Are you well suited for telecommuting or teleworking?

By Barbara Bowes

If you have any kind of lengthy drive to work or are just getting fed up and stressed out by all the traffic, I'll bet the sharply increasing cost of gasoline has you pulling your hair out. On the other hand, you might also be experiencing other work-life balance issues, such managing all the family demands for children's summer activities, vacation scheduling or elder-care obligations. All of this leads to big-time stress.

It may also leave you thinking that maybe telecommuting is the answer. After all, many companies and organizations are concerned about fast-rising gas prices too, so maybe telecommuting could provide an opportunity to reduce costs for both you and your employer.

But the question is whether you would be well suited for telecommuting or teleworking.

Working from home involves a lot more than just having a laptop, a telephone and a desk. According to Susan Randall, a veteran teleworker for the past four years, teleworking requires a certain personality and a good deal of self-management. You need to be selfconfident and self-motivated, without fear of fear being left out of things or feeling isolated. And, you must be good at setting and sticking to goals as well as being good at project and time management because you are essentially on your own.

The latest research shows that over 60 million Americans are already working from home. And with the gas-price increases, the number of telecommuters in Canada is expected to climb as well. But the point is whether you or your job are suited to such a work arrangement and whether your employer can effectively support a working-from-home arrangement.

But let's concentrate on you, the worker. Are you really suited to a telework/telecommuting work arrangement? The following thoughtprovoking questions will help you assess the potential of your success as a teleworker.

1. Will your job permit telework? If your job requires face-to-face customer service in situations where the customer/client comes to you, then it's definitely not suited to telework. You have to be in attendance. However, if your job is related to producing and working with information, then the chances are far greater. Typically, good telework jobs are more frequently found in banks, insurance agencies, high-tech companies, legal, architectural, accounting and service firms.

2. Do you have the right tools for the job? There's nothing more frustrating than not being able to access the company hard-drive and/or having your computer crash in the middle of preparing a report. Starting over is no fun, so make sure your home computer is compatible and has the power to match your work requirements. Don't expect your employer to provide all the equipment, especially if you work for a smaller firm.

3. Do you have a self-contained home workspace? Setting up the laptop on the kitchen table and clearing it away for meal times just won't work. You need to have home office space that will allow you the privacy needed to complete your work. Keep in mind you will have confidential materials nearby that must be protected.

4. Is your workspace free of interruptions? Working at home is just that, work. If you have young children at home, a retired spouse who is excited about your being home, an elderly parent who needs attention, or a hobby that begs for your time, it'll be difficult to get your work done. If you aren't careful, you'll end up making promises you can't keep and/or you'll be working late into the night trying to complete an assignment, more exhausted than if you had gone into your workplace.

5. Is your personality suited to working alone? While working from home sounds nice, it can also be very isolating. After all, you are working by yourself, with no daily face-to-face communication. Over time, the lack of interpersonal communication can be detrimental to your motivation, especially if you are an extroverted person who gets their energy from other people.

6. Are you self-disciplined and well organized? Individuals who work out of their home have to set their own routine. They need to be able to organize their workload, set a schedule and stick to it. Sorry, but watching Oprah or a TSN golf game won't cut it unless you can force yourself to work later in the evening to make up for the pleasure time.

7. Do you need personal feedback and recognition? Professionals who work independently with minimal supervision and who don't require feedback and recognition are better suited to telework. If you prefer to work in a situation where there's more interaction with a supervisor for direction, followup or more frequent feedback and recognition, then telework is not for you.

8. Can your boss work effectively with a telecommuter? If you already have a trusting relationship and your supervisor won't demand concrete hourly reports that prove you are really working, then telework might be a suitable arrangement. At the same time, recognize that this is an arrangement that will require adjustment on both your parts.

9. Are your communication skills up to the task? Keeping in touch with your workplace is critical for you to be in tune with what's going on. Not only that, communicating and discussing issues via email and telephone is quite different from discussing things face to face where you have body language to guide your interpretations. What is your communication style? Are you able to send plain-language e-mails that prevent misinterpretation?

10. Will working at home lead to overwork? One of the biggest challenges teleworkers face is being able to differentiate between home and work routines. It's so easy to step back into the home office and work for just a few more hours. It's so easy to check that BlackBerry all evening long! All in all, you might find that so called life-work balance you were looking for has completely disappeared. With increasing gas and general transportation costs, telework or telecommuting is quickly going to come up for discussion and may indeed become a potential solution for many organizations. On the other hand, it also requires a combination of the right job, the right person, the right employee-boss relationship, the right technical and policy support and the right home-office environment. If all these elements are in place, then by all means, give it a try.

Source: Interview with Susan Randall, a fouryear veteran of telework; "Could You Telecommute?", Telecommute Connect, New Haven CT., 10/10/06, "Are you a candidate for telecommuting?", John Haukey, Cyberspeak, 05/24/01

Barbara J. Bowes, FCHRP, CMC, is president of Legacy Bowes Group and vice-president of Legacy Executive Search Partners, Man. Inc. She also hosts a weekly radio show and can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

About the Legacy Bowes Group

Legacy Bowes Group, co-founded by Barbara Bowes and Paul Croteau is indeed the legacy arising from over twenty years of service by the Bowes Leadership Group/BowesHR and the Legacy Executive Search Partners, formerly PWC. Legacy Bowes Group offers a full range of HR and Business Advisory services and has gained its first-class reputation among employers ranging from small owner-operated enterprises to major corporations, in Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba. At Legacy Bowes Group, there is one focus - creating Solutions. We help you identify the issues and resolve them with customized training, coaching and mentoring. Our services are delivered with the assurance that your company will achieve optimal, sustainable results. The Legacy Bowes Group operates under the ethical guidelines of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants and the Canadian Council of Human Resource Management Associations.