How To Work Remotely

Wouldn’t you like to avoid rush hour traffic, wasting hours getting to and from work, the cost of parking or annoyance of traffic? Wouldn’t you like to help the environment by reducing the pollution from vehicles? Or how about working from home without the annoying co-workers popping by for a chat? Or someone drenched in perfume that gives you an allergic reaction? Or getting much more work done? All the above can be achieved by working remotely. With technology, it’s really quite easy to do.

Unfortunately it’s still resisted by many employers. So at this point in time it’s up to you to ’sell’ the idea to your boss.

The keys to working remotely are as follows:

1. Ask

‘Ask and you shall receive’. I expand that to be ‘Ask with the expectation of success, and you shall receive.” As with many other things in life, in order to get you need to ask. I’ll bet most people who think their boss wouldn’t let them work remotely haven’t even asked.

2. Have some leverage

Of course when you ask you have to have some leverage. You are a valued employee or contractor with unique skills as I’ve mentioned before. If you are absolutely determined to work remotely then you need to have options. Ask around and go on some interviews mentioning that you need to work 2 days a week remotely because you have some small clients that you’re still working with, or you have a small child at home, etc. These should be true statement. It’s often easier to get remote work for new jobs. Be prepared to follow through if you get rejected. Before I ask for anything I ask myself, ‘What will I do if they say no?’ There has to be a consequence prepared ahead of time.

3. Show the value

Start small. Ask to work remotely for one day and see what happens. During that day you make sure you get a ton of work done. Then you can expand over time. I worked on a contract for 6 months out-of-town, then when asked to extend I said only if I can work remotely. I showed the value first and committed to my obligations, then asked at the point of contract extension.

For more information on getting your boss to let you work remotely, check out The 4-Hour Workweek