Part of the value of working with LeadingVirtually.com is that the group actually operates as a virtual team, allowing us to face the challenges that we write about in a working environment. LeadingVirtually.com is only one of the many things that each of us is involved in. One job I had previously was a telecommuting job for a company in New York City. I worked part time during the week and on weekends from my home. Before making the transition from working in the New York city office to doing telework from Binghamton, I thought that the job would be easy since I could do it from the comfort of my own apartment. Was I wrong! There are tons of challenges that are unique to a virtual / telecommuting job that many workers do not even consider when taking the position. Some of the challenges I faced were due to the nature of working unsupervised and away from the resources of a main office. These challenges can be associated with the IT infrastructure of a company that is unable to support virtual workers or management that is not trained to support telecommuters. Other challenges that I faced were psychological in nature that made telecommuting a stressful job. In this post, I am going to discuss:

• The challenges I faced as a telecommuter,
  • resulting from the organization, the work, and my psychological state;
• how I overcame these challenges;
• and some tips on how to successfully telecommute based on my experience.

One challenge I faced was the inability to access key information from my company’s headquarters in a timely manner, and this made it difficult for me to perform my duties effectively. My company supported a Remote VPN that gave me access to their network; however, this access was taken away from me because the company’s IT security measures overlooked virtual workers. No one was able to help me gain access back to the company intranet. Even when I did have access to the intranet, it was difficult for me to access key information and documents that I needed to perform my duties. This was very frustrating to me as it made certain tasks very time-consuming and difficult because I had to contact the appropriate people, who were also busy, for the information I needed. The fast-paced nature of the company meant that policies were constantly changing and all employees had to remain abreast of product changes and new standards in the way we interacted with customers. The main way these changes were communicated within the company were through weekly meetings and sporadic emails that were sent to members in the appropriate departments. Because I was telecommuting, I would not be part of these meetings or be able to find the few emails that were sent concerning changes amidst the mass of (mostly irrelevant) emails that were sent daily throughout the office. Wading through the hundreds of internal emails that would accumulate everyday in my Inbox was time-consuming and I would often miss the important updates or fixes I needed to know about to perform my job effectively. The system in place at my company was not suitable for supporting a teleworker nor conducive for the virtual team situation I was in. This is a challenge that many telecommuters do not think about when considering a telecommuting job. The job can become tedious and frustrating when support systems are not in place and your productivity may take a hit because of things that are out of your control. Depending on the organization’s structure and policies, many of the “roadblocks” in place could take a long time to disappear. 

Psychological challenges also change the nature of a telecommuting job as opposed to a face-to-face job. Since your home becomes your office, you sometimes begin to feel that you are always at work. This can make your home become very unappealing or even depressing to be in. It also becomes hard to focus on the task at hand because there can be many distractions around you that do not appear in a regular office setting. Staying motivated is sometimes difficult because of this. I found it hard to not take constant breaks because I was unable to stay focused on my work or I became frustrated with what I was doing because of the logistical challenges. Not being able to interact with coworkers in person made the job a lonely one. The mental challenges of working virtually are often not considered by someone who wants to undertake a telecommuting position; however, they can make the job even more difficult than the organizational problems that one can face and are even harder to avoid.

It took me some time to overcome the challenges I faced in my telecommuting position. I worked with my manager and others in my organization to make the information sharing process more effective for me; however, it never seemed as if I was a priority so it was still difficult for me to receive the tools I needed in a timely manner. The psychological challenges of working in a virtual team were the ones I was able to overcome, since they were in my control. One thing I did was make goals for myself based on the task I was performing. I set these goals hourly, and if I reached the goal before the hour was over I would take a short break for the remainder of the hour. This not only ensured that I finished my work, but also gave me incentive to work quickly and effectively. It gave me something to look forward to and made the nature of the work almost like a game, where I would try to hit my goal more quickly each time or increase the goal to challenge myself further. I also found that splitting my shifts up and doing something in between these shifts, like going to the gym or grabbing a bite to eat with a friend, made me feel like I was not trapped in my apartment and that I was not always working alone. Distractions were minimized because of the goal setting that I put in place. This allowed me to remain focused so I could finish and take my short break.

I now realize how effective some of the research we do at Leading Virtually can be to a virtual worker. The tips that Surinder and Betsy write about could have helped me when I was trying to become an effective virtual worker. They also could have helped my manager understand how to boost my productivity. Tools such as the Team Compact and After Action Review are highly useful and can be used in a telecommuting situation.

Below are some tips that I would give to someone who is considering telecommuting based on my experience:

• Make sure you take into account both the psychological and organizational hurdles you will have to overcome in order to be an effective worker.
• Communicate your goals with your manager and understand what type of infrastructure you will need to accomplish these goals. Ask your manager to be your advocate within the organization for the changes that will need to take place to help you do your job.
  
  • Understanding what type of infrastructure you need to accomplish your goals begins with keeping note of all the resources you use when you regularly work.
  • Communicate with your IT department before transitioning into a telecommuting role to see if the systems in place adequately support this type of role. They will usually be honest with you as you will be bugging them whenever you have an issue!
• Set goals for yourself while working to keep yourself focused and motivated. When you have reached your goal, take a short break.
• If possible, split your shift up during the day. In between shifts, leave your home and go somewhere else. Try to meet up with a friend and interact with others during these breaks.

Of course, a manager of a telecommuter can also use these tips to determine if telecommuting would be suitable for a direct report and how to effectively lead or manage this person if s/he decides to telecommute.