How telecommuters can ease career congestion

And no way around it, you’ll miss out on the office socialization that many people thrive on. No more impromptu employee birthday cakes or happy hours after work.

There are also financial issues to keep in mind. In some states, teleworkers end up getting taxed twice on their earnings, according to Nicole Belson Goluboff, an attorney and author of “The Law of Telecommuting.”

For example, she says, “If you’re a Connecticut resident who works for a company in Manhattan but chooses to work a few days from home, New York will tax you on income for your New York days but also on your Connecticut days. And Connecticut will tax you on the income you earn at home.”

Once you take all these factors into consideration, and you’re ready to telecommute anyway, be proactive in setting up the right plan, and put it in writing if possible.

Belson Goluboff suggests sitting down with your manager and discussing what the zoning issues in your community require; how overtime will be tracked if applicable; whether training will be provided; how company data will be kept secure; and the daily and weekly job requirements.

Look for firms that are committed to making telecommuting work, not those just looking to cut costs. Good signs are companies that invest in technology and firms that have telework training seminars for workers and managers.

JetBlue trains all its 1,200 reservations agents who work from home in the Salt Lake City area, and they periodically bring the agents in to interact with their supervisors and participate in team meetings.

Also, JetBlue rents out a water park once a year, inviting all the agents and their family members. This helps keep up “the face-to-face interaction,” says Bryan Baldwin, a company spokesman.

Advertising agency Barkley pays for Scott Brown, one of the firm’s creative directors, to fly to the company office in Kansas City from his home in Houston every other week so he can work hands-on with his team of five people.

Brown actually came up with the idea to telecommute after he applied for the job, fell in love with the company but couldn’t move to Kansas City because of family obligations.

“The key is communication,” says Brown, about making it work. What helps him is face time, IM, e-mail, phone and his Blackberry, which he admits, “I’m a little bit married to.”

Susan Seitel, president of workplace consultancy WFC Recourses, offers this telecommuter survival list:

• Touch base with each of your co-workers at least once a week to see what they're up to.
• If you don’t have any pressing business issues, just ask if there’s anything new, compare notes, and find out if there’s anything you can do to help them.
• Ask for a volunteer “office buddy” to take responsibility for e-mailing office news at least weekly (maybe in return for a monthly invitation to lunch).
• Be ready to reschedule telecommuting days if necessary. People won’t always be able to work around your schedule, so you may have to come in on some days you ordinarily work from home.
• Take the initiative to be present at key meetings. If you can’t alter your schedule, be an active participant via conference call, videoconference, or Web conference.
• Make sure you're clear about your career goals and share them with your manager. Is there a next step for you? If so, what is it and how would you like to get there?
• Make sure anyone who might need you knows exactly when they can get you, what to do if they feel it’s urgent, and how long it will be before you return their voice mail or e-mail message.
• Watch the tone of your e-mail messages. Without a smile or vocal inflections to soften what may be perceived as criticism, feelings can be hurt and colleagues irritated.
• Keep checking out the perceptions of your in-office colleagues. Telecommuters tell of suddenly noticing relationships cooling with no warning, perhaps the result of a perceived slight, a little jealousy on the part of someone who had been wanting to telecommute, or the sense that the telecommuter just didn’t care any more. There’s no need to wait for signs and symptoms.

Ask this question regularly, she advises, “Do you have any thoughts about how this arrangement is working?”

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