The “Two-Body Problem” is a term often used to describe the challenge when both partners in a relationship have  their own careers. When a husband and wife both work and one of them needs to find a new job, they are often limited to looking in the local area, because moving to a new part of the state/country/world to accept a job now means the spouse has to quit his/her job and find a new job at the new location.

In the past this was a major limitation for one’s career growth. And the alternative of getting your spouse to quit their job, move, and find a new job in a new area, could cause career limitations for your spouse, not to mention resentment and utlimately more pressure on your relationship. As if marriage wasn’t hard enough!

But telecommuting opens up new doors. Now the two-body problem just got easier. If your spouse wants to relocate and you are telecommuting exclusively (or close to exclusively) there’s a good chance that you can keep your job and still pick up and move. I won’t say it’s a sure thing - management may want to see your face once in a while. But you may be able to negotiate. If you’re moving from the immediate area but will still be close enough for a long drive, you can agree to come in once or twice/month, especially if your boss agrees that you can come in early or late to avoid rush hour. Even if you’re moving too far away to drive, your boss may find you valuable enough to let you move anyway - perhaps you’ll fly back a couple times per year for some face-to-face meetings (and you can visit local friends while you’re at it).

I have known people who have lived in parts of the country completely unreachable by car from the closest company office, who worked 100% from their home. Some of these people were great performers, who retained their high rankings and good raises in their company.

Telecommuting doesn’t just solve the problem of long-term location issues. It can also open up other doors. With telecommuting, the opportunity to take a foreign assignment (where your company moves you to a different country for a fixed time, such as a year or two, for a specific project) now gets easiser. Because of telecommuting you have this opportunity to experience a new country and culture, and if you have kids, you can open their world up a little too. Imagine the benefits they’ll get from living in a different country for a year or two, soaking up a new language, getting comfortable in a foreign environment, broadening their horizons about everything from food to to education to living conditions to foreign attitudes!

Telecommuting can make all this possible. So if you see a move or opportunity to go abroad coming up in your future - or just want to have that door open in case it does - establishing your skills and effectiveness as a telecommuter now, ahead of time, can be a great step in the right direction!

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