While many employees want to work from home companies are leery of allowing them to work remotely.

Employers’ concerns over employees working remotely are usually around availability, team work, communication with others, and lack of trust that the employee is actually working. Employers are usually more open to having employees work from home after they have settled in to a position, and built relationships and trust with team mates and managers.

If a position is not advertised as a remote role, and the option of working from home is important to you, be mindful of the above. While interviewing, you may ask if they offer the ability of working remotely after an on-boarding period. Understand that working from home is a privilege, one that you may first need to prove that you deserve.

When discussing the option of working remotely, employees should present the benefits to the organization, not just to them personally. These often include: eliminating the commute time can provide a longer work day; getting more work done without interruptions, etc. It also helps to introduce the remote work initially as a trial, and have measures in place that will determine its success. Communication between the employee, the manager, and team throughout, is key to evaluating what can be improved along the way.

When working from home, employees should make sure to designate a quiet work space where they can be productive and professional. They should be aware that their manager has less visibility to what they are doing, be responsive, and help the managers see the value of their work, wherever they are.