About six years ago, another organization within the company I work for needed my help. The only problem was, they were located about 2 hours away from my home. The manager of that organization, whom I had never met before, struck a deal with me: I could work from home most of the time, but every other week I needed to drive down to that site and be there in person for a couple of days. Over time, as I got to know the manager, and his trust in me grew, my visits to that site grew less and less, until I was traveling only once every couple of months. I stopped working with that group and that boss a long time ago, but have been able to maintain my telework status with all subsequent managers and groups I have worked with. Today I am a successful teleworker and I love it.
Telework allows you to spend more time with your family, sleep late, get up early, help watch the children, run errands, go out to lunch without feeling guilty, console a sick family member, help out in emergencies, and yes, monitor your Steemit feed. Telework is not for everyone. If you prefer, or your job requires a regimented schedule, predictability, no interruptions, or want more time away from your spouse than with them, telework is probably not for you.
My experience has taught me that the single most important factor in allowing you to be a successful teleworker is your reputation. You must have, and actively cultivate a rock solid reputation. Your reputation leads to trust, and trust leads to freedom to accomplish your job in a way that is accommodating of your stay-at-home lifestyle. If you don't have a good reputation, your manager will find the need to control you more, and control begins by being within seeing distance, i.e., in the office with everyone else.
I've compiled a list of what I consider to be the top 5 rules for teleworkers. Each rule supports the overarching goal of active cultivation of one's reputation. These rules are:
Make your coworkers think you are right there working with them. This begins by responding to emails as soon as possible - immediately if you can. Many work improvement guides encourage you to set aside specific times of day to answer emails so your tasking and concentration are not interrupted. I have found this to be a bad idea for telework. When you are a remote user, your coworkers can't drop by your desk to talk. They can't even see you to get an idea of what you're doing, or if you are busy working on a task. Their primary communication mechanism with you is email, and if you are slow to respond, it makes them feel like you are difficult to contact. Similarly, answer your phone when you are called. Don't let it go to voice mail. Give them your cell phone number rather than a land line and keep your cell phone with you at all times. The idea is to make communication with you so seamless and so easy, that it is as if you are right there in the office with them. You want your reputation to be one of always being around, easy to contact, and willing to help.
Be willing to work flexible hours. Part of the reason companies want coworkers in the office is that once they are in the office, they tend to be more willing to stay there and get the job done. If you are at home, you can't simply clock out at 5 o'clock if your coworkers are staying late to meet a deadline. If someone needs to contact you at 6:30 at night, say yes, and make sure that your yes conveys a happy, willing-to-help, smile. If your coworkers work in a different timezone, be willing to get up at 6:00 am to attend a meeting. Don't make them change their schedule to accommodate you. If you hear that your coworker is working over the weekend, volunteer to help them. You can suggest that as they make progress they can send you a draft of what they have, and you will get back to them as soon as you can, prior to the start of work on Monday morning. This helps you build your reputation as someone who works just as hard, just as many hours, and just as flexibly as anyone else in the office.
Meet your deadlines. Always. It's bad enough when you don't deliver your work on time. But if you don't deliver your work on time, and your not in the office with everyone else, your putting doubt in your coworkers' minds. They begin to question what you were doing with your time or if you were really working. Maybe you weren't at home, or maybe you were taking an overly long lunch? They can't see you, so they don't know, and when they don't know, there is the danger they'll assume you were slacking off. Therefore, if you are given a task to do, complete it when you are supposed to, and no one will question how well you used your time. Your want a reputation of getting your tasks done on time, every time.
Don't just email, call or chat too. Email is an impersonal way of communicating and gives the impression of time and distance. Do not use it as your only form of communication. Chat with your coworkers to give the impression that right now you are working hard to get something done. Call your coworkers on occasion. This allows them to hear your voice, but is also particularly useful when you have a complicated issue to review that would be much more difficult through chat or email. A 2 minute phone conversation is often much more effective than a 10 minute chat session. You want to be known as an active, engaged, member of the team, not some distant person who sends people the occasional email.
Ask about your coworkers's lives. Give compliments. When you're in the office, its easy to stop and talk to a coworker about the work they did in the garden that weekend, or to ask them about their children. When you work remote, communication tends to become strictly business. When appropriate, make a conscious effort to ask your coworkers about things that are happening outside of work, to make up for this very important bonding activity. Complimenting your coworkers goes a long way as well. It helps form a bond of appreciation for you, and puts you in their thoughts for a longer period of time. This establishes your reputation as being very personable and caring, and in touch with the lives of your coworkers.
I know a lot of these rules go against the prevailing wisdom for effective work habits. But working remotely is a special situation requiring more attention to active communication with your coworkers, at the potential expense of effectiveness. These rules have worked for me, and I've been able to strike an excellent balance between my stay-at-home lifestyle and my work responsibilities. How about you? Are you a teleworker and have your own suggestions for success? Please share them in the comments below.
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Our co-workers needs us for many things just to make things easier for everyone.