Success at working remotely

Justin Meads has developed a successful framework for working remotely. In today's episode he sheds light on the pros, the cons, and how not being in a traditional office setting allows for the right professional and personal balance for him, his family, and his boss. It works for Justin and you might find that it works for you too.

Looking for the possibilities for working remotely

Telecommuting, working remotely, remote work, telework and even digital nomads are all terms used to describe not needing to drive into your work place every day!  Working remotely allows you to save time on a commute if your job is near you or even allows you to work for a company that is a different state or city.  As traffic gets busier commute times get longer so considering telecommuting for just a few days a week can save you the time that can make a difference to your personal and family life.  With a good internet connection an individual no longer needs to be sitting in the office to get work done - this opens up the possibility of working for a company in a different state or even different country.  In this episode of The Career Cue, Justin Meads talks with Danna about the variety of different jobs and companies where remotely is a possibility. 

Create an agreement about telecommuting

Having a "remote worker agreement" or "telecommuting agreement" is a good idea. This can establish a working schedule that works for you and your company & team and discuss those with your team and your manager.  Remember working remotely is a two way street that needs to work for all parties involved.  Justin suggests ways to set up your remote working agreement that could include: 

• Will you go into the office once a week, once a month, etc? 
• What hours will you be available online? 
• Also establish a working schedule for you so that your work doesn’t bleed over into family time and home time.
• Having a standing daily meeting is a good way to keep everyone connected if everyone is remote.

What types of job are good for remote work

Certain jobs lend themselves well to telecommuting while others don't – if interested in working remotely consider approaching your current job to see the possibilities about a remote working situation.  Listen in to this episode as Justin describes ways to approach you current manager and job to determine if working remotely will work for this role. 

Success at telecommuting

To be successful at working remotely, you need to invest extra time & effort to stay connected to the other people on the team.  Schedule phone calls with individuals - think of them as the time around the water cooler or coffee machine.  It does take extra effort to feel like you are part of the team.  Be sure you are using messaging apps to stay in touch with your team and your manager in quick and easy ways.  Justin and Danna discuss more tips and tricks to making working remotely a success for you and your boss.  Listen in. 

Use collaboration tools to your advantage:

• Google Hangouts- https://hangouts.google.com/ - for meetings
• Slack - https://slack.com/ -  for messaging
• Jira - https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira - workflow management, project management
• Trello - https://trello.com/ - workflow management, project management
• Basecamp - https://basecamp.com/ - repository for messages, documents, action items
• Confluence - https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence - repository for messages, documents, action items