Does working for a company where everyone works remotely sound intriguing, but perhaps a bit intimidating? The concept of working virtually from a home office or co-working space full-time is still a foreign concept for many, although this type of work situation is on the rise.

While there is no Census Bureau- or government-produced data that provides granularity on the frequency of remote work (also referred to as telework or telecommuting), Global Workplace Analytics’ research finds that:

• 20-25% of the US workforce holds a job where they frequently work remotely.
• Regular work-at-home, among the non-self-employed population, has grown by 103% since 2005 and 6.5% in 2014. This represents the largest year over year increase since before the recession.

Some companies offer “work from home” as a perk – i.e. something that only a few team members may do because of a special circumstance or it’s offered as something that can be done a few days a week.

For example, I once had a candidate share that their former employer instituted rotating work from home days because as the company’s headcount grew larger there weren’t enough parking spaces available if all the employees came into work.  Interesting reason to start a work from home policy and it proves there are many reasons why an employer might allow its employees to work remotely.

But what about working for a company full-time, remotely from your home office?

While the concept is attractive to many, some people’s idea of remote work doesn’t necessarily match up with reality. To get a better idea of whether or not you’d transition well from working in a traditional office environment to working from your home office or a co-working space, we’ve provided 8 questions that would be helpful for you to ask yourself.

To keep this content digestible, we’re breaking this blog post into two parts. This post, Part 1, will include the first 4 questions. The second post, which we’ll send out next week, will include the next 4 questions. So let’s get to it!

1. WHY DO I WANT TO WORK FROM HOME?

This is a critical question to consider. If you think that working remotely from home means that you’ll be able to have a leisurely coffee until 9:30 or have time to make your kids a pancake breakfast every morning, you might want to re-evaluate. Working remotely from home requires very similar accountability and expectations as a traditional office environment does – just sans the commute.

But is a lack of a commute enough of a reason to want to work from home? Usually not.

2. HOW MUCH STRUCTURE DO I NEED?

Are you good at creating your own work schedule each day and motivating yourself to get working when there’s no one around to see what you’re doing? No judgement here, but some people simply work better when they physically leave their house and go to an office environment where they are surrounded by their colleagues. It keeps them motivated and on task. Whereas if they never left their house, they easily get pulled into non work-related activities, such as watching TV, doing laundry, etc.

Successful telecommuters have the discipline to set a daily schedule and start their work-day just as they would if they were in an office. They have the ability to be productive without constant oversight and manage non work-related interruptions.

Don’t get me wrong, I myself am known to throw in a load of laundry every now and then; but housework can’t take over your work day.

3. WHAT WILL I DO TO BALANCE MY WORK AND LIFE?

Think about how you’ll structure your day and separate your physical work space from your personal home life. Do you have a conducive area in your home that you can allocate as your home office? Is it a space you can leave at the end of your work day? Or, do you live in a space where your home office will also be in your bedroom, eating and living room area, etc., potentially making it difficult to have good work/life balance. Having a separate, dedicated home office space or co-working space you can go to is important for remote workers, otherwise it’s easy to find yourself working 24/7—or not working at all.

Childcare is also something to consider. Some people are of the notion that working from home means that they’ll also be able to avoid having to pay for childcare. Again, working remotely from home requires the same type of focus as if you were working in an office. It may make it easier to care for a sick kiddo without having to take time off work, but all of our team members who have little ones who aren’t yet in school still rely on another caregiver, daycare or in-home care so they can focus on their work during the day.

4. HOW STRONG IS MY COMMUNICATION?

While there is still ample communication between team members who work remotely, the type of communication is different. When you work with colleagues in an office, you can see someone’s facial expressions and body language. When working remotely, you may be able to see their face via a video call, but it’s much more difficult to pick up on their non-verbal communication. Succeeding in a remote work culture requires a strong ability to write and speak in a way that is clear, thoughtful and collaborative. It’s also important to have self-awareness about how you express yourself, your tone, and your listening skills.

For example, have you received feedback on more than one occasion that your tone or communication comes across as harsh or rude – even when you weren’t intending to be? Or perhaps you’ve been told that you are too quiet or soft-spoken and are asked to speak up more? While these are all skills that can be improved over time, they will likely be amplified in a remote working environment and could initially hold you back.

Take some time to really consider these questions and your answers to them. We’ll send out Part 2 of this blog post next week with 4 more questions that we think are important to ask yourself before transitioning from working in a traditional office to working remotely (full-time) to a home office.

 

Welcome back to our post about transitioning from an office to a home office! Let’s pick up right where we left off – with the next 4 questions to ask yourself to ensure you are mentally and physically prepared to make the leap.

5. HOW RESILIENT AM I?

In an office environment, you may have colleagues you can burn the midnight oil with if you have to work late or who you can go grab a drink with to hash out a difficult day.  When you work from home in relative isolation, you need to have different types of strategies in place to pick yourself up when you’re having a tough day. That may mean turning off the computer for a bit, going for a walk, etc. The point is to be honest with yourself about how you deal with difficult situations when there aren’t others around to lean on.

6. HOW WILL WORKING FROM HOME POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY AFFECT ME?

Will it allow you to avoid commuting in terrible traffic? Will it make it easier to coach your kid’s soccer team? Consider the social aspect as well. Will you miss interacting face-to-face with colleagues throughout your day, being able to walk down the hall to ask someone a question, eating lunch with colleagues, etc.? Some people who work remotely can get a bit of cabin fever and find the isolation to be a real challenge. This is why it’s important to assess how comfortable you are working alone with no one around to bounce ideas off of or go grab a coffee with. Definitely weigh the positives and negatives when considering a transition to a virtual work environment.

7. HOW CONFIDENT AM I?

This may seem like an unusual question to ask, but confidence is actually an important attribute for remote workers. More often than not, you’ll be using the phone and or a video to present information or collaborate with team members and you may not be able to see them smiling or nodding their head during your discussion. If you prefer visual recognition to confirm that you are going a good job or getting your point across, you may find these types of interactions frustrating.  It also relates to how you seek help and support. When you have questions, ideas to share or need help, it’s important to have the confidence to reach out to team members who you may not see every day or know as well as you might if you worked with them in an office.

8. WHAT’S YOUR COMFORT LEVEL WITH TECHNOLOGY?

Technology is what has made it possible for millions of workers to work remotely. From software to hardware, technology allows team members to communicate and collaborate with each other and their clients anywhere, anytime. Therefore, it’s essential to have a solid comfort level using technology and being able to trouble-shoot when things aren’t working right. If your video conference connection is choppy, you may have to stop a program from running in the background or up your internet speed. Does the idea of collaborating on projects through a cloud-based project management software excite your or cause alarm bells to go off in your mind?

Working remotely full-time is the ideal work situation for many. Nevertheless, it is not without its challenges. Before seeking a company with a remote work culture or accepting a position with them, ask yourself these questions to ensure that you’ll be both physically and mentally prepared.

If you’ve asked yourself these 8 questions and still think that working remotely would be a good fit for you, then be sure to check out our Careers page to see our most recent job openings. We are always looking to speak with new talent and digital and affiliate marketing enthusiasts like us!