Consider Telecommuting Today

In today’s economy, many families need two working parents in order to pay for the high cost of real estate, gas prices, and the numerous other bills that continue to add up each month. When two working adults in the home have children, there is often great difficulty managing the household, because parents are already overextended with their full time jobs.

If it is possible to have one parent work from home, it can make managing the home more efficient and less stressful for the whole family. If you have been thinking about telecommuting, now is the right time to ask your employer.

Why is it the Right Time to Ask My Employer?

If you have been working for your company for over six months and have already established trust with your supervisor and employer, this is the perfect time to begin this discussion. With the high gas prices and the downturn in the economy, many companies are looking at ways to cut costs. Eliminating costs of office space and other associated costs may be highly appealing to your employer and can help open the discussion for transitioning to a home office position.

Why Should I Telecommute?

When you telecommute, the time spent traveling to and from work is now yours. That time can be devoted to work or family and can leave you feeling a lot more organized and less stressed than commuting in traffic each day.

When you work at home there is more of an option for flexible hours. You may be more creative in the morning and evening and less productive in the afternoon. Tailoring your hours to what works best for you can increase your productivity.

While at work people often stop at your desk to talk. There are also lunch dates, coffee breaks, smoke breaks, etc. that can take a lot of time when working in an office environment and take a lot less time when you are working alone at your home office. This means there are fewer interruptions and many less distractions while you work, thus higher levels of productivity are the result.

Can I Telecommute?

This is a question you need to ask yourself before you talk with your employer. What specific roles and responsibilities can you handle while working at your home office? Write down the specific tasks you feel can be done at home and include all of the advantages of telecommuting and how it will benefit the company. Consider there may be days you will need to come to the office for meetings and tailor your request to management to include such activities.

Also there may be tasks you can do at home and discuss with your employer whether you need to come in to the office to complete the tasks or whether the task can be eliminated from your position and a new task (that can be completed at your home office) can be added to your job description.

If your employer is feeling uncomfortable about your proposition, ask them to consider a trial period working at home. This will give your employer ample opportunity to determine whether this is a good fit for the company and after appropriate communication channels have been created, trust can be established, which will make the transition more successful.

What do I need to Telecommute?

If your telecommuting is improved, be sure to discuss with your employer in detail the conditions of your workplace and any specific roles and responsibilities that have changed. Come to a mutual agreement about what equipment will be needed to work from home and whose responsibility it will be to cover any costs that are incurred.

Lastly, remember to stay motivated when you work from home. Meet all of your deadlines and communicate often with your employer, employees and coworkers via e-mail and telephone. Continually create and remind yourself of your own performance goals within the company and be disciplined enough to meet all of the goals.

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