Turn Your Current Job Into Your Work at Home Dream

There are some jobs that can easily be turned into work at home… and yours might be one of them. Many companies are finding lots productivity and money saving benefits by turning onsite jobs into telecommuting jobs.

You might enjoy your job but hate the time spent on a long commute. Or wish you could cut a little of your daycare expense. Working from home would solve a lot of problems for you, but… you love your current job and don’t want to quit to find something else. You may have already thought about how you could do that same job at home, but you’re not quite sure how to bring up this conversation with your boss? Here are some ideas to think about.

Do You Have a Work at Home Worthy Job?

First, not all jobs can be worked from home, especially service orientated jobs. Even if you think there isn’t a service component to your job, your boss may have another idea. When I worked in the IT department for a large corporation as a telecommunications specialist, most of my work as done online. The truth is, I could have done that job from anywhere, including my kitchen table. But every once in a while someone needs a little face-to-face time (this was the early days of Blackberries). So, the first thing you need to determine is if your boss would see yours as a  telecommuting job.

Assess the Current Company Culture

More and more companies are becoming telecommuter friendly. If you’re not sure of you company’s current policy, head down to the human resources department and ask about and flex time and work at home options. Also, check around to see if there are people in other departments already working from home. If possible, connect with them and ask for some guidance.

Determine if You Can Work on Your Own 

Then consider if you can perform your job without interruptions at home. If you want to save money on daycare by working from home think things through. Can you work and look after your toddler at the same time? The last thing you want is to get permission to work at home and then not have it work out.The most important thing you need to do is determine if you can work on your own. And you must be honest with yourself.

Set Up an Efficient Home Office

Do you have space and equipment to work at home? Will your company have to provide anything other than a laptop and cell phone for you to stay connected?

Make a list of everything you will require. Then note which items you don’t have and what the purchase price will be. You will need to consider if these are items you are happy to purchase or if you expect the company to buy them.

Pitch Your Work at Home Proposal to Your Boss

Once you have all of these pointers worked out then it is time to ask your boss about working from home. Ask your boss or your supervisor for a meeting so you have plenty of time to discuss the intimate details of working from home.

Carefully plan your approach and have all the details in place. Think like your boss and be ready with the answers to why you should work at home.

1. How are you going to communicate with fellow workers?
2. How will you deliver your work to the office and more?
3. How is working from home going to benefit the company?

Try not to leave any stone unturned. This way your boss or supervisor can see that you have seriously contemplated working from home.

Your boss is sure to ask you why you want to work from home. Be certain that you have a good response ready. Try to put yourself in their shoes and think about any other questions or points that they might bring up.

When this is all in place then go ahead and ask your boss about working from home. To your surprise, they may be open to this idea as it is becoming extremely popular. His only request may be that you come into the office once every week or so to keep up to date on all office matters.

Learning to Negotiate

Want to turn your work at home dream into reality? The first step is negotiating that with your boss. Negotiating can be intimidating, especially for women, but fortunately, it is a learned process. Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want is just the source to learn from. Readers give it 4.5+ stars for helping then leverage the power of negotiating. It’s not a bad skill to have, whether you’re looking to work at home or just increase your success in life.