After the last article, you’re probably wondering, “Why all of the questions, Ree?  Seriously – can there possibly be a reason for all of these questions?”

Yes, my friends, these are vastly important questions that must be faced when you first sit down to write a proposal for your boss.

“But a proposal?  Why do I need to be so formal?  Can’t I just go ask?”

Well, yes, you could.  But, my dear, as sorry as I am to tell you this – if you came into my office and said, “I want to work from home instead of coming into the office.” I’d have to say no.

You’d say, “But why?”

And I’d say, “Why do you want to?”

Then we’d have to hash this all out – and I’d wonder what kind of thought you actually gave to your idea.  I may even be a bit peeved that you were wasting my time, because now, I have to take the time to ask you these questions – and you have to think of your answers…

So, before you even sit down to write your proposal, let’s look again at the questions you’ve asked yourself:

1. Am I okay being alone for most of the day – i.e. away from the “water cooler gossip”?
   • Remember that you won’t have “Mary” or “Sue” to break up your day with girlfriend talk.  You won’t know that “Joe” has a crush on “Jill”.  You won’t hear that “Tina” is thinking of leaving the company.

1. Do I have a good support system for child care?
   • If you’re only considering working from home in order to do away with day care fees, you’ll need to be absolutely certain that you can handle your day-to-day activities without missing deadlines or cutting out of meetings because of “Tommy’s” lunchtime.
   • If your children are in school most of the day, this is an easier transition than if you have toddlers who believe that because Mommy is sitting at her desk, she’s free to play! And Look Mommy!  And Mommy, come wipe my bottom!  (Other meeting participants will enjoy listening to “Sarah’s” announcements that she went #2 and needs more toilet paper.)
   • If you do have infants and/or toddlers, you’ll need to consider scheduling meetings during the EARLY morning or evening – when other family members can take over.
   • Obviously, if the work you do is completely independent, and you can set your own hours, this is much less of an obstacle than if you must be available when others are ready.
2. Will I be able to be flexible if something happens and I need to go to the office that day?
   • What if “Mary” calls in sick and someone needs to go run the presentation in the office?  Or what if your internet provider experiences an outage the day you have to send that email?  Can you quickly get to the office to get what you need, or will you need to cancel the presentation/be late with the email?
3. Am I willing to be back “under the microscope” during an initial trial period?
   • Most employers are more willing to allow teleworking under an initial “trial period” – to ensure that they are getting their money’s worth.  Have you considered a “back out” plan in case either you OR your employer decides that it’s not working?
   • Can you handle your boss “checking” to see if you’re working IF you have to be available during certain times of the day?  Once I received a call from an irate client because the employee that requested and received a 6 month work from home trial never answered her phone during business hours.  It went to voicemail every time this client called.
4. What are my long term career goals?
   • Out of sight can mean out of mind.  If you’d like to climb the corporate ladder or be considered for promotions, you’ll need to work a bit harder to be noticed than “Sharon” who is in the office every day talking to the boss.
5. Can I stay focused?
   • This, personally, was the hardest part of working from home to get used to.  I’m now in a 4 ft. by 4 ft. area in a 10 ft. X 10 ft. room – sharing space with the family computer and whoever NEEDS to use it at that moment.  My mind wanders over to what my son is doing on the computer next to me.  “Homework, Mom.  Geez.”
   • I can distract myself for hours dusting.  Or rearranging shelves.  Determining a new way to arrange furniture.  And I can’t possibly get started until everything is neat.  (I didn’t have this problem before, but it’s amazing how much that glass that the 16 year old left on the desk next to me can BUG me until I take the time to pick it up, take it down to the kitchen, rinse it out, come back upstairs to the office, notice the water stain and the can I missed, wipe up the water stain, take the can down to the recycling….  You get the idea?)

If, after answering these questions, you still feel like you’re the perfect candidate for working remotely, stay tuned!  In Part 3, we’ll discuss actually WRITING that proposal.

What is your proposal for working at home? Tell us over in our busy forum!

Ree can be found blogging at “My Life as a Hotfessional”.  If you’d like to hear about the rest of the craziness in my life, stop by anytime!  I’m always “at home”.