I've been telecommuting regularly for about a decade now, at two different jobs. The biggest issues for me have been difficulty in creating a 'barrier' between work and home and lack of face time w/ coworkers. Quite honestly, the first issue tends to be a problem for me whether or not I telecommute, as I am one of those who gets online to check messages, etc. anyway. The second issue isn't as big a problem for me as it would be for some, due to the highly self-directed nature of my work. Whether working at home or at the office, IM tends to be my primary means of communication w/ coworkers. And channels like Facebook make it easy to connect w/ them in a fun and more casual way. It's interesting that companies like IBM encourage these kinds of virtual connections among their telecommuting employees, as discussed in this article I wrote in December.

To add my two cents, I've been telecommuting on and off for about a year and a half.  I face two challenges worth mention as a trailblazer in my department.  The first is when working with groups that are accustomed to face to face meetings, being the odd man out over the phone or on a conference bridge, folks find it a hassle to include me in impromptu meetings.  The administrative burden of coordinating a call or making it back to a PC to IM me and send an invite is prohibitive in some working environments and leaves my participation as an afterthought. I find this to be the case especially when the telecommuting practice is not wide-spread.

The second is fighting off the negative perceptions some coowrokers have towards those who are eligible in their roles to work from a remote location. The teleworker is unfairly projected as being less accountable and even worse, less productive where in reality, as many of us know, the opposite is true.

ITBE reader aullman ,  in response to a Knowledge Network blog had the following to say about telecommuting: