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Want to Work from Home?
How to Get Your Boss to Say "Yes!" By Crystal Patriarche
You should be prepared to provide some information and education regarding tele-work, according to Roseberry. "Perhaps you could team up with your HR department to bring in a speaker or consultant."
For Nickels, she thought through all scenarios of how she could continue to serve her clients and meet their needs. "I decided to carry my cell phone at all times to be accessible to my clients five days a week, even though I was only in the office three days."
According to Nickels, the three things to do before working from home are figuring out how you can continue to serve clients, fulfill all job requirements and know what technology tools are available so responsibilities are maintained.
Tools that enable her to work from home successfully? Voicemail, e-mail, cell phone, personal computer with appropriate software and the ability to log into your company's network.
Some employers allow working from home, but may require you have child care in force. For situations like these, there are still other options for moms who want to work from home to be there for their young kids, including cutting back to part time.
"Let your employer see that you will not be spending more time minding the children than getting the job done," says Roseberry.
"Kids are incredibly distracting, and working from home requires a lot of discipline," says Gunning. "If you're attending to kids, you're not working. Gigs like getting paid for the actual hours worked are good for people at home with kids."
Steinwinder suggests having a very specific plan if you are going to work from home with kids. "Be realistic about how much time out of your work day it's going to take. What specific hours can you work? Before they get up, when they nap? Boundaries need to be set on what hours you will be available."