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Ask the Business Coach Working from HomeQuestion: I am a mother of a 13 month old. I am working outside the home for a great company but there are time I feel I have to stay home when she is sick. I am trying to persuade my company to allow me to work from home when the need arises. Do you have any ideas, or articles that I can provide to show how important this is to mothers who have to work outside the home on a regular basis. Thank you,Elena Answer: Fortunately, today’s employers are much more inclined to respond to what good employees – particularly working mothers - need in the way of flexibility and alternative work arrangements. In fact, companies that do not offer accommodations along these lines are finding themselves less competitive in today's marketplace. Smart companies are, therefore, responsive to the fact that the best female candidates screen potential employers for those who meet their personal criteria including such issues as child care, flexibility, leave for new parents, work/life balance and promoting women. Duke University did a study regarding stress among working moms which indicated - no surprise to any such individual – that it’s more stressful to be a working mom than to be a working woman without children at home. That working mothers are having a harder time than ever balancing the needs of their careers and families. The study’s lead author was psychologist Linda Luecken, M.A., who worked under the guidance of internist Redford Williams, M.D., a 25-year veteran of the department of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. It was published in the July/August issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. While there’s nothing specific in this report about solutions, it’s clear that flextime programs and on-site day care may make critical differences. Certainly, working at home on occasion is a viable and useful option particularly with the availability of sophisticated home computers. As your company does not have a defined policy in place for the special needs of working mothers, I suggest that you develop a written plan along these lines and prepare to present it in a polished and professional form. Do your homework and find out exactly what is involved in establishing you efficiently at home on those occasional days when you need to work there – e.g. having your calls forwarded and your computer networked. Make the plan generic rather than personal and offer it as a suggested new policy which would include other valued working mothers or single parents. Do your best to anticipate any objections that might come up and have solutions in place. Write the proposal explaining exactly how this plan would work. In that you are not asking for a telecommuting or off-site opportunity but rather lobbying for flexibility to meet occasional and unusual needs, be sure your proposal stresses this point and can, in no way, be construed as license to make excuses to frivolously work from home. The key is to offer this in a clearly thought-out, written form that demonstrates how such a plan will be a win-win for employer and employee alike. Delivered confidently and objectively, you will likely succeed in establishing a policy that works for you and others in your situation. You'll find more information about a work from home proposal at http://www.bluesuitmom.com/career/worktips/telecommuting.html
Also see: Disclaimer: The information in this column is intended to provide the reader with general ideas or concepts to be used as part of a broader base of knowledge they collect to determine their own best course of action and solutions most suitable for solving their workplace challenges. The information in this column is not guaranteed to be the appropriate solution for each individual.
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Joyce K. Reynolds is an expert Business Coach who works with CEOs, Sr. Execs, entrepreneurs and countless others providing knowledge, solutions, motivation and support that assist her clientele in successfully meeting workplace challenges.