Flex Your Flexibility

I l @ ve RuBoard

Does telecommuting cost the worker out of pocket? It all depends on the company. Some companies will provide the telecommuter with reimbursement for office chairs, desk, laptops, networks, and dedicated lines. With this arrangement comes the spoken or unspoken agreement that no one else in the household will utilize the equipment. The laptop isn't to be used by a spouse, children, or anyone else.

At the other end of the spectrum are companies that expect the telecommuter to make the commitment to bring the home office up to speed. Erica telecommuted for three months at a publishing house. The only support she got was a disk loaded with the company's networking set-up so she could access e-mail from home. No desk, no chair , no computer. Ergonomic gel pads? Get real! It was all up to her. However, she was grateful to be able to work from home because of an asthmatic child, and she showed her flexibility by getting her home office up to speed in two days, and then launching in full steam ahead.

Regardless of what scenario your company has, it's likely a policy. If you are a trailblazer , you may need to flex your flexibility to pave the way as a teleworker and show the company it's a viable option.

We recently advised a woman on her telework proposal. Though the company in question had provided a teleworker in another department with a laptop, the verbiage of this employee's proposal included: "Though employees in X department are provided laptops for telework, should the company decline to do so in my case, I already have a PC with all the software necessary to do my job, including "

This employee showed her company that she was willing to work with them either way. It all depends on how important the telecommuting opportunity is to you.

I l @ ve RuBoard