Should You Let Your Employees Work from Home?

Humorous but profound schematic to determine if you should let employees work from home.

Mindflash infographic

Your Computer Lady is a big proponent of working from home. I've done it (most days successfully) for 15+ years. Many of our clients work from their home. With today's technology and a little bit of training, many employees can work from home and be more productive. It does take some adjustment on the part of the employer and the employee.

The employer has to be flexible and cooperative with the employee. There's no need to get upset when the phone isn't answered at 2:30 pm if you know the employee has car pool duty at 2:30 each afternoon. Plan around that.

The employee has to be self-disciplined to stay on target and focused on the details to maintain quality and the appropriate quantity of work.

One key for success is computer skills training. When you are on your own, you need to know how to do your tasks efficiently and effectively. You don't have a co-worker to call over to your desk for tech support. There isn't an IT person to call. So the work-from-home employee has to take charge of their own training and be sure they stay up to date.

There are plenty of tools:

• Online classes like our Wednesday Call Solutions.
• Reference books like the Dummies series.
• Library or community college classes.
• In house training. It's an opportunity to gather everyone in one spot for some office bonding as well as updating skills.

But overall, it's a great way to work where the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.