• Convincing the manager the job is "teleworkable" (all my teleworking has been part-time or for periods of time)
• Convincing the manager you don't need a formal, written agreement but, if you want one, there are templates around that work
• Convincing the manager that, if I can telework, it is not necessarily a precedent that will cause problems and, if it is a precedent in the manager's own mind, it is a good precedent
• Convincing the manager that supplying me with an old computer so I can work from home is a good investment on the part of the employer
• Convincing the manager that supplying me with a piece of junk and no dial-up software is not good enough.

I guess you could say that convincing the manager on a number of fronts has been my biggest overall challenge.

From: Luke
Date: Feb. 10, 2002 1:17 PM

I've found a number of challenges working from home. First and foremost for me is not having an office with co-workers. I would personally prefer to have a place to go every morning, with real live people to interact with. Not having an office outside the home means I lack the exercise involved in getting to and from work, and the socializing (as much as my boss hates it) that goes on there. Working from home, I'm isolated from the office culture, and my socializing is done in silence, via e-mail.

My work depends on a lot of communication, so working from home has forced me to adjust in this regard as well. Whereas before I could walk over to someone's desk to discuss a project, communication over a 5000-km distance requires much more thinking and planning.

Photo by Graham Bond

Motivation at work is also a factor. It can feel pretty good to "be your own Boss," but when no one's looking over your shoulder things can slip. There are a lot of distractions at home, and sometimes playing tug-of-war with the dog is just a lot more fun than writing up the latest project report.

Cheers,
Luke

From: Heather
Date: Feb. 11, 2002 7:10 AM

Me again ...

Reading Luke's response reminded me of something I had difficulty with at first.

All of that in-person socializing at an office *plus* the ability to walk around and observe things serves another purpose: You learn more about company trends and issues. With the isolation of working from home, you're relying on others to keep you up to date, and it may not happen. That can mean you don't always know which way the political or marketing wind is blowing regardless of what specific instructions you're given.

Heather

From: Antonia
Date: Feb. 11, 2002 6:35 AM

Hello Everyone,

I have been telecommuting for about two months now. I was lucky -- the job was established on the foundation that I would be working from home for almost the entire time during the project. So, unlike Craig, I didn't have to convince anyone that this was the best thing to do.

Even though I have been working from home for a short time, I have noticed some small challenges -- trying to stick to a regular schedule and, during the working day, not getting tempted by the pile of dishes in the sink. I have found a couple of solutions for this; I remove all possible distractions during the evening time -- I make sure that all the dinner dishes are cleaned up, the livingroom is tidied up, etc. before I head off to bed. That way, when I am caught in a short moment of procrastination, I do not head down to the kitchen to stack the dishwasher.

I think that telecommuting exacerbates the problems of poor project management; it makes the process more challenging. The biggest problem is regular and effective communication -- you can't just walk down the hall to the co-ordinator's office and sit in front of them until they answer your questions.

Antonia

From: Heather
Date: Feb. 11, 2002 7:03 AM

Antonia has hit the nail on the head with this. Unless you are well-known and well-trusted by your client or employer, you can find yourself being scape-goated for delays or other troubles. You're not there, so people don't see you working and sometimes they think you're taking advantage of that. My solution is to keep very detailed records of what I do and when, particularly if I'm on an hourly arrangement. My invoices may go as far as to state things as specific as "six phone meetings with so-and-so, 20 faxes for such-and-such ...".

Another challenge is trying to stay on top of all the demands. Last summer I had an inexperienced client who kept wanting more and more ... she made some decisions that caused me more work, but weren't entirely outside of the original scope. I had to spend a lot of billable time trying to show her how her decisions were going to cost her more money from other suppliers, but she didn't seem to be paying attention. She was keeping me busy for very long days. I suspect that if I'd been working where she could see me (and so know how much time she was costing), she would have been more reasonable.

When I finally had a moment to breathe, I had to revise my own estimate for the last small part of the project by several thousand dollars. The client was furious, and though I had documentation to prove that I'd tried to warn her, the project was cancelled. Fortunately, the person who originally hired me for the project accepted my explanations and continues to hire me.

I guess this is a wordy way of saying that estimating scope can be difficult if you don't have a history with a particular client.

Heather

From: Susanne
Date: Feb. 22, 2002 9:35 AM

Hi all,

Some excellent points about telecommuting's challenges. I wanted to add to Antonia's thread about how telecommuting exacerbates the problems of poor project management by making the process more challenging. Boy ain't that the truth! While more and more "conventional" office workers have increasingly had at least some experience working on a project with telecommuters or other outside contractors, many simply either aren't comfortable working virtually or don't appreciate the extra effort that is involved to communicate to all parties to keep a project on the rails. When communications erode or break down between in-house and telecommuting parties, it leads to all the potential pitfalls that Antonia and Heather mentioned.

Susanne

Round 1: Meet and greet
Round 2: Challenges: That long-distance feeling
Round 3: Benefits: Pets, PJs, peace and quiet
Round 4: Tools of your trade: technology
Round 5: The work-life balance: setting boundaries