We have all heard the benefits of working from home (http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/12/18/benefits-working-from-home/). But as an employee, how do you start the process of making it happen?
The working from home relationship requires a great deal of trust from a Management perspective. Management likes to see people physically sitting at their desks. Having people working from home is a perceived loss of control. So, it is up to the employee to make sure that working from home is not a negative experience for Management.
Make sure the company infrastructure supports remote connectivity
You need to be at least as productive from home as you are at the office. If there are any applications, servers, databases, etc. that you cannot connect to from home, this will deter Management from allowing working from home. This may entail having someone at the office set up a VPN (Virtual Private Network), but it will be worth it. If you are unsure about the tools you need to access, try connecting from home at night. Make sure you do some work where the timestamp is noticeable (i.e. sending E-mails), so they know you are working from home. It doesn’t hurt to let people know that you accomplished work from home. Plus, showing that you did some work on your own time from home shows great initiative.
Have a good reason
At first, working from home may be a no-go for your Management. So, ease them into it by having a good reason that requires you to be home. This can be days which you are sick (and not wanting to spread your illness around the office), to sick children, etc. The choice for Management will then be to have you home and completely unproductive (like having to take a sick day), or home and working. I’m sure they’ll choose to have you home and working. Once they know that you are able to be productive from home (see point #1), it may be a good idea to leave this choice up to them initially. Tell them that you have an appointment, so you will not be able to make it to the office. Subtly hint that you are able to get work done outside of the time that you are unavailable.
Be reachable
It is vital that the office be able to get a hold of you when they expect you to be working. If you get a reputation for not being available, you will not be permitted to work from home. That said, If you know that you are going to be unavailable for some time, let them know ahead of time. This shows that you are responsible for managing your time. Also, some people like working ‘off-hours’. 9-5 doesn’t work for some people, and as long as you are getting your work done, then it shouldn’t matter when you do it. If you are the type of person who wants to start work early and end work early, then make sure this is openly discussed and acceptable with everyone up front. Instant messaging is a great way to communicate as easily as if you are in the same office. So, make sure that you always have your Status set to ‘Online’ or ‘Available’, and answer text messages, instant messages, and E-mails as promptly as possible. If it will take some time to put an answer together, simply send a response saying that you are working on it, and will get back to them shortly.
Be productive
You need to be at least as productive at home as you are at the office. It is up to you to make sure that your work is done at least as quickly as when you are at the office. To that end, make sure to remove distractions, or remove yourself from distractions that cannot be moved. When I started working from home, I had to set up my home office in the basement. When my kids saw that I was downstairs working, they left me alone (as much as kids can). I also started ignoring the home phone as well. If it was an important call, they’ll leave a message.
Initially, the amount of work you get done will be under scrutiny by Management. They prefer to have people in their chairs where they can be monitored, so make sure your work gets done on time. This may require more hours spent working initially (specially if you are working from home with sick kids), but the initial effort is worth it.
Not only do you need to be productive, but the people you work with and for need to know that as well. When I commute, I tend to leave my computer in the bag when I get home, and it stays there until I go the office the next day. When I work from home, the laptop is always there, open, and I am far more likely to pick it up once the kids go to bed to finish what I am working on. I like to share that story around the office as an example as to how I am more productive from home.
Have support
If you are living with someone, they need to be on board with what it takes to work from home as well. I am incredibly lucky to be married to someone who understands that working from home is still working, and that work that doesn’t get done during the day needs to be done at night or on weekends. Also, she helps keeps the distractions to a minimum (reminding the kids that I am working, etc.). Not only does she help with distractions, my wife also keeps me in check. She is always asking if I had time to get work done, and makes sure that I know if I need time to get stuff done, she has no problem with that. Working from home does have the added advantage of being able to help with the kids, as well as have lunch and coffee with my family, so there is net benefit for us all.
Expand gradually
Once you have laid out the ground-work and worked from home due to unavoidable circumstances, this can be expanded to days that you have appointments, or to avoid being stuck in traffic due to bad weather, etc. Depending on your circumstances, you can even argue that you are more productive if you work from home on a regular basis. I have a one hour commute (one way) from home to the office, so this is an easy argument to make. I started by working from home every Friday. After a while, I changed that to also include Mondays.
Randy May
Blaazin Software
