Be Self Directed and Self Motivated when Working from Home

Janice B. works for a large software firm and has been working from home for over 10 years and has found the arrangement perfect for her. Being a single parent for almost 15 years she needed to live near her extended family for support. In her words, “Working remotely has allowed me to live where it worked for my family and yet still do really challenging work for great high tech companies. My company pays for my second (phone) line and my internet connection. I don’t charge back office supplies, etc. but that is a personal choice. Our company has a formal work from home program and almost 20% of our workforce is remote. I’m more remote than most as I’m over 3 hours from our closest office.”

Janice emphasizes on the need to be self-directed and self-motivated to be able to work from home completely. She says, “I’ve “worked” with colleagues who thought they could have their toddlers at home without daycare. But you can’t, by the way, if you want to do a good job.”

She considers herself extremely lucky to having worked with many supportive bosses who have faith in her and her work. She travels once every 6-8 weeks to connect with her boss, co-workers and other colleagues. She says, “I find this really important to helping me stay connected with my company. I also pick up the phone, just to chat, at least a few times a week.”

The biggest struggle Janice sees in working from home is not being in touch personally with co-workers and not having people to interact with during her work days. She says, “Sometimes I’m not out of the house all week, unless I make an effort, especially during the winter months.”