Q&A: Telecommuting
Q: I have a 3-month-old that we have put in childcare. We really can't afford it, and I would like to see him more than the two hours he's awake at night. I've gone to my supervisor and asked about telecommuting; then received a response of "no." Do you have any suggestions? I would really like to work from home, but not have to start my own business to do so. If the business failed, we would be sunk. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
A:
I'd be happy
to offer any suggestions I can -- each situation is different, though,
so a few more details would be helpful. For example, what sort of work
do you do? Have you broken down the functions that could just as easily
be done at home? I'm guessing you found me through the series I wrote
on telecommuting, but just in case you haven't seen it, the series can
be found at http://www.judywolf.com/resources/telework_index.html
and was designed to lead you through the thought process that helps
to build a solid proposal -- hopefully one that can help your supervisor
(or your company's HR department, if that's another route that might open
it up as an option not just for you, but for all employees at the company
as a whole) see the benefits of offering this as an option to employees
(e.g., makes the company far more appealing as an employer, allows them
to keep trained employees such as yourself on staff rather than losing
them when life/family demands make full-time work difficult or impossible,
actually improves productivity and employee morale.) There are lots of
great statistics out there on this -- your supervisor probably hasn't
had reason to become acquainted with them.
Provided you're a trusted and proven employee, the main obstacle is usually
helping supervisors overcome their own fears about not being able to see
people working (images of fuzzy slippers and long cups of tea come to
mind -- not to mention the fear that child care might become the main
focus of your days) and helping them see (a) what're the benefits for
them and (b) that you're just as serious about your work when done from
home as you are at your place of work. A thoughtful and thorough proposal
may help with this -- if only for getting your arguments in place and
helping you think through what your days will really look like (how will
you juggle child care and work? Many people I know who work from home
with kids struggle with this challenge). Perhaps your situation wouldn't
allow a full telecommuting position (or it would be easier for your supervisor
to swallow the idea if it were in smaller pieces), but would allow you
to work from home half days or a couple of days a week. You say "we,"
so I'm assuming you have a partner in childrearing -- perhaps your partner
could make a similar proposal at work and you could split the days at
home while each still maintaining some "face time" in the office.
Hope these suggestions are helpful. Good luck!
Copyright (c) 2005 Judy Wolf
About
the Author:
Judy Wolf (www.judywolf.com)
is a world traveler, freelance writer, speaker, and whitewater kayak instructor.
She's taken numerous, extended solo journeys around the world, traveling
by foot, bus, jeep, camel, truck, boat, train, plane, elephant, and bicycle
to over 30 countries on five continents. She currently lives in upstate
New York with her husband and Border Collie, where she's working on a
book about her most recent adventures…that is, when she's not plunging
off waterfalls or entertaining the dog.
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