
If you're new to the role, gunning for a promotion, or early in your career, it might not be the ideal time to negotiate a work-from-home arrangement. Obstacle 8: It isn't always the right time Unlike in-office employees, you won't have anyone looking over your shoulder. While commuting has its downsides, it provides structure, like a start and stop to your day. Remote workers need to motivate themselves, decide on what to focus on each day, and lose a lot of structure in their day. Obstacle 7: The burden to stay productive falls on you Unfortunately, the desire to work from home doesn't always meld with reality. As a remote worker, you won't get help as quickly, and mentorship is harder to come by. Working from home also makes informal information sharing harder. You can do most knowledge work from anywhere with an Internet connection, but that doesn't mean remote working is ideal for every position.Ĭareer advancement can be tricky if you're the only one working from home, particularly if your manager doesn't have experience managing a remote team. Obstacle 5: Not every position is suited to remote work WFH is great when you have a community, but you might spend a lot of time alone if everyone else goes back to the office.
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Working in an office is also full of these spontaneous moments that break up your day. Lunches, afternoon walks, and coffee runs. If you and your partner, friends, or housemates are working from home, you're probably getting a ton of quality time. Obstacle 4: It can get lonelyĮven the most introverted people need some level of social interaction. Small misunderstandings that could have been nipped in the bud with the wink of an eye or a certain tone of voice can quickly snowball into drama. Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the co-founders of Basecamp, explain why in REMOTE: Office Not Required: When the bulk of your communication happens via email and the like, it doesn't take much for bad blood to develop unless everyone is making their best effort to the contrary. Obstacle 3: Misunderstandings are commonĬommunication issues are common in a traditional work environment and only compounded by remote work.

But the burden of making it work will fall on you. In-office colleagues need to dial you in, loopback after impromptu conversations, and share decisions made. At the same time, you need to be patient as your team learns new skills and adopts new habits. You need to be comfortable advocating for yourself. Obstacle 2: Collaboration can be difficultĬollaboration is hard enough in the office and can be more difficult when working from home. Many people make WFH work at regular companies, but you'll need to learn remote work skills to be successful.
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That's why many remote workers choose to work at remote companies that know how to include people who are working outside the office. Missing impromptu conversations can lead to a fear of missing out and even paranoia if you feel like people make decisions without you. If your team returns to the office, you'll miss out on things by staying home. Obstacle 1: Working from home isn't the same when everyone is in the office Get familiar with the key obstacles below. Understanding the most common obstacles is the first step in mitigating your manager's concerns and maximizing your wellbeing. Like anything, remote working has benefits and challenges. Step 1: Acknowledge your obstaclesīefore you ask to work from home, it's essential to understand the obstacles in your way. Working from home is excellent, but it isn't always easy. Following the process below maximizes your chances of negotiating a long-term remote work arrangement with even the most skeptical supervisor. This article outlines how to ask to work from home and shows the best approach based on your situation.

If you're one of the three in five people who don't want to return, know you're not alone. Many companies even found employees as, if not more, productive out of the office. During the coronavirus pandemic, more than 60% of US employees worked from home. Working from home has never been more acceptable. It's been years since most knowledge workers had to go to the office.
