The idea of working remotely from home is being embraced by more and more professionals who want to be closer to family, eliminate a long commute, and create a more flexible schedule. So You Want to Work from Home Without Leaving Your Current Job shares step-by-step guidance that will help anyone create a work life that others will envy. Fran Szabo relies on more than thirty years of experience in business management at Fortune 100 companies in order to provide an essential resource for anyone looking to work from home without leaving their current employment. While providing techniques that make working from home successful for both the employer and the employee, Szabo assists employees in determining if working from home is the right decision, shares methods to help gain a manager's support, offers ways to make the home office productive, and provides suggestions that assist remote workers in improving productivity and lowering stress. For anyone interested in achieving better life balance and improving their contributions to their company, this guidebook presents a vital road map that will help employees and business owners attain long-term success, happiness, and professional goals-all while working from home.

So You Want to Work from Home without Leaving Your Current Job

Business Essentials for Working RemotelyBy Frances D. Szabo

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2010 Frances D. Szabo
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-6234-7

Contents

Foreword by Maria Chavez........................................xiIntroduction....................................................1Your Situation..................................................4Is Working from Home a Good Fit for You?........................4Key Tips for Working from Home..................................6Convincing Your Manager.........................................9Know Your Manager's Paradigm....................................9Timing and Location.............................................10Communication Skills............................................11Key Tips for Convincing Your Manager............................25Successfully Working from Home..................................29Setting Up Shop.................................................29Some Changes May Be Needed......................................33Same Old Routine................................................34Key Tips for Successfully Working from Home.....................36Improving Productivity..........................................39Get More Done Each Day..........................................39Use Multiple Methods to Communicate.............................46Tips for Improving Productivity.................................60Maintaining Balance.............................................63Set Boundaries..................................................64Physical Activity and Nutrition.................................64Managing Stress.................................................80Key Tips for Maintaining Balance................................90Putting It All Together.........................................93References......................................................99About the Author................................................103Index...........................................................105

Chapter One

Convincing Your Manager

Your plans to convince your manager of your work-from-home ambitions should be deliberate and well planned. You may have only one opportunity to convince your manager, if your position is not already being structured to work off premises. This is no time for an "elevator speech" in passing.

Know Your Manager's Paradigm

Before you enter into a discussion about your plans, evaluate where your manager may be coming from. Many people do not understand the benefits that working at home can provide. Some people have an older stereotype of working, based on past experience (Covey 1990); they believe that work only gets done at the organization's facility. While this is true for some jobs, there are many jobs with tasks that can be done remotely.

? Marriott reservations are completed by 325 employees working from their homes (Kimo Kippen, personal communication 2010). ? Accounting firm KPMG (formerly, Klynveld, Peat, McClinton, and Goerdeler) creates all its training materials through employees working from home with a secured, social Web site where they can see each other's work and where feedback from subject matter experts can be input and viewed (Daniel Kuzup, personal communication 2010). ? Hewlett-Packard technical support is provided by technical· experts working from their homes around the world, even though you are calling a toll-free phone number in the United States (Robert Gordon, personal communication 2010).

Make a list of all the daily/weekly tasks required for your job. Evaluate which tasks can be completed remotely, and mark each with an H. Mark tasks that must be completed on the premises with Os.

Prepare your notes carefully so that you can articulate them clearly with your manager. Once your manager has made a decision regarding your request to work from home, be sure that you understand the reasoning behind his/her decision. This is significant, in case there is an opportunity to revisit the conversation. Be accepting of your manager's decision, and don't get defensive or confrontational. You never want to burn a bridge, regardless of the outcome of the decision.

Once you have specifically outlined your conversation, consider when and where it should take place; those are important factors as well.

Timing and Location

If your manager is putting out many fires, expecting important visitors, or scheduled in back-to-back meetings all day long, recognize that it would probably not be a good time to talk. This is not the type of conversation to conduct in the hallway or with other employees present. The best approach is to schedule a thirty-minute meeting in the manager's office. If your manager asks, "What is this about?", reply with a generic statement like, "I want to discuss some ideas about my job" as opposed to "I would like to talk about working from home".

Being a skilled communicator can make the difference between a yes and a no response.

Communication Skills

Effective communication is a complex process including several basic skills. Communication is not a science of regimented, precise procedures. There are specific, sound principles and themes, but there are thousands of variations on these themes, which can be construed subjectively by the intended receiver(s). The most critical type of communication is face-to-face. That's when you are persuading others by communicating your ideas in person (Decker 1996).

Your believability is critical to the successful outcome of a persuasive conversation. No matter what is said, it is not going to make much difference in the mind of the listener unless you are credible and believable. On that note, there are three distinct components of a message that can lead to your believability (Mehrabian 1993).

The three components of a message that need to be consistent to make the presenter believable are: verbal, vocal, and visual. The verbal component is the actual words used. The tone component represents the tone, pitch, and vocal quality of the message. The visual component refers to speaker's body language. Which component most influences the listener's judgment of your believability?

? Verbal: 7 percent

? Vocal: 38 percent

? Visual: 57 percent

The actual words (verbal component) lead to your believability in a small way.

However, your voice and body language contribute greatly to your believability. When all three elements work together, your message is consistent. The excitement and enthusiasm of your voice work with the energy and animation of your face and body to reflect your confidence and conviction. If you are nervous or under pressure, you will most likely concentrate on your words while your voice may come across as halting and tremulous. You are more likely to look down and clasp your hands. Be aware that these (sometimes natural) behaviors send an inconsistent message, eroding your believability.

Colin Powell was relatively unknown when the American people wanted him to run for president. What made him such an attractive candidate and liked by so many people? He made the verbal, vocal, and visual elements of his message work together, hence making him believable in the eyes of the American people.

Former presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan couldn't have been any more different from each other. From their political parties to their...