This week I’ve had the beautiful opportunity to work from home. Me? I love working remotely. I have enough social interaction in the type of work I do that the time I get to just plow through the ‘rest’ of the work is savored when it’s done by sofa – or cafe, or backyard chaise lounge.
Seriously. I get SO much more work done this way for this particular employer, as a majority of work I do is really independent of my coworkers. As a recruiter, my hiring managers and my candidates are my customers, and therefore it takes the ability to balance when they need me and when I can do my own thing. Fortunately, we’re a pretty independent bunch, and they’re not lingering all over me…it’s usually my waiting for something from them.
So today, day three, I found a good rhythm. I get up around 6-6:30am in the summer without the need for an alarm clock (big round of applause to my mother and grandfather for that, um, gift) and after grabbing a cup of coffee (yep, it’s a new trick of mine, as I’ve finally learned, at 38, how to make a decent cuppa joe. Thank you, Bialetti stovetop thingy.), I fire up the laptop and check out the onslaught of emails.
You see, I don’t think tech folk sleep, so even if I go to bed at 1am, I swear to god there are 20 emails for me at 6am. Hmm. I work for a few straight hours, then take a midmorning break. In the office, this would only happen if my coworker wanted to go take her cigarette break and we’d go walk around the block. Otherwise, in my current role, I would work through lunch, bringing food back to my desk, and not really ever get the chance to relax because my main priority was getting back home by a decent time to let the dog out. Working remotely, I don’t have to do that. My morning break was able to be longer because I didn’t have any calls I needed to be on, so I went to the gym. I brought my laptop along so that afterwards, I could ride over to the local cafe and work from there rather than return to the sofa. I am plugged in on my mobile as well, so no matter what, I’m never separated from my office during the workday.
Wait, this was supposed to be a blogpost, not just a general tell you what the heck I did today. This is like the Twitter post that never ended….sorry.
OK so here’s the deal – for ME, working from home in my current situation means I get to really focus. When I’m at the gym, I’m at the gym. I’m not thinking about who I have to call or source or connect with next. It’s about that moment. When I’m working, I’m working. And it doesn’t mean I now have to be a remote worker – because I love my peeps! I am here to take care of them, to get them good people, to strategize with my management team in the way that works best for our environment. It differs wherever one is.
PC World states in their article on hiring someone to work remotely, “It’s key for employees to show how well they can work offsite.” You need to show your manager that your being outside of the traditional office environment will be an ASSET, not a hindrance. You need to be organized, and you need to be an awesome communicator – not just how but things like frequency and flexibility.
You’ve got to be able to stay focused, because there is the potential for distractions at home different from the ones you’re escaping at work, which is why some recommend having a work space at home set aside – especially if you have kids. My house is quiet during the day, so my big comfy chair in the living room is my ‘office’, or wherever I want to go in my neighborhood. My cafe across the street is a quiet sanctuary where there are people coming in and out, but I still get work done.
And then there are the little things that you do miss when you’re away from the rest of your coworkers. Informal contact with staff. Togetherness that comes with being in close physical proximity of others. But this can be maintained if you’ve got the maturity and communication skills to work on relationships from afar. Clint Smith of Emma told USAToday that he “looks for workers who are self-confident and are willing to initiate regular conversations with him and other staff members to make sure they’re kept in the loop.”
The ability to work from home is also MUCH easier if you’ve initially spent time working in the office before deciding to go remote (or even just occasionally work remote. You know the people, so the understanding of how you do your work (i.e., trust) is already there so those who are in the office, so your priority when you make this transition is to ensure as seamlessness of a process as possible – i.e., like you’re there but they just can’t see you!
Cali Williams Yost wrote an article in Fast Company dedicated to the “what if” questions you should be able to answer to before getting into a remote work situation. As she reminds us, “the difference between success and failure with any type of flexible work, including remote work, often comes down to contingency planning. In other words, answering the question “what if ‘x’ happens…” to as many scenarios as you can possibly think of upfront.” Not only how are you going to manage the workload, but how are you going to remain “visible” to your team and respond to last minute issues?
Another side of this is the companies who offer remote work. Make SURE you understand the terms of the work scenario. Will they reimburse you for using your cell phone for calls? (minutes add up QUICK…) How will you get technical support? Are you ‘chained to your home office’ or do you have geographic flexibility? How often do you need to be IN the office? Have these things worked out in advance. And make sure you’re still getting paid on par with in-office staff – equal pay for equal work, and if you’re saving them money by not taking up a desk? It’s not a perk – it’s a win-win. Check out “The Rise of the Remote Worker – Or How to Work from Home Without Getting Fired” from Time.com where they have great tips on how to be successful in a work from home situation.
But here’s the deal: there is still a stigma to some when it comes to remote work, and we have to be honest with that. You sometimes have to work at proving your worth if your employer is not used to the idea (provide metrics so they can see how much MORE you’re accomplishing).
But with it shown that nearly half of us have jobs which could be done partially to fully via telecommute, and the desire by so many to have that flexibility? Let the evolution begin continue. 
