Jugglers Workshop | All About Time
Juggling Workshop
Working Moms' Q & A
The daily tug-of-war between your career and your kids can leave you torn between the two worlds. Where do you turn? The Juggling Workshop! Ask questions and share suggestions about juggling work and family.
This week's question:
Even though my boss knows I can work from home effectively, he is afraid of what other employees will say or ask for if he makes an "exception" for me. I am in a supervisory role over 4 employees who work well on their own and call me at home if there is a problem. I just want to work 1 day from home and do this anyway about every other week. Maybe he is ok with it as long as it is not official or regular days? What can I say to him that will make him feel more at ease about this?
-- Cecelia
Cecelia,
Telecommuting is the wave of the future. Six percent of American workers
(over 8 million people) now do it regularly and nearly 75% of telecommuters
in a recent study said they feel more productive when working from home. I
know many people who telecommute, a few who do it nearly fulltime, and all
agree that they are more productive. But it's very common for folks like
your boss to be hesitant about it. His concern that other employees will
ask for it or not understand is normal. Sounds to me what is really needed
is a telecommuting policy.
How about offering to be the prototype for a test telecommuting program for
your company? You can help them troubleshoot potential problems by keeping
track of any you face. The department or company needs to set up some
guidelines as to who would be eligible to do this (in terms of type of
position, time with the company, etc.), how many days a week is acceptible,
draft an written agreement that outlines both your employer's expectations
and responsibilities (like who provides the computer, modem, phone line,
etc.) That can be done more effectively with feedback from you. If it's
clear you are doing this for the greater good of your employer, it might
help him both formalize the one-day-a-week program and explain it to his
superiors. It's clear you are in a position where the work is not going to
suffer if you work from home one day a week. This might help your boss see
it all as a win-win situation.
Hope this helps.
Working together we can make a difference.
-- Cathy
Cecelia-
1. You are asking for very little - 1 day every other week. This shouldn't
be a problem under any circumstances.
2. The way to address "what other employees think" or "an exception" is
two-fold.
One, either the employee or boss or both should ask the other employees
what they
think, and the boss should make a partial decision based on their
feelings. Two, in
almost all circumstances it is up to the boss (as a matter of fact it's
part of their job) to
determine which employees' work circumstances are appropriate for
telecommuting
and which aren't. For instance, if the four staffers' work requires them
to be on-site,
then they shouldn't telecommute. That decision will affect his choice of
whether or
not to allow the supervisor to do this one day every two weeks, and is
the bottom line
for the company regardless of what the four employees "feel".
It's a tough situation and a tough question; honesty and dealing up front
with it for
all concerned is the best way to handle it. You should also present
cogent arguments
to the boss about why this one day at home is good for the company and
why it's good
for you. The more pro-company arguments presented, the better off you
are.
I will definitely write about these issues in an upcoming Telecommuting News
-- Mark
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