A recent survey of business leaders indicates that, over the next five years, there will be significant increases in flexible work arrangements. The primary drivers for workshifting will be the need to attract and retain rockstar talent.

The survey, titled "Flexible Work: Perceptions and Realities" was sponsored by FlexPaths, a global leader in flexible working solutions, and LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network. Survey participants included CEOs, human resources leaders and workspace decision makers.

The summary report, which you can download here, explored many of the key concepts we are still struggling with when it comes to telework: how to define it, managing employees, and understanding the measurable benefits.

What was refreshing to read is the acknowledgement that telework has become important to the competitive business landscape. For many years, telework has been known as a nice-to-have perk. Now it is being seen as a must have in the workplace for several reasons:

• The ability to attract and retain talent
• Reduction in office space and carbon footprint
• Reducing payroll without eliminating jobs

The report identifies several challenges to implementing a flexible work environment. The most common being the challenges of managing a virtual workforce. This will involve the development of new management skills, training of these new skills and major changes in business philosophy. Telework is not about "doing time at work" - it's about getting results. And holding people accountable for delivering those results.

In addition, employees will have to be equipped for the change of working outside of the traditional office environment. It's not just getting computer equipment. Let me tell you that working from home is very different than working in a cubicle. And trying to get work done at the airport or your local coffee shop can be even more of a challenge.

It's very encouraging to see more reports like this one and the real dialogue about workshifting begin. According to this report, 4 out of 5 people will be in some kind of flexible work arrangement by 2016. The conversation can't start a moment too soon. As our economy is talking about job creation, it only makes sense to include some discussion about the need to create flexible jobs and effectively building a support system for those flexible jobs.

What do you think? Will businesses increase opportunities for flexible work? Are we seeing the "tipping point" for workshifting?

Photo Credit: imsickofmaps

The end of the week can be a great time, can't it? It usually bubbles up with a feeling of mild euphoria. You swiped one or two big items off your list and squelched several unexpected fires (with style and grace). Work is done and you can officially walk away from the laptop for the better part of two days...ahhh. Haul out the sock monkey slippers, drag out the ice cream.

Not so fast. There may be a glitch in that formula if you're a workshifter. Particularly if you're self-employed.

If the nature of your work requires consistent, daily attention and action, it can wear on you. Emails, bug fixes, a post or some research. We all need a chance turn our work brain off, and bed time doesn't count. Sleep is an autonomic response. Besides, I've lost hours of sleep lying in bed thinking about work. I'm talking about having the opportunity to willfully, deliberately power down, made more satisfying because you can join friends and family when they kick back. For some workshifters, traditional hours and norms are a lost language.

The Conflict

My kids are heavily involved in several sports so we've been traveling a lot each weekend for months. My thoughts are with my kids and on their games, but there's a very practical side to attending their events, too. I have to work longer hours during the week to take care of what would otherwise be done over the weekend. Or I have to tote my laptop and work during pockets of time in the car, between games, when the other parents are hanging out during pool time.

Neither feels like a great option. I already work long hours so tacking on more each day makes me more tired and possibly less productive. Working during wedged-in time pockets on the road may sound efficient, but it can be hard to pound out a report with interruptions and distractions. Remember I'm talking about working within the vicinity of kids, games, gymnasiums and swim floaties.

Little Green Monster

If I sound like I'm a little envious of some of the boundaries "traditional" professionals enjoy, maybe I am. After all, I have to make the tough calls. This is my business. I don't have any teammates to pick up my slack or serve as buffer to clients who (rightly) expect their deliverables. Rolling deadlines really don't apply.

So I've felt a few of these envy pangs lately. Some 'me' time would be really nice. And then one afternoon I was suddenly struck with a great realization. It hit me while taking my son to hockey practice at 4pm.

I could actually take my son to hockey practice at 4pm.

Cue The Sunbeams And Chorus

I didn't have to take vacation time. I didn't work myself up into a lather just getting to the boss's office to make the request. Every Wednesday, I can just take him, no questions asked. No eyebrows raised by childless, snarky coworkers who think they're disadvantaged.

You know what else? I can take my daughter to the orthodontist and to get her hair cut on a Thursday morning. Or meet a friend for lunch without glancing at my watch 8 times in 50 minutes. What I've come to realize is I made some tradeoffs. I didn't lose my weekend, it just took a different, non-traditional shape.

Sure, being a salaried employee has its real, tangible benefits. If you're sick a day, you probably still get paid. Someone else helps contribute to your retirement. Someone else worries about ergonomics and the lifespan of a laptop. Someone else might even pay for some sweet training.

Workshifting Is A Lifestyle, Not A Job

But being salaried also comes with some strings, strings I had no hand in making. The question is, are you the kind of person who can operate with those strings tacked on? Maybe they give you some freedom from certain pressures. For someone else, the strings might be too binding.

Today when 7:23pm rolls around, if I'm still in front of my computer while my family is arguing over which Netflix movie they want to watch, I'm going to remind myself of my tradeoffs.

I chose to clip those strings. And all in all, it feels pretty good.

Photo Credit: Marc van der Chijs

My current employer, MindFire Communications, is located approximately 165 miles from my home office in Chicago. That makes it easy for me to take frequent trips back to the mother ship for client meetings or to simply catch up with colleagues and seep up the office environment.

I look forward to these trips because it gives me an opportunity to connect with people in person. Usually I spend most of my days on the phone and writing emails, and I've found it reinvigorating to get out of my Workshifting haven and back on the streets.

This got me wondering whether there is a "magic distance" that makes Workshifting work.

I'm not sure, for example, if I would be as happy in my current arrangement if I lived somewhere where I wouldn't be able to hop in my car and drive to the office within a reasonable time frame.

In theory you should be able to successfully work remotely from any distance. That IS the point, after all. But in practice, don't most of you visit the headquarters office on a regular basis?

In my onion, face-to-face time in the office is important for a number of reasons:

• It allows me to give and receive updates on ongoing projects. 
• It lets me participate, in real-time, in the decision making process. 
• It gives me a chance to socialize and catch up with colleagues and clients. 
• It allows me to stay fully informed about what's going on in the office. 
• It gives me visibility with my supervisors and offers a chance to ask questions, express views, offer ideas, and give and receive feedback.

I find it comforting to know that I can be back in the office within 2-4 hours, if needed.

What do you think? Is there a magic Workshifting distance for you? Do you have to be able to drive to your headquarters? Or are you ok with only making office visits once a quarter or perhaps even 1-2 per year?

Photo Credit: insaneninja

According to Wikipedia, about 50 million Americans work from home at least part of the time, and that number is growing all the time. Workshifting is catching on in a big way! It's great to know that more and more people are realizing the benefits of telecommunting. However, even with more people signing on to the workshifting lifestyle every day, there are still lots of folks who don't quite get the appeal or the advantages of working from anywhere but the office. Despite the good news, many bosses, clients and colleagues still have real concerns about working with people who are only virtually "there". Workshifting is still quite misunderstood. Here are some common myths and misconceptions about telework and how you can help the naysayers to see things differently.

If I Can't See You, You're Not Working

Cats have this thing where, if they are hiding under a blanket and they can't see you, they think you can't see them. Of course, we know this isn't true. We know that, just because the cat is out of sight, it doesn't mean they aren't there. I had a boss like this once. He required me to check in with him when I got into the office every day. I had to let him know when I left the office for lunch and when I came back. I had to let him know when I left for the day. Basically, if he couldn't see me, he didn't believe I was actually working. He had no trust that his employees were doing any work at all unless he saw us sitting at our desks.

There are many employers that still think allowing staff to do work from a remote location will open the door to missed deadlines, slacking off and general lack of productivity. The truth is, many people are actually MORE productive when they are able to leave the distractions of an office environment behind.

The best way to convince the un-trusting boss that you will work just as hard, if not harder, when working remotely is to ask for a trial. Get permission to spend a half day, or even a full day per week away from the office. Set goals for that day away and share them with your boss. Then, don't just achieve those goals, exceed them. Do that consistently for a few weeks and then let your boss argue that working remotely isn't productive.

You're Not a Real Company If You Don't Have an Office

For the first two years of our company, we rented a nice office downtown. It was a great location, and we were able to tell people to just "come by the office". But it was super expensive, parking was a mess for our staff, and then a year of construction ensued on the street outside that literally drove us out of the location. We left our office behind and never looked back.

After we gave up our office, there was a short period of time where I thought we should probably get another office, because it would make us more "legit" as a company. But I soon realized that not only could we run a great company in a virtual office, but that it actually worked out better for us. Having our team working in their own environments allows them to work when they work best - for some of our team, that's from midnight till 7am. For others, it's 10am to 4pm. Nobody has to worry about showing up to the office every day, and they are free to create in the way that works best for them - the only rule we have is that they need to meet their deadlines (which they have no trouble doing, because they are always working at their best!).

Our clients don't mind one bit that we don't have an office per se. We actually prefer to go out and visit our clients on their home turf, because it gives us a much better sense of their culture and environment. When we're regularly visiting our clients' offices, we become a familiar face - part of the team. That's just not possible if clients are always coming to see us.

Nobody is forcing you to have an office. We function very well as a virtual office, and when we need to set up shop, be it meeting space or a temporary office for a specific project, then we always have our friends at the Code Factory co-working space to help out.

I long for the day when the misconceptions of workshifting are a thing of the past; when we can all work where we want to, when we want to. The result will be a greener, more productive, and more healthy workforce, and that can only mean good things for both employers and clients.

Photo Credit: YaelBeeri

I never sought out a remote position- I actually loved working in the Santa Barbara office where my company, Citrix Online, is located! However, moving away and then working remotely ended up being such a great fit for my entire family. My husband was able to accept a great job offer in another city and I was able to continue working for a wonderful, successful and flexible company. And now, 6 years and two kids later, I'm still working away from my home office. As an experienced remote worker, a perpetual workshifter if you will, I am always looking for the latest and greatest way to connect with both my office and my peers, because there is always some new technology that can improve my workshifting situation. My current favorite thing is my iPad, and its various business apps.

Below is a video of my workshifting story:

What's in your workshifting toolbox?

Note: This is one of 5 real-life workshifting stories that we're sharing as part of Telework Week. If you enjoyed this story, make sure you check out the other stories.

Two more days for Telework Week! I hope you've given it a try. I started working at Citrix Online in 2010 in product marketing. I was so excited to start this job because of the company's great products, customer focus and the incredible team of people I would be working with - but also because it didn't matter where I worked. Even though Citrix Online is based in Santa Barbara, CA I didn't have to relocate my family from San Francisco and I had the flexibility to work from home. I've spent some time down in Santa Barbara getting oriented and I travel there occasionally to connect with the team. Some days, I'll go into the San Francisco office to meet up with other Bay Area workshifting colleagues. It's been great to have this job with no commute!

Here is my workshifting story:

Note: This is one of 5 real-life workshifting stories that we're sharing as part of Telework Week. If you enjoyed this story, make sure you check out the other stories.

It's Telework Week, a nationwide effort dedicated to encouraging organizations and individuals to pledge to workshift. While this week makes it especially easy for me to workshift, I've had the fortunate situation to be able to do that whenever I need to. I became a first-time Mom in April of 2010 and was able to work from my home office three days a week. That time gradually diminished and now I only telework when I need to but it was an incredible stress reliever knowing I had the option.

Below is a video of my workshifting story:

Are you a new-Mom (or Dad?) with a similar story? I'd love to hear it!

Note: This is one of 5 real-life workshifting stories that we're sharing as part of Telework Week. If you enjoyed this story, make sure you check out the other stories.

Note: This is one of 5 real-life workshifting stories that we're sharing as part of Telework Week. If you enjoyed this story, make sure you check out the other stories.

In case you haven't heard, this week is like a national holiday for folks like me. It's Telework Week, a nationwide effort dedicated to encouraging organizations and individuals to pledge to telework. I'm one of the over 36,500+ people who have raised my hand and will be workshifting this entire week. In fact, after living in Santa Barbara for 10 years and working at Citrix Online for 4 years, I relocated to the Washington, D.C. area about 7 months ago so that my fiancé could attend nursing school. Instead of being faced with the decision of whether to change jobs or be separated from my fiancé, I was able to keep the job that I love and be with the person I love.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, here's my workshifting love story:

Do you have a similar story? If so, share your story in the comments below.

Note: This is one of 5 real-life workshifting stories that we're sharing as part of Telework Week. If you enjoyed this story, make sure you check out the other stories.

Complete this sentence: If you want to get something done, __________________.

That's right. You ask a busy person. Why? Because a busy person obviously knows how to get things done.

At my house, however, I get a little more specific. "Busy person" is synonymous with "Chris," my husband. At work and in his extensive volunteerism, people know he's the go-to guy. At the hint of a challenge or task, he instinctively rolls up his sleeves and takes the bull by the horns. It's clear that he delights in both hard work and the results. He's not perfect, of course. A certain languishing household project comes to mind -- the office ceiling that still needs sanding two (or is it three?) years later.

This anomalous fault aside, hard work appears to be hard coded in Chris's DNA.

Hard Coded to Work Hard

Actually, fingerprinting is his game -- biometrics for the bad guys, though it's not just about the bad guys. I've already said too much.

Last year, Chris's team welcomed a new supervisor. And within a few weeks of coming on board, the new supervisor invited Chris to work a day or two a week from home. This was entirely unexpected. Chris works for a government agency with a culture that leans towards conservative practices (e.g., no jeans).

The offer to workshift was an astute first move. Exceptional employees aren't exactly wallflowers -- they stick out. They're the ones who move easily between work groups, who are actively engaged in projects and who constantly deliver results. Rewarding a proven team member who provides tremendous value to the organization is a no-brainer for a smart supervisor.

Chris already had some experience workshifting a day here and there over the years, but he'd never implemented a formalized routine. He wondered how a regular workshifting schedule would impact his fellow team members and the projects they shared. After carefully mulling over the offer, he decided to give it a try and designated Friday as his official remote workday.

Veteran workshifters know that having the right tools is essential. Chris carefully maintains a presence and keeps projects moving by using IM for instant feedback, phone for short status meetings and email for milestone updates. These tools keep him engaged in the workplace and connected to his team.

Chris recalls a situation in which he and his team leveraged GoToMeeting to conduct a critical brainstorming session between two government agencies. The two groups needed to assess each other's data fields. (Just for a moment imagine the painful process of describing data fields over the phone.) GoToMeeting enabled both groups to view each other's desktops so that they could intelligently address the issue, run dynamic database queries and ultimately find out how they map to each other. According to Chris, "GoToMeeting allowed us to do the things we needed to do without getting in the way."

Chris's advice for employers:

• Provide the right tools to do the job -- inside and outside the office
• Make sure policies don't stand in the way of getting work done
• Build a foundation of trust, regardless of where an employee is located
• Recognize the value that an exceptional employee provides the organization
• Reward an exceptional employee with a workshifting perk

Chris sums it up this way: If you know your employee is working, it shouldn't matter where they work.

I happen to agree. And since not everyone is hard coded to work hard, employers should do what they can to retain the ones who are. If the job complements a workshifting arrangement, providing the option to work remotely a few days a week can be a powerful tool to sweeten the pot for exceptional employees. Don't you think?

Photo Credit: Multiple fragments of tissue

A good friend of mine recently took a position with a company with a workshifting culture. He can do his job with a laptop and internet connection.  This is nothing new to us that have been living an office anywhere lifestyle for some time, but for him it is a whole new world.

I think it is important to be thankful and not take for granted the blessing of workshifting. It wasn't too long ago when most of us reported into an office Monday through Friday after an half-hour to an hour (or longer) commute. Do you remember all of the wasted time and meaningless office policy, "Did you get that memo"? There is a reason Mike Judge's Office Space resonates with all of us.

Here are a few things I am thankful for as a workshifter:

More time with my family

Being able to create my work environment

Being part of a great community

Increased productivity

Location non-specific lifestyle

Work is more fulfilling when you are thankful for doing the work the way you want to do it.

What can you add to this? What are you thankful for?

Photo Credit: mtsofan

Recently, Fortune Magazine published their annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for. It's always a popular read to check out the companies listed. If you haven't seen this year's list, you can check it out here.

What I always find more interesting that just the list of company names and their rankings, is what these companies offer their employees. To me, this is what the list is really about. It identifies best practices.

This year's list had some interesting data:

• The top 10 best companies encouraged employees to balance their work and personal life
  
• 82 of the 100 companies listed offered telecommuting
  
  

So, the key concept behind workshifting - being able to work productively from anywhere - are embraced by the companies considered to be the crème de la crème in Corporate America. This comes right after the Federal Government implemented the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, mandating Federal Agencies to implement telework policies.

It's clear organizations both public and private are recognizing the benefits of workshifting. This is terrific. But we all read this blog and know that, right? The next logical step in this new normal is education.

For years, employees have been accustomed to getting up every day and driving to this place called "work." They put in their time and go home. If they bring work with them, they make do with their resources at home. Today, work might be 10 steps away. It's a major change.

I remember when I first started consulting. I spoke to every consultant who would let me buy them a cup of coffee. And asked them their biggest challenges.

One person told me it would take two years to get used to working at home. Two years?! Somehow that seemed ridiculous. But let me tell you...for me, it took every bit that long. Working from home is not a cakewalk. You have to be disciplined and manage yourself.

In my case, it was a bit different. I was too disciplined. I was so afraid of getting distracted by television or the household chores that I made myself miserable. I finally lightened up and achieved some balance.

In order for workshifting to be successful, it takes a lot of information. Companies can't simply declare telework is OK and hope everything works out. Guidelines for success need to be created. Both employees and employers need resources.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Families and Work Institute (FWI) just announced a multi-year partnership called Moving Work Forward. Their goal is to be that resource that can help organizations adopt workplace flexibility policies in an effort to be more competitive.

Check out this video from FWI and SHRM that explains the Moving Work Forward initiative:

This is just one of the many resources available to help organizations. What other workshifting resources are you aware of that can help organizations successfully implement these programs? Leave us a note in the comments.

Photo Credit: justin_levy

By nature, workshifters need to have flexible solutions to suit their "work anywhere" style. Here are three tools I use to stay on top of projects and be efficient with every keystroke - at my desk, on the bleachers, or in the library.

Tom's Planner: Visualize Project Planning

Tom's Planner is web-based project planning software which produces Gantt-style charts. Schedule tasks, organize timelines and assign resources. Groups categorize tasks into functional areas, and a status field establishes stage of completion or to-do notes. Tom's Planner lets you create charts and save them to the cloud for access from any computer. You can also save a copy to your local hard drive as an image or a PDF. Collaborate and share with team members by distributing access privileges.

Pros

• Free (for one schedule) to low cost (20 schedules)
• Much easier and more intuitive than Microsoft Project 
• Rapid deployment - get projects rolling quickly 
• No installation necessary (a great work-around if your IT department is rigid)

Cons

• Would be more useful if it had the ability to create subsets of tasks 
• Lacks customization of color palette or the ability to add texture (would help with a large project) 
• Icon options are pretty limited 
• Opens in a new browser window, cluttering up the desk tray

Evernote : Remember Things

Evernote is a clever way to digitally capture, categorize, and save everything. Save a voice memo or text note (the weekly deals from your favorite dining spots). Save a photo of a friend or a copy of a receipt for your expense report. Clip part of an online article to jump-start your next blog post. Evernote lets you save all of that important stuff up to your cloud account for access from any computer or mobile device.

What makes Evernote super-usable is the indexation and searchability. That photo of your receipt from Panera contained text, right? Well that text - "Panera," and anything else in print - are searchable! Add tags to give saved items further meaning and organize all your stuff into stacks.

For example, if you offer freelance writing services you could have a "stack" of Evernotes for each client. Within each of those stacks you could have receipts tagged with specific project ID numbers or meeting dates.

Pros

• Printed and handwritten text within images is completely searchable 
• Free, up to 60 MB per month storage 
• Synch across all platforms

Cons

• You have to just try it to "get it" (kind of like Twitter)
•  The free version has promos/ads (not a real big deal, though)

Dropbox: Cloud File Storage

Pros

• Synch all files online 
•  Access stored files from multiple computers and mobile devices 
• Collaborate through file sharing privileges 
• There are safeguards in place if a connection gets dropped

Cons

• The synching isn't instant, although it's pretty close

There you have them, three of my favorite productivity tools. What are your favorites, and why?

Photo Credit: smemon87

I was browsing online while having my first coffee of the day when a headline caught my attention.  It read: 'Most workers don't have desktop video and don't want it, report says'.  Of more than 5,400 businesspeople surveyed, 72% don't want desktop video, and even if they did, they don't have much access to it, says a new Forrester report called 'Information Workers Are Not Quite Ready for Desktop Videoconferencing'. The rest either already use it or would like to, the report says. 

I found this intriguing because in many ways I can associate and empathize with this.  There are benefits of being in virtual meetings where one can fully engage, interact and participate without being seen.  I can multi-task (possibly a dangerous claim for a male), walk around, snack, and essentially have the opportunity to behave in ways which may not be appropriate in more formal, office based environments.   

However, other research has indicated that one of the big challenges with holding virtual meetings is the frequently cited concern of not being able to see the other people participating.  The inability to see and gauge people's reactions to ideas and discussions is understandably a concern.  Body language is known to be an important part of interacting with each other and forms part of our emotional intelligence.  Face to face (f2f) is important and necessary to build trust and develop meaningful business relationships.

With ongoing double digit growth forecast over the next few years in web conferencing, it seems clear that virtual meetings are increasing and more people can expect to participate in such activity than ever before.  There is the recognition that f2f is important and desirable.  Yet according to the report mentioned above, people apparently don't want to use video conferencing to enable this.  This is the paradox!

What do you think?

Photo Credit: ismaSan

I've worked from home for over 20 years and found that being able to pick and choose my time with other people suits my tendency to introversion. Despite being happy with my own company, however, I've always been surprised by how often I need to 'top up' by getting out and talking to others. But often I've abandoned plans for trips out because I felt I couldn't afford the time or the expense involved.

I changed my mind recently, as I'm currently on Daniel Priestley's Key Person of Influence programme and, as a way of preparing for joint ventures and partnerships, he encourages us to pick up the phone and invite someone we'd like to know to meet up for coffee. The people I wanted to meet are all in London so I went up for a couple of days - and lots of coffee!

I was blown away by how much energy and inspiration I got just by talking to people who have clever ideas and run successful businesses, and I'm sure the investment will repay me many times over. I'm so convinced of that I've made a resolution to repeat the trip regularly.

I was recounting all this to a friend and he replied, 'Ah yes, Barbara Sher says that isolation is the biggest killer of dreams.' I had only vaguely heard of Barbara Sher, but those few words hit me right between the eyes.

It is a fact of life that left too long in its own company (and everyone has their own limit), the human brain seems to circle inward on itself, making horizons narrow and possibilities disappear. The danger is that the process is so imperceptible that you may not even realise it's happening until something happens to bring you up sharp.

My resolution for 2011 is not to let my dreams be killed stone-dead by too much time on my own, tempting though that may be. They need to get out there just as much as I do, encounter other thoughts and ideas, and start to find expression in the big, wide world.

Don't you think it's worth a try?

Photo Credit: CC Chapman

Could you work in an office? Not your office, but the kind that requires you to be somewhere else from 9 to 5. With people tracking your comings and goings, your lunch breaks, and how often you appear to be on a tweetchat or otherwise surfing the Web. You know. Office Space. The Office.

One of my immutable business principles is that I don't take on clients that want me to be onsite. The main reason, of course, is that I'm a business owner and not a freelancer. I have multiple clients, and I need the flexibility to schedule both client work and all the other activities that come with running a business. I might work a lot of hours, but they're my hours.

But there's a second reason: I just don't want to be in an office all day.

This question arose recently because I went in to talk with a prospect about some potential work. The client and I clicked. The project was interesting. I could easily have managed much of it offsite, coming in as needed for meetings and to touch base with people--and spending more hours onsite as the project hit crunch time. But they really wanted someone they could see every day.

Could you work in an office? I don't mean if the alternative were bankruptcy or being dragged over hot coals. But whether it's a viable option for you. If your answer is NO, then is that the measure of a true workshifter?

Photo Credit: walknboston

Four months ago, my mother became the third member in my immediate family to become a Workshifter. As a consultant in the localization industry, she works with organizations outside the US, most of the time working out of her home office in Iowa.

As a new Workshifter, I thought it would be interesting to talk to her about her experiences so far.

Interview with a Workshifting Newbie

What have been the most challenging aspects of Workshifting for you?

One of the hardest things for me has been adjusting to the fact that I can't see people when I communicate with them. It's hard getting used to the lack of visual cues when you're talking. You have to rely completely on words - no facial gestures or body language. Since I work with many people who are not native English speakers, this is even more challenging. Online meeting tools have really helped me address this challenge.

The other thing that I've found challenging is that it can be hard to generate a sense of urgency - in terms of pace of work and priorities - when you're in the peace and quiet of your own home. At times it can be difficult to accommodate what might seem to be arbitrary deadlines when you're not surrounded by seething activity in an office.

What do you think people should know before they transition into the Workshifting world?

I think it's very important for new Workshifters to have a good grasp of their technology and networking tools. And if they don't have that understanding themselves, it's critical to have a reliable support team you can rely on. Things can turn ugly quickly if you cannot access networks or lose connectivity. Also, it's critical to have a fast and reliable VPN connection.

Another thing that's important to think about before you become a Workshifter is your office hours. How are you going to organize your workday? Are you going to keep fixed office hours or be flexible in how you structure the workweek? When are you going to start the day? Since I mainly work with Europeans, I usually start my day early, around 6:30 a.m. to accommodate the time difference. I think it's important to consciously set a schedule and stick to it. If you don't, your work will end up taking over your personal life.

Also, clarify with your employer how you will be reimbursed for office expenses, such as phone bills, Internet, office supplies and other things. It's important to establish a framework for those costs in advance.

What do you like most about Workshifting?

That's easy: not having to go the office on Monday morning or commuting when the weather is bad. Of course, conversely, you also don't have that Friday-afternoon-weekend feeling when you work remotely.

What has surprised you about working remotely?

One of the things that I find interesting is the bond that is formed with other Workshifters. I've found that I've developed very close relationships with other colleagues who work remotely - more so than those who work in the office. It's like a new alliance!

What are your favorite Workshifting tools?

One of the first things I do when I turn on my laptop in the morning is to log on to my IP telephony and video service provider. Although not everyone I work with has a webcam, I think it's important to communicate in real time with your colleagues.

Another thing I think every home office should have is a scanner. You will need to scan receipts for your expenses and provide your signature on documents along with many other things.

Photo Credit: churchbrat