Five Tips for Successful Telecommuting

Have you thought about working from home? Turns out you’re not alone. In fact, a large majority (87 percent) of people say schedules that would let them better manage work and personal or family life would be “extremely” or “very” important if they were job hunting, according to the latest study from the Families and Work Institute.

Estimates say that only about 2.3 percent of the American workforce currently telecommutes. However, experts say that number is increasing rapidly. Regular telecommuting grew by 61 percent between 2005 and 2009, according to a June 2011 report from the Telework Research Network.

As experts in the field of telecommuting technology, TeamViewer is now recommending five tips on how workers can negotiate their way into a flexible job and successfully convince managers that they can be more productive as a telecommuter.

Click through for five tips on how to negotiate your way into a flexible job as a telecommuter, as identified by TeamViewer.

Requesting to telecommute may cause your manager to be concerned about your productivity. Suggest telecommuting starting at one day per week, and then finish off several projects on day one to show how focused you are. Once you’ve proven that you are more productive working from home than you are in the office, your manager will be much more likely to agree to it in the future.

When back in the office, remind your manager how working from home benefitted the company. For example, telecommuting allowed you to avoid morning traffic and start your day earlier than usual. This leads to greater productivity and more deadlines met.

Always stay in constant contact with the office. Though you are working from home, your co-workers should never feel as if you are far away. Consider having your office phone calls forwarded to your home number – but make sure that you have an appropriate voicemail message. Set up reliable remote software so that you can easily interact with your work computer from home. Nothing will sour your colleagues to your new work schedule faster than having to do extra work because you’re not there.

Though this is apparent, do not fall behind on deadlines. The last thing you want is your manager attributing a lack of productivity to your flexible schedule.

As in any workplace, urgent matters will always arise. Telecommuting may lead to situations where you are unavailable during certain hours. Make sure to designate someone who will take over your role during times you are unavailable. This person should be able to momentarily handle your responsibility until you return.