As you sit in heavy commuter traffic at 6:30 in the morning, it is easy to think how great it would be to work remote and have a 30-second commute from your bedroom to the home office.
Wow! Not sitting in the smog-filled commute for 90 minutes each way!
No longer visiting the gas station every few days.
Sweet peace and love!
Having done both office and remote work extensively, I have pondered the issue of who is cut out for remote work.
Not everyone can do it.
Not every job can accommodate remote work. A job that requires physical presence at a location (e.g., construction worker) does not lend itself to remote work (obviously!).
But, when the right person and the right job combine, we have remote work magic!
1. The Person
Are you weird, strange, and confused? Do people look at you funny? Do small children laugh at you?
Then you might be a good candidate for remote work!
Well, it is not quite that bad but sometimes I wonder!
At risk of being branded non-politically correct, the best remote workers are introverts that like to have quiet time to themselves.
Extroverts that need to have people around them MAY have a hard time working remote.
If you need to have a busy scurry of people around all day while you work, it is going to be awfully lonely working remote.
There are many professions where employees that need quiet time to get their work done.
Engineers, graphic designers, insurance agents, customer service agents, programmers, writers, agents, video editors, and medical records transcriptionists all are good candidates for working remote.
2. Self-Motivated
Probably the most used term in a resume. Self-motivated is a trait that we all think we have.
Really.
Are you really, really, truly self-motivated?
Can you work by yourself without anyone around?
Can you be productive even though there is no one around to see your work? Or, not work?
Many employees can be self-motivated.
Many employees cannot be self-motivated.
Assess yourself very carefully to ensure you can be self-motivated.
3. Ability To Say No
I know this does not sound important. But…
Don’t automatically accept every project.
Working remote is a problem because it is easy for others to think you are not working.
If you take on too much and then don’t get it done, it is looked at as a lack of work on your part.
In fact, you may be working harder than ever. You just took on too much.
Limit the number of tasks or projects you are taking on and you can achieve much greater success.
4. Ability To Contact Others
The best remote worker does a good job of staying in touch with other team members.
Phone calls, emails, instant messaging, etc. need to be used all day long to stay in touch with others.
It is important to take time each day to contact others and staying in touch.
Not communicating with other team members is very limiting and will impact your work.
5. Organized
Not everyone is organized to be fully independent.
Older, more experienced workers are usually better positioned to handle a load of work better than junior team members.
If you have many years experience in your profession, then you have a much better chance of being successful at working remote.
Being a highly organized person will help you achieve tasks and project which gives management a clear method of measuring the effectiveness of a remote worker.