTime. One popular report among WorkTime clients is 'top Facebook users,' she says.
安大略伍德布里奇(Woodbridge)监控软件生产商NesterSoft的销售专员伊莲娜•普洛斯库米娜(Elena Proskumina)称，此类软件可以让管理者发现谁需要帮助、谁又在浪费时间。她说，该公司监控软件WorkTime的客户最为关注的监控信息是“上Facebook最多的人”。
Employers say the idea isn't to keep people chained to their jobs for eight hours straight. They realize that people working from home may take breaks to run errands or handle other non-work tasks.
各企业称，监控员工的理念并不是为了八小时连续不断把员工绑在工作上。他们意识到，在家工作的员工可能会抽出时间来办些杂事或是处理工作之外的其他事情。
Many of Celeste O'Keefe's 13 employees often work from home, which helps them manage the long hours their jobs can require, Ms. O'Keefe says. Ms. O'Keefe, chief executive of Dancel, a provider of litigation-support services for attorneys, uses SpectorSoft to help track time spent on client projects by all employees, either in the office or at home.
塞莱斯特•奥基弗(Celeste O'Keefe)是为律师提供诉讼支持服务的Dancel公司的首席执行长，该公司位于密西西比州的迪艾伯维尔(d'Iberville)。她说，其13名员工中有很多人常常在家工作，这有助于他们更好地应对有时候需要长时间工作的要求。她利用一款名为“SpectorSoft”的软件来跟踪所有员工花在客户项目上的时间，无论他们是在办公室还是在家上班。
Ms. O'Keefe says she doesn't use the program 'to snoop' on individuals. Still, after she noticed one home-based employee's output lagging for several months, the program enabled her to see that the employee was spending a lot of time writing Word documents, something not required for her job. After learning she was actually spending most of her workday studying for a master's degree, 'I had to let her go. I couldn't say, 'Oh, I'll trust you again,'' says Ms. O'Keefe, whose company is based in a d'Iberville, Miss.
奥基弗说，她使用这款软件并不是为了“窥探”员工。在注意到一名在家办公的员工的工作进度落后了几个月时间后，她利用这款软件发现该员工花了很多时间写Word文档，但这并不是工作要求的内容。在了解到该员工实际上把大部分工作时间花在攻读硕士学位之后，奥基弗说，“我必须让她走人，我不能说‘噢，我可以再相信你一次。’”
The distinctions between working from home and from the office are also blurred because more people are splitting their weeks, and even their days, between home and office. The number of corporate employees who work from home at least one day a month has been rising 23% a year since 2007, on average, to 22.8 million last year, says Raymond Boggs, a vice president at IDC, a Framingham, Mass., market-research company. Those who work from home only one or two days a month are leading the trend, rising by an average 69.5% every year since 2007, to 3.3 million people last year, Mr. Boggs says.
在家办公与在办公室上班之间的区别也变得很模糊，因为更多人每几周甚至每几天就会在家和办公室之间轮换工作。马萨诸塞州弗雷明汉(Framingham)市场研究公司IDC的副总裁雷蒙德•博格斯(Raymond Boggs)称，自2007年以来，每个月至少在家工作一天的企业员工的数量平均每年上升了23%，在去年达到2280万人。他还说，每个月只在家工作一两天的人成为主流，自2007年以来每年平均增加69.5%，在去年达到330万人。
'The basic challenge for managers is getting trickier,' Mr. Boggs says. 'Some may work at home every Friday. Others leave at 3 p.m. to be with kids coming from school, then work after dinner from home,' he says.
博格斯指出，“管理者面临的基本难题变得越来越棘手，有些人可能是每周五在家工作，另一些人则可能在下午三点下班和放学回家的孩子呆在一起，然后在晚饭后在家工作。”
Focusing on accomplishments rather than time is another way employers track at-home workers. And everyday tools such as videoconferencing, shared calendars, regular email and instant messaging help bosses track progress.
关注工作绩效而非工作时长是企业用来跟踪在家工作的员工的另一种方法。此外，视频会议、共享日程表、常规性电子邮件和即时消息等此类日常工具也能帮助管理者了解员工的工作进度。
With most of its 940 employees working from home at least occasionally, Ryan LLC, a tax-services firm in Dallas, has managers set targets for each job and hold employees accountable. The firm has since seen gains in productivity and client satisfaction, and a drop in voluntary employee turnover, says Delta Emerson, an executive vice president for Ryan.
Ryan LLC是一家位于达拉斯的税务服务公司，该公司拥有940名员工，其中大多数人至少会偶尔在家办公。该公司会让管理者为每项工作制定目标，并让员工承担起责任。执行副总裁德尔塔•爱默生(Delta Emerson)称，自实行该举措之后，公司发现工作效率和客户满意度均有所上升，同时员工的主动离职率也在下降。
Every Monday, Chad Dunkin, a team leader for Ryan in Houston, meets with his four team members to set the week's agenda, framing objectives in specifics: 'We have project A, B, C and D, and we need them done by X date,' he says, and assigns tasks and timelines to each employee. After that, it doesn't matter where or even when they work, because 'we are all judged by results,' Mr. Dunkin says.
查德•邓金(Chad Dunkin)是Ryan公司休斯顿分公司的一名团队负责人，每周一他都会与四名同事会面，制定当周的工作日程并设定具体的目标。他说，他们会设定项目A、B、C、D，确定它们的完成期限，然后会给每名员工分配任务和设定时间表。邓金说，在此之后，员工们在哪里工作、甚至是什么时候工作都无关紧要，因为他们全都按照绩效来评判工作。
Employees post their schedules on shared Outlook calendars and talk often on conference calls, says Heather Harrison, a senior consultant. When she is working from home, she instant messages or emails frequent updates to Mr. Dunkin. 'Working at home isn't much different from working at the office,' she says.
Ryan的高级咨询顾问希瑟•哈里森(Heather Harrison)说，员工们会把他们的日常安排发到共享的Outlook日程表上，并且经常在电话会议上讨论问题。在家工作时，她会给邓金发送即时消息或者经常发邮件汇报最新进展。她说，“在家工作与在办公室工作并没有多大差别。”
