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Is Working From Home Really
For You?
When I decided to work from home fifteen years ago, I painted an
idyllic picture for myself of what that would be like. My office would be a tidy corner of
my living room. I could work and keep an eye on my toddler son, while he played quietly
nearby. Constant interruptions by office mates would be a thing of the past. Little
distraction, a productive workplace - - that was the fantasy.
The reality of working from home was that distractions don't go
away, they just change form. You really don't know what distraction is, until the cat
hacks up a hairball on your desk. One eye on the toddler? All of my eyes (including the
ones in the back of my head) were on the toddler. We had to develop special rules, like:
"No peanut butter and jelly on Mommy's desk." Sometimes a couple of those eyes
needed to be on the neighbors toddler. The neighbor, who I used to see, maybe once a
month, now showed up on my porch at 7:00 AM to say, "I have to go to work, and since
you are retired, I was wondering if you could watch my sick kid today." I
quickly found the most productive time was between 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM.
Working from home can be great. It can be flexible. You can go
out for coffee with a friend if you start an hour earlier. You can use the time you save
not commuting, to take a step aerobics class. It can be less distracting. On
average, telecommuters are at least 10% more productive than their office bound
co-workers.
Working from home can also be a frustrating failure. To increase
the chances that you will be successful working from home, make sure you have all the
facts before you decide. How will working from home affect you? Will you feel relieved or
isolated? How will it affect your job? Will being out of sight and out of mind cause you
to miss a promotion or will your new found productivity make you the office star? How will
it affect your family? Will you be tripping over each other while you try to work? Can you
stand this much "togetherness?" Before you bring your office into your home,
consider all the consequences.
There are three areas that deserve careful evaluation. Use this
guide to determine whether or not working at home, as a telecommuter, is right for you.
Consider how well suited you, your job and your home are, for a home-based career.
You
First, let's consider you. Are you suited for working from home? How much do you
rely on your coworkers and your boss to provide social contacts? Will you be lonely
working from home? Some people enjoy the isolation, at least part of the time; some even
thrive on it. But, if meeting around the water cooler is an important part of your day,
reconsider.
Are you results oriented and self-motivated? To be a good
candidate for telework, your focus has to be on getting the job done, rather than putting
in your eight hours. One of the most important attributes managers are looking for in
telecommuters is self-motivation. That's because home-based workers have more autonomy. No
one casually drops by your cubicle, to ask "How's it going?" when you work from
home. Make sure you are capable of getting focused, staying focused, and getting the job
done.
Personal suitability is more than personality and personal
attributes. It is also about job skills. Ask yourself, do I have the knowledge and skills
I need in order to do the job? If you are still learning, you need to be near the people
and the information that will help you become skilled. Save the telecommuting option until
you are a seasoned professional.
The quiz, "Are You Suited for Working
From Home?" can help you determine if the work at home option is right for you. Be
sure to answer the questions honestly, rather than with the "right" answer. The
purpose of this quiz is to help you measure your potential success.
Your Job
Do you have a job that can be done from home? Consider the suitability of your job for
telecommuting.
The face to face factor - Some jobs, by
their very nature, require that you be, physically, at the job site. Imagine a flight
attendant who works from home. "Welcome aboard flight 2218. I am your flight
attendant and I am working from home today. Please be seated and stow your carry-ons below
your seat. Will the passengers seated next to the emergency exits please raise their
hands? You are the emergency door monitors. Will the rest of you please note their
location? In the event of an emergency the door monitors will help you to exit the plane
safely. Beverages are available for your enjoyment. The beverage cart is located near the
restrooms. Once we are in the air, please help yourselves. Remember, one complementary
soft drink per person and payment for alcoholic beverages is on the honor system. Thank
you and have a wonderful flight."
This is not a flight that I want to be on.
In contrast, a computer programmer is an ideal candidate
for working from home. The programmer can receive their assignment, program and return the
results electronically. A programmer on a large project might only go into the office at
the launch of the new project for orientation meetings with other programmers, again at
the mid-point to re-evaluate the project and reassign tasks and finally upon completion
for evaluation and celebration. The fact that the programmer works from home has very
little impact on the project.
These are extremes in the telework job adaptability
spectrum. Most likely, your job will fall somewhere in the middle. Ask yourself, can my
job be done effectively from outside of the traditional work environment? Some things to
consider in determining whether or not your job can be done from home: Do you need to
interact face to face with clients/customers? Could customer contacts be limited to two or
three days a week, leaving you free to telecommute part time? Do you supervise other
employees? If so, would they be effective if you were no longer in the office everyday?
Your boss - Jonathon's boss gives him large
projects with fuzzy parameters. Jonathon rarely knows up front what his boss really wants.
He makes his best guess on what's needed and then gets started. Typically, Jonathon will
get a few hours into the project, when his boss stops by to see how it's going. He spends
a little time pointing out where Jonathon is off-track and providing some direction. This
pattern of guessing and correcting might continue for several days or weeks, until
Jonathon's boss asks for the completed project. Jonathon's surprised to discover that the
project is due that day and rushes to get it completed.
Jonathon's boss doesn't delegate well. He doesn't
clearly outline Jonathon's responsibilities. He sets no goals and no deadlines. He counts
on his ability to stop in frequently, to keep his employees on track. Without management
training, any telecommuters that report to Jonathon's boss are sure to fail.
For you to be a successful telecommuter, your boss needs
to be able to take a hands-off approach. Many managers aren't comfortable delegating
because they don't really trust their employees. In our survey of managers of
telecommuters, one respondent stated that the thing that would help him to manage more
effectively, was "a camera in [the telecommuter's home] office." If your boss
doesn't trust you, working from home is probably doomed.
If your boss has trouble delegating, work on that first.
Encourage him or her to delegate small, less than crucial projects to you. Make sure the
projects have measurable results and a definite deadline to be met. Clarify the goals
before you begin. Be successful in your project's completion. Build your boss' confidence
in your ability and your sense of responsibility before trying to work from home.
Your co-workers - Sasha is blissfully completing
project after project from her home office, while back in the workplace, her co-workers
fume over the increased disruptions they have to cope with now that Sasha is no longer
available to share the workload. When the boss comes looking for a contract that Sasha
prepared last month, her coworkers feign ignorance. They point out to their now flustered
boss, that things just don't run as smoothly when everyone isn't available.
Frustrated co-workers will sabotage your efforts.
In order to work effectively from home you need allies in the office. They can keep you up
to date on current office events. They can cover for you when the work must be done
at the office. Remember, that when you work from home, typically, you create more work for
those left behind. They end up dealing with your share of the distractions. Plan to take
over some responsibilities from your co-workers, things that can be done effectively from
home, in order to free them up to help you telecommute. Figure out how you can make
work easier for your co-workers and they will help you become a successful telecommuter.
Your Home
Alicia lives in a small two bedroom apartment
with two young children and a cranky little dog. Every morning she struggles to feed her
kids, get them dressed, and ready for the sitter so she can drive to work. Her energetic
toddlers would rather give dental exams to the dog than put on their shoes and they would
rather paint with their oatmeal than eat it. She is exhausted by the time she arrives at
the office. Alicia thinks, "Things would be so much easier if I worked from
home."
Reality check. Fantasies aside, is your home really
a place where you can get work done? Consider just how disruptive your home life actually
is. A good test for this is, if you go to work... to rest... your home life is too
disruptive.
A common reason given for working from home, is to
be there for the kids. Admirable, but truthfully, few people can get much done when the
kids are around. It is best to have someone available to watch young children while you
work.
Before you decide to work from home consider the
following questions:
1) During the hours that you will work, will your home
be fairly quiet?
2) Can you set limits on when and why you can be
disturbed, and expect those limits to be honored?
If you answer no, to either of these questions, you will
need to make some changes before you attempt to work from home.
The last point for consideration, is the physical
space where you will work suitable?
If you expect to work from home while other people
are in the house, it's best to have a separate work area with a door. I recommend this
even if you don't have people in the house when you work. When you have a separate work
space you can get away from the job simply by shutting the door. The first ten years that
I worked from home, my office space had no doors. Not only was I "available" to
whomever walked past my office, but on days off, I wanted to get as far away from home as
possible. A day off at home was like -- a day off at the office. Everywhere I turned there
were reminders of projects needing my attention. Once I exchanged my office for a room
with a door, I was able to literally shut the door on my work. This is a more sane
alternative.
If you think working from home might be the ideal option
for you, you might be right! It can be fantastic. Just make sure you your
work-at-home fantasies are based in reality.
© Copyright Cindy Ventrice, 1999
Cindy Ventrice of Potential Unlimited Seminars has been a consultant/trainer
for over 20 years. She is currently offering presentations and workshops on
topics that include Leadership, Management and Working Virtually.
She can be reached at 831-476-4224, or email: CVentrice@potential-unltd.com
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