HOME FOR THE DAY... BUT TELECOMMUTING
Got a desk job that allows you to telecommute occasionally? Great, right? Of course.
For those of us who work daily in an office environment, the chance to work at home once in a while can feel like a big Get-out-of-jail-free card. But don’t go shopping quite yet! Your employer is offering this as a privilege and not so you can take Pilates during the day.
I lived the dream of telecommuting myself during a pilot program with a medium-sized office I worked for. However, there are some common mistakes those of us who telecommute only occasionally. Here are five barriers I (we) encountered and some thoughts about them:
1. Damn, I forgot my…..
There’s always a critical item you’ll realize you need from the office. One drawback I found is the end up wishing I had two of everything - one at work and one at home so I didn’t have to schlep so much back and forth. Other workers may not be as burdened, as I work with large format drawings and specialized programs, supplies and equipment. Nonetheless I’m sure many telecommuters can relate. My advice is, when working from home only one or two days a week, I learned quickly to choose discreet tasks that don’t require the full facilities of my office.
2. Shoot, my connection’s too slow…..
Is your home connection fast enough to accommodate the file-sharing/remote desktop/other on-line resources of your company? One of my previous employers used Microsoft Remote Desktop to enable working from home. The problem was I worked in the next state over, and the distance made remote work slower and clumsy. Though office policy frowned upon it, I found it more efficient to e-mail files to myself and work on my home computer. Which leads to the next issue…..
3. Criminy, “Windows Cannot Open This File”
Working from a both a work and a personal computer requires the compatible software. This becomes an issue if the work you do uses large specialized programs that are expensive to buy or license. As an architectural designer, software license fees can be exorbitant for name-brand programs, as is the case in many design and graphics fields. In my case, it was more cost-effective for my company to provide remote access to my work computer than to pay for more licenses for people’s home computers. (Not to mention there is a host of issues that arise for the company when personal computers are used for business purposes). That said, if you have or have access to the programs yourself and want to do work at home, working locally may be the fastest option.
4. Aw man, what’s the access code for my work voicemail again?
Communication is the key to the mutual trust that has to develop between employer and employee to make for successful telecommuting. I stay in frequent contact to keep the line of communication open. For me, e-mail and phone are the primary means of communication with my employer, and I routinely monitor my voicemail and e-mail. Other employers may encourage (or require) teleconferencing or videoconferencing as a means of communication. Whatever you and your employer decide together, be responsive and stay connected.
5. Helloooo? Is anybody out there?
Out of sight, out of mind. One thing I found is that the amount of communication from my bosses and coworkers dropped precipitously on the days I worked from home. It seems without my smiling mug at the office, my empty chair at work translated into an empty inbox at home. Turns out I’m not alone, as feeling disconnected or “out of the loop” is an oft-cited complaint by many telecommuters. For me, I overcame this with frequent e-mails and phonecalls. Videoconferencing is a great way to maintain that human aspect of face-to-face communication (without taking off your slippers). Regularly scheduled phone or face-to-face meetings with managers are helpful.
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