Before I started working for myself as a business owner and freelance writer, I worked for over five years at a software company outside of Boston. At the time of my hire, I was living just 15 miles from work. Three years later, my husband and I purchased our home in Connecticut. Before making the move to do so however, I had to do everything in my power to convince my company that I could be a tele-employee - for at least three days a week, and I would commute for the other two. It was a great job, and I liked the people, and yes, I’ll admit, the salary. I had worked from home on countless days for them before, what was just three days a week to them? I knew this information was not suffice enough to make my case, so I did my research on what I needed to do to convince my boss.

Through my search on the web, I was opened to a whole new set of ideas - ideas on the emerging trend of flexibility in the workplace. Turns out, more and more people than ever are working their jobs from home. They may be doing it to save on commuting costs, spend more time with their family, or simply to save their sanity. In the past decade alone, the number of people that work from home has grown significantly. Today, according to a recent American Interactive Consumer Survey, approximately 12 million people are telecommuting. And the number keeps growing.

But anyway - back to you convincing your boss. Upon doing my research to convince my boss at the time to let me telecommute, I put together a comprehensive proposal on why the company would benefit from keeping me as an employee, while allowing me to telecommute. Basically, I convinced them that my job would be performed in the exact same way. In addition, I would attend all conferences and meetings in-person as required. I would even allow them to let me do this as a trial basis (all the while knowing I would succeed.)

Here is a quick list of what you can do to prepare yourself to ask your boss about working from home:

1.) First, consult with any other employees in your company who may be telecommuting already. Perhaps your employer already has a telecommuting program, or some other type of flexible work options, in place. Additionally, be sure to check the employee manual to make sure your employer does not prohibit telecommuting.

2.) Do some research online, like I did. I found TONS of websites supporting my desire to convince my boss of my need for a telecommuting position. You will find in your research lots of suggestions on what to include in your proposal that will ultimately convince your boss that a flexible work arrangement for yourself is in the best interest of the company. Your boss doesn’t care about your personal life (to a certain extent), it is his or her job to care more about the company. Therefore, don’t make this a personal thing. Focus on the employer’s needs (even if this telecommuting is ALL for you).

3.) Before presenting your proposal, ask yourself the golden question. Are you an ideal candidate for telecommuting? Do you have the self-discipline it takes to work from home under minimal supervision? Does your boss perceive you as a self-starter who can perform independently? Do you manage time well, and are you organized? More importantly, can you do EVERYTHING it is you do now at work, from home? Be sure to evaluate all of this yourself, before presenting anything to your boss. That way, when and if you do, you will have full confidence in yourself, which will surely shine through in your presentation to your boss.

4.) When the time comes to ask the big boss, do so with both a written proposal and oral presentation. What you say in words may not come out as well as what you have in writing - so you want to be sure you have a solid proposal to back up your words. The written proposal also gives your boss more of a chance to review your situation more closely, when he or she has more time.

5.) Remember the trial period. If your boss is wary on saying yes or no, offer them the chance to try this out for a specific time period. If it does not work for both you and the company, then you will either return to the workplace, or seek another job. (Keep the seeking another job part to yourself, by the way.)

There are tons more tips I can give you on this, but I’ll stop here for today. If any of you have any questions or need more tips today, just let me know!

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