Flextime, Telecommuting

Flextime, Telecommuting â€" How To Attain Career Freedom This post initially seems in my Work In Progress career coaching column for Forbes.com: On the heels of Independence Day, it’s an opportune time to revisit career freedom â€"freedom to work if you want, freedom to work where you want, freedom to work on what you like. These freedoms aren’t assured, so typically times you must manage up and negotiate on your career freedom. Define what freedom means to you so you understand what to ask for If every thing on the above record sounds good, prioritize and focus on one aim at a time. You can obtain it all but when there's a negotiation, you will not want to ask for every little thing suddenly. You may need to go for the simplest â€" if others are already working remotely, freedom of location may be your first request. Or you may need to go on your highest precedence. Find out what has been accomplished earlier than to repeat what works and avoid what doesn’t If your company tradition doesn’t help versatile work insurance policies, this doesn’t imply you possibly can’t telecommute or have a flexible schedule. But it does mean you’ll need to pioneer these initiatives, and that entails more danger and planning. So it’s all the time helpful to know what has been carried out before so you'll be able to level to different successful examples if there are some, you'll be able to see what arguments they made to help their case, and you can be taught of any errors to avoid when things didn’t prove well. Propose a turnkey solution that makes it straightforward on your boss to approve Make certain that what you propose works on your employer, including the logistics. If you want to work at home, are you set up to try this? Have you checked with IT on safety necessities? Have you laid out a communication plan so folks know where to succeed in you? Do you've contingency plans if enterprise requires that you simply be in the workplace? You wish to make it easy on your employer to approve your plan. Of course, you want to lead with a strong enterprise case for why your request will benefit the underside line â€" e.g., elevated productivity. The ultimate profession freedom is to do work that you simply love. All work has its ups and downs, however ideally, there are extra good days than dangerous. If you find your ardour waning, more workplace flexibility might bolster your productivity enough that you just regain momentum in your role. But it is a short-time period repair for a larger problem. You need to do a self-assessment each 3-6 months to make sure that you’re engaged on outcomes which are meaningful to you (on your private fulfillment) and significant to the company (for your skilled success). Our FREE job search mini-course is available now! Register HERE to get the course delivered proper to your inbox. I suppose the problem nowadays with the recession is folks that abuse the telecommuting privilege. It makes it more durable for the oldsters which might be trustworthy in regards t o the time they put in for work. Some employees just don’t get the fact that they are cheating themselves when they cheat their employer out of time. I actually have additionally read where plenty of corporations now discover methods to watch their at-residence staff. And after all that is being called an invasion of privateness!!!! Excuse me people however instances are hard for everyone and why must you be paid for not working. Great article and I hope to see extra. Career Counseling Angela, thanks for commenting! Slacking off just isn't limited to telecommuters, after all. Even when you’re primarily based in the office, Internet browsing, water cooler talk, additional lengthy breaks, etc. are all out there to the office-based mostly worker. That stated, taking a break just isn't necessarily slacking off. Being busy isn’t the identical as being productive. Companies can be wise to look at actual results and never simply time spent (or face time!) I think the challenge nowada ys with the recession is folks that abuse the telecommuting privilege. It makes it harder for the oldsters which might be honest in regards to the time they put in for work. Some staff simply don’t get the fact that they're dishonest themselves after they cheat their employer out of time. I actually have also learn the place lots of companies now find methods to watch their at-residence employees. And of course this is being called an invasion of privateness!!!! Excuse me people however occasions are hard for everyone and why must you be paid for not working. Great article and I hope to see more. Career Counseling Angela, thanks for commenting! Slacking off just isn't restricted to telecommuters, of course. Even if you’re based mostly in the workplace, Internet surfing, water cooler discuss, extra long breaks, etc. are all obtainable to the office-based employee. That mentioned, taking a break just isn't essentially slacking off. Being busy isn’t the same as being productive. Companies would be clever to have a look at actual results and not simply time spent (or face time!)