Working in a remote office or working from home (telecommuting) can have its ups and downs. On one hand, it is much more comfortable to be at home: you can dress down, you don’t have people moving around your workstation all the time, and you don’t have to worry about your co-workers stealing your food from the fridge. On the other hand: you may feel left out of the big decisions, you don’t have an IT guy available to fix your computer, and you may find yourself wasting more time daydreaming.

Most telecommuter’s feel more productive working from home, have higher morale, and that they are better able to manage distractions. As someone who works from home, I agree. However, making the transition can be challenging, and both you and your employer need to address some potential problems in order to ensure a successful transition.

Common Problems

1. Not having a defined schedule – This is #1 because it is the basis for all the subsequent problems mentioned. Without a schedule, there are sure to be misunderstandings about expectations, you will undoubtedly be away from the computer or phone when your boss is checking in, creating mistrust and potentially putting an early end to your new work arrangement.
2. Distractions – You may think that working from home, you will have less distractions. The truth is that you will not have the same distractions, you never have complete control over your environment and as the saying goes, “if it can happen, it will”. Your home phone will ring, dogs will bark, your kids will bug you, and salesman will come to the door – not to mention everything that catches your eye through an open window.
3. Misunderstandings about expenses and expectations – At first, you may not realize the cost of working from home. You will be using electricity, internet, long distance, and in some cases your own computer and software. Paper, ink, tape, staples, pens, notepads, folders, file cabinet, and everything else you have at your fingertips at an office you will need to have at home.
4. Poor communication between coworkers – Having people pop in to your cubicle to pass on a message or to ask a question will be a thing of the past. All too often, you will find yourself out of the loop, and worse – doing unnecessary or duplicate work.
5. Office workers feel jilted, think it’s unfair – Not everyone is offered the opportunity to work from home. Some people simply don’t ask if they can, and others who have requested the option have been turned down. For people who have not worked from home in the past, it is easy for them to envision you on the couch in your PJ’s eating bon-bons.

Solutions

1. Create a schedule – Depending on your employer and their needs, this could be as simple as defined office hours, or as detailed as an itemized task list and what timeframe you will be working on each task. Either way, having a schedule will help you stay focused, and provide peace of mind to your boss.
2. Make sure your home work space is clear of distractions – This goes along with having a schedule, during work time you will need to minimize distractions. Close your office door – and yes, you do need to have a dedicated office area, turn off the TV, even if it’s in another room and turn on your home answering machine.
3. Create a Company Policy for working remotely – If your employer does not already have a policy for working remotely, volunteer to draft one up. It is important to set expectations and obligations for both ends. Even if you don’t anticipate misunderstandings, you need to have a documented policy to fall back on just in case you find, come tax time, or for insurance reasons that you and your employer have a financial or legal disagreement. Having a policy will protect both parties and ensure understanding of responsibilities.
4. Set Expectations for Follow-up and reporting status – Fairly basic, but you and your co-workers should have a system for communicating project status, including delays and obstacles. Covering up or hiding the fact that you were not able to finish your task, or admitting that you have forgotten to do something does not help you or your team. As a telecommuter, it is easy to take on additional responsibilities thinking that you have unlimited time to complete additional tasks. Reality is, in today’s workplace we have a tendency to pass tasks along and forget about it. Having a communication and status sharing plan will ensure tasks don’t slip through the cracks, and will allow others to pick up tasks that need to be done, but you don’t have time for.
5. Don’t try to justify your work arrangement to others – For some employers, it is easier to just say no to requests for flex-time and work from home schedules. They are afraid of the necessary office staff becoming less productive due to loss of morale and jealousy – but truthfully, there are many people who do not want to work from home. However, if you are getting the cold shoulder from office bound employees, it needs to be brought to your manager’s attention. Do not address the issue yourself – it will only lead to more hostility. It is management’s responsibility to make the decisions on work arrangements and their responsibility as well to ensure that the arrangements are fair and respected by the entire staff. As long as you are doing your job well and meeting expectations, it is unlikely that they will revoke the privilege.

Resources

1. How to make a case for working remotely
   1. http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/06/12/how-to-ask-the-boss-if-you-can-work-remotely/
   2. http://www.homewiththekids.com/propose-telecommuting.php
2. Tips on creating your work from home policy
   1. http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/getmobilized/a/remoteagree.htm
   2. http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/getmobilized/a/remotepolicy.htm
3. Staying in touch
   1. http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/trapani/2009/06/master-the-art-of-working-with.html
4. Tips
   1. http://zenhabits.net/2008/01/top-30-tips-for-staying-productive-and-sane-while-working-from-home/
   2. http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/six-effective-tips-to-work-from-home.html
   3. EfficiencyDr website & blog (yes, this very site!)– for efficiency tips that will help you be effective and efficient no matter where you are working from!