Does Santa telecommute? Well, I’d have to say yes. In fact, I think he telecommutes almost exclusively. You see, for 364 days/year Santa works from his home workshop, overseeing the elves who make toys for the children. But one day per year, he has to travel all over the world, delivering said toys.

What’s my point? My point is that telecommuting isn’t an all-or-nothing arrangement. You may not be able to, or even want to, find a situation where you telecommute exclusively. Some people work from home just a few days per week, going into the office on regularly scheduled days (e.g. every Tuesday and Thursday). Even if you want to telecommute exclusively, you will probably still find there are times where you need to go into the office on occasion. Perhaps you have an important customer meeting where your boss wants you to appear face-to-face. Or maybe a coworker who is located in another part of the country or world is visiting on a business trip. Or maybe you’re kicking off a new project where it’s helpful to sit down with your coworkers in a conference room to brainstorm on a whiteboard.

The point is, be flexible. If you’re arranging a telecommuting situation with your boss, or have just started telecommuting, make sure your boss knows that you are willing to come in on occasion for important face-to-face meetings. This occasional physical presence also helps you reconnect and strengthen your relationship with your coworkers - something that is valuable to do once in a while when your only presence is virtual most of the time.

I will add one caveat to this. An experienced telecommuter can manage with few to no face-to-face interactions. I had a teammate who, for personal reasons and with agreement from HR, actually moved to a different part of the country where there were no corporate offices. He was allowed to do this and continued to perform very well in his role, working remotely almost 100% of the time. He did fly out for a few team meetings once or twice per year, but that’s about it. So if you do have special circumstances, where you can’t come in to the office at all, don’t worry - it can be done! You just need the right working habits to be effective and retain your virtual presence with your teammates - stay tuned on this blog and watch for my upcoming e-book where I’ll give you the information you need to succeed!

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