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I want to work at home full time. What are the benefits for an employer to allow a worker to telecommute?
I am trying highlight the benefits that an employer receives by allowing an employee to telecommute full time.
I currently work at home two days a week and I am trying to convince my boss to allow it to be full time. My job does not involve any direct contact with anyone else in our branch office (located in Denver) I work directly for our Corporate HQs which is on the West coast. My boss and other department members also work on the West coast.
I currently work at home two days a week and I am trying to convince my boss to allow it to be full time. My job does not involve any direct contact with anyone else in our branch office (located in Denver) I work directly for our Corporate HQs which is on the West coast. My boss and other department members also work on the West coast.
answers (6)
1)
There are 10 excellent points near the end of this article:
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid={2ABAE993-A839-4275-B37F-A4475CCFC469}&siteid=mktw&dist=nwtpf
2)
Do you receive an annual raise? If so, tell your boss that instead of a raise this year that you would like the opportunity to work from home full time. This will make financial sense to both your boss and to you. You'll both save money.
3)
Specifically, here are the 4 most common reasons why an employer values telecommuting:
Consolidate office space
Reduce absenteeism
Increase productivity
Save the company money and resources
4)
Current studies:
AT&T has been studied and is often cited in articles relating to telecommuting. An important fact to relay to your boss might be, "A survey by AT&T of 1,500 of their teleworkers found an average 10 percent gain in productivity on telework days." Mention how much more productive you are when you work at home and if possible, show the proof.
5)
Some good books:
General tips for telecommuters
http://www.amazon.com/101-Tips-Telecommuters-Debra-Dinnocenzo/dp/1576750698/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231944799&sr=8-1
Specific research on the pros and cons of working from home
http://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Workplace-Sourcebook-Information-Research/dp/B000PY3GJS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231944799&sr=8-2
I hope that these things help you on your quest to work from home!
There are 10 excellent points near the end of this article:
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid={2ABAE993-A839-4275-B37F-A4475CCFC469}&siteid=mktw&dist=nwtpf
2)
Do you receive an annual raise? If so, tell your boss that instead of a raise this year that you would like the opportunity to work from home full time. This will make financial sense to both your boss and to you. You'll both save money.
3)
Specifically, here are the 4 most common reasons why an employer values telecommuting:
Consolidate office space
Reduce absenteeism
Increase productivity
Save the company money and resources
4)
Current studies:
AT&T has been studied and is often cited in articles relating to telecommuting. An important fact to relay to your boss might be, "A survey by AT&T of 1,500 of their teleworkers found an average 10 percent gain in productivity on telework days." Mention how much more productive you are when you work at home and if possible, show the proof.
5)
Some good books:
General tips for telecommuters
http://www.amazon.com/101-Tips-Telecommuters-Debra-Dinnocenzo/dp/1576750698/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231944799&sr=8-1
Specific research on the pros and cons of working from home
http://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Workplace-Sourcebook-Information-Research/dp/B000PY3GJS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231944799&sr=8-2
I hope that these things help you on your quest to work from home!
| Asker's rating: |
Very helpful with specific points of reference.
Since they are already letting you work at home two days a week, it seems clear they know you are productive at home. The question is whether they are getting a benefit from those other three days, such as some face-to-face contact with other employees, community-building, or just a sense of institutional identity.
You seem to be saying that your working contact is only with the West coast people. You need to address that more, I think. Point out that the office environment in Denver is not part of you bonding with the company.
Then you can talk about saved time (less commuting, shorter lunch breaks) that can be added to the work, increased energy level, better availability (no break in contact while commuting), and of course money they save by not having to keep the office space ready for you.
You seem to be saying that your working contact is only with the West coast people. You need to address that more, I think. Point out that the office environment in Denver is not part of you bonding with the company.
Then you can talk about saved time (less commuting, shorter lunch breaks) that can be added to the work, increased energy level, better availability (no break in contact while commuting), and of course money they save by not having to keep the office space ready for you.
If you work at home you can work longer hours in more comfort. Tell your boss that you can work extra hours at home and be more effective in the comforts of your house. If he doesn't agree ask him to let you give it a test run for a couple weeks. If you are more productive at home than at work then you can argue with the upper hand and probably win.
My employer frequently allows me to telecommute, I do software development and on the relatively few occasions I need to collaborate with my team or business analysts or most anyone else, I can do so largely via email or IM.
If you have some sort of disability, or a disabled child or spouse whom you need to take care of or monitor, it's great to have that flexibility, particularly if the job is such that you can schedule your tasks around your family and personal needs.
Since my job requires some creativity and focus, it's great to be able to choose the environment from which I work (whether home or a coffee shop or wherever) as well as when. If your office has a lot of distractions (e.g. noisy office mates, lots of passersby, weird odors) this can be some more justification for you to work from home. Also it frees up the office space for someone else who might need to be on site as part of their job.
If you have some sort of disability, or a disabled child or spouse whom you need to take care of or monitor, it's great to have that flexibility, particularly if the job is such that you can schedule your tasks around your family and personal needs.
Since my job requires some creativity and focus, it's great to be able to choose the environment from which I work (whether home or a coffee shop or wherever) as well as when. If your office has a lot of distractions (e.g. noisy office mates, lots of passersby, weird odors) this can be some more justification for you to work from home. Also it frees up the office space for someone else who might need to be on site as part of their job.
There is lower turnover among telecommuters. The employer doesn't need to provide an office. You can work during inclement weather that would keep you from driving.
The biggest one is that you save your commuting time each day. For me personally, I used to have a 45-minute commute each way. So, working from home, I all of a sudden have an hour and a half extra time per day. If I even take half of that and apply it, that's an extra 15 hours per month that I can apply to work and be more productive. That doesn't even take into account the benefit to your well being. :-)
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However - as they already let you telecommute two days a week, they probably already know the pros and cons. Instead of making the case for telecommuting in general, you probably need to get clear what their specific concerns are in your case and address those.
It might be as simple as they've never given it much thought, don't have any serious objections, and you don't have to do a lot more than ask nicely.
It could be something like "Our CEO doesn't believe in it, he's got a thing about team spirit and company culture, and I'm not going to waste my time arguing with him". In which case, you're probably out of luck.
Or it could be something more specific, like they think the water cooler talk at the office is important for knowing what's going on, and don't realise you don't take much part in it.