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We recently had a member of our team here at LANcom change from being an at the office employee to working from home 80% of the time. So we thought we would put our experience to use and give you this list of things you need to consider when you set yourself up to work from home

Of course your main concern will be how to access your company’s network. In this situation VPN was used to access the computer at the office from home and a Terminal Server session used to access the accounting package. If you will not be connected to your company’s network then you need to remember to do regular back ups.

Here are the other aspects you need to think about

  • The home PC – This must be of similar capabilities as the work PC or else you may experience problems with applications. For example if you take an Office 2007 document remotely from your work computer and copy it to your home computer (in order to print it out) and your home computer doesn’t have enough memory then it will not bring the entire document across.
  • Stationary - The home office needs to be stocked with the necessary stationary.
  • Internet connection – An appropriate internet connection needs to be arranged with the employer.
  • Phone arrangements – In our situation the phone extension was redirected to the home phone. Then a record of all out bound toll calls and cell phone calls was keep so they could be reimbursed. We also arranged for caller ID to be blocked so that no one would call back the home phone directly and all calls would come via the office.
  • Communication – How will you communicate with your fellow employees? Normal interoffice communication tools e.g. Office communicator can be used for short questions, but for more complicated communications email may be better as To –Do’s can be flagged for action at a more appropriate time
  • Printing – If you’re remote accessing your computer from home and printing files these will be printed at the office. So you need to arrange for someone to collect your printed pages from the printer and put them on your desk for you to pick up the next time you are in.
  • Shredding - How will you get rid your paper with company or client information on it? If you do not have a shredder, or open fireplace, at home then you could put aside all items that need shredding and bring them in to the office next time you are in.
  • Phone/email groups – You may need to be removed from certain phone or email groups as getting these messages may be pointless if you are not physically at the office.
  • Scheduling of meetings – If you need to attend regular meetings try to schedule them so that they all fit into a nominated at the office day.
  • The home office - You need to create a dedicated work area and give careful consideration to light and furniture. You need a comfortable chair and desk, and filing close at hand. Also because your home is probably not air condition you may need a heater or a fan. If you can’t have a separate room then use movable screens to divide separate personal from work space.
  • Hardware and software – You need to make sure you have at your disposal all the hardware and software necessary to do your job from home e.g. are you able to send faxes.
  • Review – You will probably need to review the work from home situation on a 6 monthly basis to assess if it is working, if the costs have changed, who will absorb changes in costs.
  • Dress and attitude - Dress in a way that personally works for you to help productivity. Some people need to dress as if going to the office; others prefer the loose comfortable approach of casual clothing. You also need to have an attitude that you are working from home, you are not ‘at home’.

Microsoft also has a good article on this topic; Steps to good work habits away from the office, click here see this article.