Hearty Surprise

It is 8.00 pm on Tuesday and you are preparing for an important meeting on Thursday.The draft needs to be ready by  Wednesday afternoon for review. The boss  is still around. You have all the information required and what remains is to analyse, collate the data and prepare a power packed presentation slide. The job needs about 6-8 hours of work. What is your next action ?

Option 1:   You tell the boss that you will  work on it tonight at home and continue at office the next day to deliver the slides by afternoon . Your boss has no complains. (S)he is happy you are taking work home.

Option 2:  You have been planning for sometime to request your boss to allow you to work from home occasionally . You feel this could be one of the opportunity to start the topic.

Since all that you need is a silent place free from the office interruptions,  you ask the boss “Can I work from home tomorrow and bring you the slides in the afternoon”?  The boss  pauses, his forehead shows signs of  deep thinking, you hastily add , “I have all the information with me, just need a calm place to complete the work and moreover I avoid the morning traffic and save time to finish the slides earlier”.

Outcome 

Thank the stars if you receive a favourable reply like “That is fine with me. Complete the work and see me in the afternoon”

But depending on your boss and the situation and  you may receive a reply from a straight forward “I want you to be in office” to a long winded, “Oh , you can try to come early to beat the traffic … others may need information from you (he knows you can be reached by phone and mail) … Well, I make have different ideas when I see the slides …” 

What do you do next ?

You have been turned down , that doesn’t mean the option is never possible. Your boss is not comfortable this time. Probably he doesn’t want to test something new when he/she is already tensed about the meeting or your reasons were not convincing enough.  Try again  when

• the situation is less threatening
• your boss is more receptive to changes
• there is enough proof that you will always complete the work

Popularity: 11% [?]

The very mention of the word WAH  (Work at Home) receives a lot of attention these days. There are 2 kinds of people who follow every lead to these magic words

1. People who want to work from home for various reason( young family , avoid long commute , studies, supplementary income, to take care of elders …)

2. Those who can work only from home (physically challenged since birth , sudden loss of mobility or dependence on others due to accidents , sensitive medical issues …)

The internet is overflowing with websites and  links  to  WAH jobs, business opportunities , ideas , forums , blogs, articles on the tools and techniques and thousand other topics which center around telecommute and Working from Home. There are many  good souls who are genuine and provide very useful information and leads.

But for every good site, hundred others are waiting to exploit the naive job seekers . And it is amazing how creative these people are in coming up with different ideas to trap people. One of the recent ads goes like this:

“Only sincere people need apply. Job involves typing and follow up emails.Work from home”.

 The ad sounds like an admin assistant job.Curious to know more, I replied back to the advertiser that I am good at typing , followup and communication. What I received back were instructions on how typing ads is a job with good earning potential. There were no questions/ checks on my job skills but only asked to pay $39 to get online training material . I replied back asking “Why should I pay to do work  and what does the materials teach” ?  No correspondance from the other side(Probably they realised that I can’t be taken for a ride).

So friends, please be alert. One of the ways to start working from home is

1. If you are working , ask your boss(when he/she is in good spirits) if you can work from home once or twice a week and gradually increase after you prove there is no comprise in the result you deliver.
2.  If you are looking  for jobs, 

Low risk search - spread word through friends, volunteer,network (Unless you have a very broad network of friends you will end up with very few leads.)

High risk search - Internet has unlimited potential and is a great source, but BE ALERT , seek clarification on job, company and payment. Ask advice from friends,through forums , message boards and check if anyone has worked for the company before. Learn from their experience.The importance of being alert cannot be emphasised any further.

Please do not rush to grab a job and waste your precious time and money.  Best Wishes !!!

Popularity: 11% [?]