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Five reasons why the company you want to work for won’t hire telecommuters (and four ways to get hired anyway)

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  1. Algernon_Asimov
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    This. A thousand times, this. I've had two jobs in different careers where I've been able to work from home, and both times it succeeded only because I had previously worked in the office...

    One element of that argument may be to offer to visit the office regularly—a practice on which most successful telecommuters insist (for communication reasons), so it’s no hardship. Maybe it’s in-office two days in five.

    After 18 months he was bored, and ready to leave; a two-hour commute didn’t help. The organization wanted him to stay, so he said he’d do so if he could telecommute two days a week.

    This. A thousand times, this.

    I've had two jobs in different careers where I've been able to work from home, and both times it succeeded only because I had previously worked in the office full-time and, when I changed to working from home, I still attended the office one or two days per week.

    As the article says, when you're remote, you're left out. Out of sight, out of mind. You become just a task-doer rather than a person. "Send an email to X and the task will be done." There's no connection, no involvement, no inclusion. I have missed out on learning useful stuff because I wasn't in the office where I could overhear people talking, and join in on random conversations. That spontaneity does help, like the article points out.

    But building the connections first - making yourself a person in your co-workers' eyes and learning about them as people - helps when your communications are reduced to words on a screen or even a voice on the phone.

    And, after you've built those connections, you need to maintain them with regular personal contact at least once a week.

    Working remotely can be great if it's done well. Otherwise, it's miserable for you and less effective for your employer.

    2 votes