3. The Challenges

In Chapter 1, “Why You Shouldn’t Try an Out of Office Experience,” I outlined some of the reasons why Out of Office working might not be the right work style for you or your organization. I am assuming that if you have made it this far into the book, you have at least decided that there is some fit for you and/or your organization.

In this chapter, I want to consider the various challenges that exist for the Out of Office worker and how they can be overcome. As I’ve already mentioned, I believe that this style of working requires a particular mindset and that it doesn’t work for everyone who tries it. The challenges are myriad and unique to this type of work style; however, the solutions to them are just as unique and, in some cases, creative.

What all the solutions have in common is that they are created by the need to be as productive, if not more so, than office based co-workers, as well as to allow the Out of Office worker the freedom that this work style is meant to enable.

All of us, whether in office or Out of Office, face challenges daily in our work lives; for example, our productivity can be stalled by a co-worker not completing their portion of a project, or a chatty co-worker might drop by our cube and consume an hour with tales of their weekend.

Although the Out of Office worker can relate to these challenges, and has probably experienced them during their working life, if their in-office co-workers have not worked Out of Office, it will be difficult for them to relate to the challenges faced by their Out of Office partners.

To start with, let’s examine some of the challenges faced by the Out of Office worker based at home.

However, even an understanding partner will, at times, make demands of the Out of Office worker that eat into their work time.

The Out of Office worker, especially one who is home based for the majority of their time, can be seen as neither fish nor fowl; they are neither home full time nor away full time. So what is the harm in asking them to help out around the house while they are there all day?

Denise Snow explains how partners, children, and even neighbors can be dismissive of your job:

The biggest challenge I find is that others do not take your work seriously when you work from home. Because you work from home, why can’t you do domestic chores, watch their kids and pets, and run errands when you please? Why can’t you just pick up your computer and work from just anywhere? This seems to be pretty common perception of my family, friends, and neighbors. Neighbors that ring your door bell and think you have all day to chat, or how about going out to have some fun during the work day? Family that says, “what are you doing tomorrow?” My answer: The same thing everyone else is doing—working!

It’s not just domestic chores that are added to the list; there is always that leaky faucet that needs to be fixed or a set of shelves to be put up. There is a strong likelihood that an Out of Office worker will be involved in the information industry, so the Internet is an integral part of their work. Partners can also see this as a great opportunity to have their own “researcher” at home during the day. “Can you get a quote for car insurance?” or any number of other Internet-based tasks will be offloaded to the Out of Office worker.

Even the most supportive of partners can forget that just because their partner works from home in sweatpants, they aren’t necessarily under any less pressure to deliver on deadlines, produce quality work, or deal with all the demands of an in-office-based role.

The illusion of work as leisure given by the fact that showers may be something that are taken in the afternoons, that sweatpants are worn all day, and that some of the office time might actually happen in a coffee shop, doesn’t help that blurring of the lines.

It is important for the Out of Office worker to be able to illustrate to their domestic partners that they are, in fact, working each day. If the partner goes out to work each day, they are likely to return home with tales of the work place. For the Out of Office worker, especially the home-based one, they are unlikely to have the same types of stories to tell. However, I believe it is important that they share stories of their work day as well as listen to their partner’s stories. These stories provide a point of reference, a context in which the non-home-based worker can place their partner and their day.

I have known home-based workers who were primarily involved in some form of information or creative-based business whose partners had little or no understanding of what it was they did for a living. Images of time spent cruising the Internet, watching daytime television, playing video games, or simply going for coffee were common among their partners.

The fault lies not with the partner, but with the Out of Office worker for not dispelling these myths (okay, so some of us might indulge in these activities from time to time, but not all the time). Communication, as in any other aspect of a relationship, is paramount.

Explaining what the day, week, or month’s activities are going to look like to a partner is definitely a way to aid their understanding of what the Out of Office worker does all day at home.

When the Out of Office worker is part of a larger team, this can be a lot easier than for someone engaged in a solo enterprise. I have often answered the question “What did you do today?” with the simple answer “I wrote.” It sums up what I did, but it doesn’t really help my partner understand what I did.

Even if I were to quantify the writing—“I wrote ten pages of my new book today,” which is, of course, more detailed—it doesn’t really explain what I did. Is ten pages a lot or a little? Did I do research, or did I just write it all off the top of my head?

Of course, sometimes those details aren’t as important as quantifying the tasks accomplished in terms of time. “I spent six hours writing ten pages today” is actually more useful as a response. It provides context. Of course the next question is, “What did you do with the other four hours I was at the office?” Just as if you were an in-office worker being quizzed by your boss, how would you describe what it was you did for those seemingly nonproductive hours?

The home-based Out of Office worker has no commute time to eat up part of their working day. Perhaps a few phone calls or video conferences, but really where did that time go?

I honestly couldn’t quantify where that time goes for my own day. Of course, there are the usual Internet distractions, although I try to minimize those. Sometimes it is just a matter of spending time thinking—which is very hard to put into words.

Partners also form an essential part of the support network and are not the only challenge faced by the Out of Office worker. In fact, some share the experience with their partner when they both work from home.

Wes Rogers offered his experience of sharing an office and home life with his wife:

Recently we had our first child, and it couldn’t be easier. We are both basically right back at work full time, just sharing the duties at home. The change hasn’t been that dire—of course, I can’t do much feeding as my wife is breast feeding, but, it’s nice to know we’re there to help each other out.

With both partners working from home—and in Wes’s situation for the same company—they understand the challenges and can provide assistance to each other, relying on each other’s strengths.

Other parts of the Out of Office worker’s day might be spent dealing with the other distractions that we share our living space with—pets.

We have three cats living with us, and they are a source of amusement, affection, and, of course, distraction. Each one of them has its own personality and its own needs. Any home-based Out of Office worker sharing their space with a pet will understand the distractions that pets provide.

Dogs require walking, or at the very least being let out into the yard; cats will demand attention at the most inappropriate times. It can be hard to concentrate on a conference call while also listening to a cat cough up a fur ball and wondering which room now has an unpleasant mess in it to be cleaned up!

As I mentioned previously, one of our cats enjoys being in on video conferences, if I forget to shut the door to my office. Fortunately, so far, he hasn’t interrupted an important client call or a video interview, but it definitely keeps me on my toes knowing that he might put in an appearance at any time.

I have heard tales of home-based Out of Office workers finding their dogs gnawing on cables and disconnecting them from the Internet, cats that sleep on keyboards and change documents while no one is looking, and one case of a collapsing fish tank that destroyed a computer and took with it critical documents!

There is no doubt that sharing your workspace with pets brings a unique set of challenges that few in-office workers ever face (with the odd exception of offices that allow people to bring their dogs to work).

Explaining that the “dog ate my work” to your boss is not quite the same as it was when you were in grade school. These challenges have to be worked around. Securing devices, utilizing cloud backup services, and generally making continuity plans around the possible mishaps that pets can create is essential for Out of Office workers.

Of course, at the same time, for the home-based Out of Office worker, pets can provide a measure of company. Certainly having the cats around me while I am working provides a comforting feeling of not being completely alone all day. The opportunity to take a dog for a walk around the block can help refresh and recharge an individual. Moments like those are one of the big attractions to being an Out of Office worker.

When you’re planning an Out of Office work style, pets (either existing ones or potential additions) have to be incorporated into the plan. For instance, a new puppy might be a wonderful addition to the household, but with an Out of Office worker at home all day, guess who will be looking after it while the rest of the family is out at work or school?

The other family members who will have a huge impact on an Out of Office work style is, of course, children. No decisions of the scale involving the setting up of a home office environment can be made without incorporating the needs of children in the home.

From the space that an office takes up, to the daily schedule needs of children, to the length of school vacations—all these things will impact the Out of Office worker based at home to varying degrees.

As we have already seen in Chapter 2, “The Benefits,” working from a home office with children in the house can also present opportunities for bonding that would otherwise be missed. However, for every opportunity there are also examples of where work has to be rescheduled to allow for the needs of a child.

I recently saw a post from a friend on Facebook that said the following:

Home Office + Sick Kiddo = No Work Getting Done Today

What happens in a situation like this? What about those deadlines? What about the clients or colleagues who are expecting your input? Of course, this is a challenge that in-office workers face as well. If both parents are present, one of them probably chooses to stay home with the sick child while the other goes to work.

However, when one of the parents already works from home, then the natural assumption is that they will take care of the child. What if the parent is a lone parent? If they don’t have access to additional childcare help, then when does that work get done?

For some it simply means having to reschedule work, move deadlines, or otherwise make compromises. For yet others it means burning the midnight oil after a day of nursing their child and playing catch-up through the night. Not an easy task, but one that most parents would do willingly in exchange for being there for their sick child.

Sickness is, of course, not the only time children require a parent’s full attention. The parent working from home will also have their available time reduced by the school vacation schedule. The long days of summer can see hours of entertaining children replacing work time. Of course, there are solutions such as summer camps, day camps, and childcare facilities. But let’s not forget that part of the appeal of the Out of Office work style is the ability to be flexible. The opportunity to actually spend those lazy summer days exploring a beach with a child or a taking a family trip to the zoo or some other attraction is part of the appeal.

Edward Carroll shared his challenge of trying to operate as the daycare provider and continue to be a productive employee:

The challenge I found before me was how do I generate leads and engage customers by phone while providing daddy daycare? She would insist on sitting on my lap while I worked. That was difficult because she wanted to talk and pull on my headset while I was on calls. I tried walking around the house while on my calls with using my mobile phone; however, she would follow close behind crying and screaming for me to pick her up. I would usually end up outside on my deck looking back at her through the closed glass door. She would scream because she wanted me to hold her. I felt horrible and frustrated, but I needed to make my calls to generate and close business.

This is a tough situation for any parent to find themselves in. The whole point of working from home for Edward was to spend time with his daughter and yet in doing so he was putting his job at risk. Happily, he and his wife figured out a schedule adjustment that meant everyone, including his daughter, got what they needed, but as they found out, it takes a different kind of thinking to overcome the challenges presented by being an Out of Office worker.

If the Out of Office parent is part of a larger organization, both the worker and the organization need to think through carefully the strategy for coping with these different situations. Although sickness is hopefully short term, school vacations are usually longer and require more of the parent’s attention to be devoted to their child or children. Work still has to be completed and deadlines met. Sometimes the only recourse is to simply inform co-workers and bosses that the Out of Office parent will be unavailable while they deal with a sick child. The school vacations will involve other strategies, the most common of which will see the Out of Office parent working at different times than during school days.

I know many Out of Office parents who get up several hours earlier than normal, put in a few hours of work before their school-age children rise, and then spend the day with them. Then, once dinner is completed, they return to their home-based office to put in more hours to ensure that work stays on track.

Shelley Hunter Kukuk explains that structuring her day around the needs of her children has been the biggest challenge to working from home:

For me, the biggest challenge is having a lack of structure to my day. Because I chose to work at home as a way to be an at-home mom and still help support the family, my primary job is being a mom, which means I am the caregiver, addressing all the needs of the children throughout the day, while also working.

This was significantly more challenging when the kids were all little. Now that they are all in school, I have more time to get things done and can structure my day, but they invariably have needs that I must tend to.

Whether Out of Office workers are working for themselves or working as part of a larger organization, operating on a flexible schedule but still meeting the needs of both the family and their job is a common challenge for all.

Far from being all about luxuriating in the sun by the pool, many Out of Office workers, especially those who are parents, will often find themselves at the very least working irregular hours and in some cases working much longer hours than their average in-office counterparts. Of course, the opportunity to be a part of their child’s life during school vacations means that the extended hours are often a cost worth paying.

Leaf blowers and other power tools being used by neighbors or maintenance services have the uncanny knack of being fired up at the most inappropriate times. Of course, the Out of Office worker becomes adept at pressing the mute button repeatedly during calls for just these reasons. Still the unexpected will always happen.

I have been in the middle of a video call and had to halt it to answer the door for an urgent package delivery. Although hardly embarrassing or particularly inconvenient, the unscheduled nature of these types of interruptions can be a nuisance and break the flow of a conversation. As private and secluded sounding an office at home sounds, it is never quite the cone of silence that in-office colleagues think it is.

Mail centers and other facilities can be utilized to minimize even these types of interruptions, and we will look at things that you can (and quite probably) should outsource to make you more efficient later in this chapter.

Of course, in-office colleagues have their share of unexpected interruptions: How many of them have found themselves evacuating a building for a fire alarm, or even a fire drill? Nothing like half an hour spent outside during the winter in a parking lot to wreck the creative flow!

For some reason those interruptions aren’t placed on the same level as interruptions experienced by those working Out of Office. Somehow the Out of Office worker, by virtue of the fact that they work in their own home, is supposed to be able to exert more control over their environment than their in-office colleagues. As I discussed in Chapter 2, in some situations that is certainly true, but there are situations over which they have no more control than anyone else.

Again, the best strategy is to plan for these eventualities. I lost power for a few days while living in an apartment a couple of years ago. A construction team had managed to sever a power line or disrupt the power in some manner. My fallback plan was to work from a local coffee shop for most of the day, and use a bookable “reading room” at the local library to conduct video meetings. It wasn’t sustainable for a prolonged period of time, but it kept me up and running for the few days that I was without power—and kept me in business.

Having contingency plans in place before the interruption occurs is the only way to achieve something close to the seamless continuity that co-workers or clients will require. It also demonstrates a level of professionalism that those constituents will expect.

Of course, in any partnership there must be compromise for it to be successful. Does it really impact the work day if a home-based Out of Office worker takes 15 minutes to load the washing machine in the middle of the day, or an hour to run to the grocery store? No, probably not. The only problem is when these tasks become a barrier to productivity. Scheduling time to do them can be a big help. For example, knowing that their work day will have a break around 3 p.m. to do the school run allows for both partners to be certain of who is picking up the children and allows for the Out of Office worker to plan their day accordingly.

When both partners are extremely busy, it can be beneficial to bring in outside help. My partner and I have done this when she has been traveling a lot for business and I have been both traveling and writing with tight deadlines. During these times, we have utilized the services of a cleaner to keep our apartment in good shape—no one likes to live or work in a mess.

It was an additional expense but, after doing the math, we reasoned that it was very worthwhile to allow us both the ability to complete our work and still enjoy some time together and not be spending our time cleaning.

Utilizing additional services to help achieve either domestic or personal goals, thus freeing up time for the Out of Office worker and their partner, where appropriate, can be extremely beneficial.

Services such as TaskRabbit, which is not available in all areas yet, but is spreading rapidly, are allowing people to get more done within the same time frame. TaskRabbit is basically an outsourcing service for any number of jobs, from doing Internet research to picking up dry cleaning or groceries. Jobs are posted by users who need a task completed; they are bid on by “Rabbits,” and when the bid is accepted and the task complete, they are paid. Currently only available in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, Austin, Chicago, New York, and Boston, TaskRabbit makes getting help a lot easier.

How much a task costs will depend on location and, of course, how much value the buyer ascribes to their time. Picking up dry cleaning in San Francisco, for example, costs about $14. Is that worth it? How much does an Out of Office worker make in an hour and how long would it take them to perform the task themselves? It is important to remember to factor in the cost of actually being away from the desk and focusing on other things; it isn’t just the cost of not working but the cost of not thinking about work.

Craigslist and other sites can also be utilized in this way to find additional, noncontinuous assistance for various domestic and other tasks that take the focus away from work. This type of “buying time” is part of the Out of Office work style that improves productivity and the quality of the life of the Out of Office worker.

Rather than trying to do everything, the savvy worker is now identifying which areas of their lives they are willing to trade money or time for and implementing a work style that fits their lifestyle better rather than the other way around.

Interruptions range from the slightly inconvenient to the almost catastrophic. I am sure that anyone working Out of Office based from home will have experienced them on all parts of the scale. As I have mentioned previously, the primary focus of this book is information/knowledge workers. For these individuals, work flow is an intrinsic part of what they do. Problem solving, creative thinking, and other knowledge-based tasks are dependent on the ability to start and finish a set of thoughts in one session. Having that flow of creativity interrupted can not only be inconvenient but actually cause the individual to have to reset their thinking and start from square one. Certainly, when I am mid-flow writing, my partner trying to engage me in conversation can be not only an interruption but actually annoying. Depending on how it is handled, it can actually lead to some tense moments, which is the last thing you actually want.

What about the Out of Office worker not based at home?

Although not ideal, this is where relationship building is such a critical element of the Out of Office workers skill set. They must develop the type of relationships with team members so that these in-office colleagues are willing to provide assistance and not simply let the Out of Office worker flounder and deal with the challenge on their own.

Similarly, building relationships with clients to a degree that enables the unexpected to be coped with in a way that reduces its impact is essential. Although most business professionals will understand if a project or other deliverable is delayed for reasons outside of anyone’s control, they are less likely to be that understanding if simple contingencies could have avoided or fixed the problem.

When I travel to events at which I am speaking, I always have three copies of my presentation. One on my laptop, one on a flash drive, and one saved to the cloud. The flash drive and my laptop are never in the same bag. Having seen other presenters find that a file is corrupted or that they have lost the file, I am somewhat paranoid about not having my content with me when I get to the event. Three copies might seem like overkill, but it has saved me on more than one occasion. When, for example, my laptop would not be recognized by a projector and my flash drive would not be recognized by the replacement laptop supplied by the venue, having the files available for download in the cloud saved the day.

It is this type of additional planning that helps the Out of Office worker overcome the different challenges they face because of the nature of their work style.

As discussed in Chapter 2, those who travel regularly as part of their Out of Office role will acquire a wealth of knowledge about the best locations, but even for the seasoned traveler there are new experiences and challenges to be overcome.

Finding Internet connectivity, especially when traveling overseas, is always a challenge. I recently traveled to Hong Kong for a speaking event and, of course, didn’t want to incur extremely high data charges by using my phone, but I also wanted to stay in touch, not only with my partner and clients but also with my wider social network.

I discovered, quite by accident, that many cafes, bars, and other public places had unsecured Wi-Fi connections. So by simply sitting in one of these places and having a meal or a drink, I could connect my phone to a Wi-Fi source. These weren’t always the most reliable or the fastest of connections, but they were free, which met the requirement I had at the time. Of course, I had a much better, faster, and more reliable connection at my hotel, but I didn’t want to spend my entire trip in my hotel room.

Internet connectivity is now one of the most important needs of the business traveler (it is also gaining in importance for leisure travelers as well). A report by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and the online travel and expense management company Concur on business traveler needs conducted in 2011 showed that 79 percent of business travelers carry at least one device to remain connected with their home and family.

Another consideration for business travelers is the unsecure nature of most public Wi-Fi connections. Although they are convenient, and in some cases free, they are potential hazards, including being gateways for hackers. The Out of Office business traveler who is using a company device containing sensitive information is better off using a secure device to connect to the Internet. These devices, such as Mi-Fi devices available from most cellular carriers in the U.S., provide 3G/4G wireless connectivity, similar in nature to that of smartphones. Although not always as fast as a Wi-Fi connection, they do provide the reassurance of being less vulnerable to security issues than pubic Wi-Fi access points.

Now working from home, I spend most of my days alone. Isolation can be both a rewarding and a daunting experience for the Out of Office worker. For some, myself included, being able to control when they interact with others helps with productivity; for others, the sense of isolation can be overwhelming and hinder their productivity.

Here’s how Kathryn Vercillo expresses it:

The single biggest challenge for me has been that there is isolation when working alone at home. This is how I work best and tends to be what I prefer. However, it gets to a point where you are spending way too much time alone and this is not only a negative thing socially but also ends up being bad for your work because you just don’t get the creativity and stimulation that you need to be pushing yourself forward in the job.

A lack of inspiration, stimulation, and creativity is definitely going to hinder any professional’s productivity. There are, of course, many ways to overcome this particular challenge. Networking groups, for example, provide the opportunity to meet other professionals, many of whom will also be Out of Office workers and therefore able to relate to the challenges being faced.

If the Out of Office worker is a solopreneur, then finding others to collaborate with is not only a good business move but also provides a sense of team and human contact.

Hobbies that take place outside of the home are also another way in which the Out of Office home-based worker can increase their level of interaction with those around them. Working out is also a great way to connect with other individuals, either in a class or just in the gym. The sense of being a part of something bigger is a great motivator for many.

All of these methods not only meet the need for social interaction but can also be great sources of inspiration for the creative who is based from home. Whether the contact is professional or personal, simply getting away from the desk and the home office environment and gaining a fresh perspective on tasks is of great benefit to everyone.

Most Out of Office workers already realize this, but even though they understand the benefits, they don’t always take it to heart. It can be all too easy for the home-based Out of Office worker to establish routines that focus on keeping them at home, providing them with “reasons” why they shouldn’t leave and socialize.

It is worth both employers and partners taking note of this type of behavior and providing opportunities for the Out of Office employee to get out into the wider world.

However, along with that comes the ancillary tasks, travel, accommodation, contracts, invoicing, and so no. These tasks can be extremely time consuming and distracting, taking my attention away from the primary task.

One popular solution for busy professionals, both those who work for themselves and those who work for larger organizations, is to employ the services of a virtual assistant (VA). Finding a virtual assistant has become easier with the increasing number of those now performing the role. The hard part is finding the right virtual assistant for your needs.

Typically VAs have a minimum number of hours per week requirement, so before engaging one it is essential to have a clear idea of what it is they are being hired to do. The clearer the requirements, the better the relationship will be and the more satisfied the Out of Office worker will be with the results.

If travel is a large part of the role being performed by the Out of Office worker, having someone else book travel and make all the necessary arrangements can be a great timesaver. If research is a supportive part of the role being performed, then having a VA conduct the research and provide the information can greatly reduce project timelines.

Of course, all this comes with a cost. VAs are not cheap, nor should they be: They are, in their own right, professionals who are running a business, and they should be valued as such.

Again, as with any other form of outsourcing of tasks, it is a question of balancing the opportunity with the cost. Does the use of a VA free up useful time that can be better expended on more productive tasks? Also, who pays? For the solopreneur, that answer is simple: They do. But for the employee of a larger organization that can be a more difficult question.

Hiring an individual to conduct tasks that are not directly related to work, but provide a benefit to the organization such as booking travel (for those who work for organizations too small to have their own travel department) can be negotiated. However, hiring an individual who is conducting research on behalf of an employee, even if the research is generic in nature; for example, finding the contact details of potential prospects can be wrought with hazards. Is the VA performing a work-for-hire role? Are they under any form of confidentiality agreement? What happens to the data after it has been collected?

Before deciding to hire a VA, any employee of an organization would be very well advised to discuss it internally with their employer and discuss the pros and cons of such a hire.

For some, hiring a VA to handle the non-work-related tasks makes perfect sense. For a busy Out of Office employee who needs someone to stay on top of making bill payments, managing personal social media platforms, booking vehicles for services, and so on, all of these tasks can be handled by a competent VA and free up time for more productive tasks.

Unless they happen to be running an IT consultancy from their home, most solopreneurs will have limited knowledge about the best ways to set up their home business IT infrastructure. For many, it is simply a matter of buying what they can afford, and setting it up in the way that the instruction manual showed them. Beyond that, they simply hope that it continues to work in the way that it is supposed to.

The Out of Office worker who is part of a larger organization usually has the benefit of the support of an IT department. They make the choices about the type of equipment, how it should be set up, and how it connects to the organizational network.

This is also one of the challenges. A large organizational IT department is supporting the majority of employees who are “in office.” Those who fall outside of this norm present a unique set of problems and are often deprioritized because of it.

Many organizations only allow access to the company IT infrastructure via a virtual private network (VPN) connection. These are notoriously slow, cumbersome, and unreliable. Even working for small organizations I have had to utilize these connections, and they were always a source of frustration. The Out of Office employees I know who are still forced to use them find them no different.

This can act as a barrier to obtaining information necessary to perform a role, or at least obtaining it in a timely manner. This then becomes a source of frustration for both the Out of Office worker and their colleagues. The in-office co-workers have no problems accessing files; they simply navigate to the appropriate network location and open them.

For the Out of Office worker things are rarely that simple. From complex encryption password generators, to multiple logins, to discovering the fact that a particular network location is not viewable from outside of the network, the challenges can seem endless.

If an IT department is equipped to provide individual support to Out of Office workers, this can certainly alleviate some of these issues—but not all IT departments are.

Many Out of Office workers are stuck on hold with their own IT departments as though they were calling a business help line. This does nothing to break down the barrier between Out of Office and in-office workers. It is an added frustration for the Out of Office worker but an unfortunately necessary one given the nature of most organizational IT infrastructures.

Beyond developing good relationships with the IT department, there is little that can be done to overcome these barriers because protecting the infrastructure is the primary concern of the IT department, not making access easier for Out of Office employees.

That number should be of great concern to any organization considering implementing (or those who have already implemented) Out of Office working. Organizations run on the foundation of internal relationships.

The fact that they are removed from the office means that they lack the informal opportunities to form deeper relationships. No hallway conversations, no shared tables in the cafeteria, no vending machine chats, no shared walks across the parking lot to the car for the evening drive home.

These informal meetings are where many in-office relationships develop and an increased understanding of co-workers is achieved. Regardless of the number of video conferences, instant message chats, and phone calls, the spontaneity of the informal meeting cannot be replicated.

Yet, without these deeper relationships the Out of Office worker is hampered in overcoming their challenges: a Catch-22 situation if ever there was one. Again, part of the solution to this is to ensure that the person taking on an Out of Office role is both well versed with the organization and well established in their role within the organization. Another solution is to phase in the transition from in-office to Out of Office working. Start with one day a week and progress, perhaps over the period of a quarter to five days. This at least gives both the employee and their co-workers time to test the arrangement and develop coping strategies for different situations that arise without a complete disconnect between them.

The same survey mentioned earlier also reported that 71 percent of respondents cited “lack of participation” as a major (number-three) challenge. Combine these two, and you have a recipe for a loss in productivity. Obviously they are connected, but without established relationships and the ongoing investment in them, it would be hard to feel included in the organization rhythm.

A lack of participation leads to feelings of disenfranchisement, and that, in turn, leads to employee turnover. Given the cost of replacing key employees (which, by default, Out of Office workers should be), this can be expensive for an organization in more than just financial terms.

Perhaps the biggest challenge exists in the strategy and planning for organizations implementing Out of Office working. The focus tends toward the technological solutions that will allow the maintenance of connectivity and misses the human element and how that connectivity will be maintained.

Although some of the onus for maintaining the connection rests with the employee, the responsibility of the organization to ensure that there is a continuity of relationships and communication cannot be overstated.

Planning for Out of Office employees to make regular visits to the physical office, and in some instances for a prolonged period, can definitely be of benefit to both sides of the equation. I know some Out of Office workers who work on one coast of the U.S. while their peers work on the other. Obviously this type of distance means that a day visit to the office is not only impracticable but logistically impossible. In one instance, the employee will visit the parent office for a week, sometimes once a month or once every six weeks.

Although this arrangement means upheaval at home for the employee, it does ensure that they stay more connected with their peers and allows them to build, establish, and maintain relationships. This might appear to be defeating the purpose of having Out of Office employees, but in a blended workplace (one consisting of both in-office and Out of Office team members) it actually makes a lot of sense.

Where things can be more difficult and costly is when the entire team is working Out of Office. Geographically dispersed teams are not as logistically challenged as they once were. With the technology now available, video conferencing and other collaboration tools make this type of team structure very workable. However, bringing all the team members together is still the same logistical challenge that it ever was.

Finding a destination that is not overly onerous on any one member of the team, that doesn’t break the bank, and provides an environment that allows for a productive time together, is no easy task. The cost of these types of trips have to be factored into the operation costs for the business, and for smaller businesses this can be an overhead that seems very unattractive.

I have seen this type of team meeting work extremely well, though—especially when organized efficiently, and that is ultimately the key. Ensuring that those traveling to the meeting know exactly why they are meeting, what the objectives of the meeting are, and any expected outcomes—which is not really any different from a properly organized in-office meeting. The advantages of the Out of Office team meeting is that the setting doesn’t necessarily have to be a formal setting.

I recently saw a friend who operates an agency of Out of Office–based team members hold a company meeting in Mexico. Although I wasn’t privy to the meetings, I am sure they were productive, but at the same time it was also an opportunity to bond and establish and strengthen the friendships that brought the team together in the first place.

This isn’t something all organizations would be capable of making happen or necessarily want to, but for certain groups of individuals it provides both a work and play environment that builds the overall strength of the team—something the organization and its clients benefit from.

This type of bonding exercise is not uncommon in in-office organizations. From outward bound courses to paintball and other leadership/team-building exercises, organizations of all sizes recognize the need for bonding experiences outside of the workplace.

In one of my previous roles at a company headquartered in India, we held senior management meetings at a yoga retreat in the Indian countryside. It was an opportunity for both offshore (U.S. and European) and onshore (India) employees to spend time together, work on their communication skills, understand culture differences, and work on team building.

These trips were extremely successful and helped the company achieve rapid growth while at the same time keeping everyone connected.

Although this all seems great for larger organizations, what of the solopreneur? Without a team, they obviously don’t face the same challenges as their team-based peers; however, taking refresher breaks that help them achieve efficiency improvements, recharge them, and perhaps add additional skills to their portfolio is still an important need.

So where do they go? Are there vacation centers for solopreneurs that cater to those looking for some kind of bonding experience and that will allow for an exchange of thoughts and increased education? Although there might well be this type of vacation available (although I wasn’t able to find one during the research for this book—business opportunity someone?), the nearest things I have experienced to this are certain conferences.

A conference doesn’t seem like it would be the place to recharge, reinvigorate, and educate, but there are some that are particularly aimed at the solopreneur and recognize the challenges of working Out of Office, particularly for those working from home.

With a little research and outreach, it should be possible for most solopreneurs to find a conference or two that caters to this need and provides opportunities for them to get the type of experience that might have previously been thought of as the realm of the larger organization. The extra effort required of the solopreneur after attending this type of event is exactly the same of their peers who work as part of a larger organization. Having experienced the in-person connection, they must strive to ensure that time and distance do not diminish the connection established and try to ensure that the style of communication they achieved face-to-face is replicated, as far as possible, in the remote communications.

This means taking the time to do things such as reading emails more than once to see through the written word to the sentiment. Some people are better at communicating in writing than others, and emails can be dashed off while the person is concentrating on several other tasks at hand. The recipient of the email doesn’t have that context necessarily, and what was intended as just a quick note can be interpreted as being curt or even abrasive.

This takes time, perhaps more time than we are used to taking with email, but those extra few moments can be the difference between strengthening or weakening a relationship. There is, of course, a responsibility on behalf of the sender to try and think before hitting Send about how the recipient might misconstrue the message. That is a skill that all email users should acquire; however, given that business moves at the speed it does, it is unsurprising that many never quite manage this.

I will sometimes use a third, unconnected party to read an email that I am unsure of the content of. If I find it abrasive, is it the sender or is it me? In the past, I would just respond in the way I thought was appropriate. However, to my own cost, have found that time, distance, and even cultural differences have led to misunderstandings. Now I find that sending the odd email to a friend and asking for their interpretation reduces the angst and helps prevent those “shoot from the hip” moments.

As most of us appreciate, good communication is the core to building, establishing, and maintaining personal and professional relationships. Working Out of Office and being away from the daily proximity of co-workers, clients, and so on, can sometimes lead to a reduced effectiveness in this core skill, and that is something that anyone considering (or who has already adopted) this work style must consider and pay attention to.

There is an inherent level of accountability when working as part of an organization. An employee is accountable to managers, co-workers, and others. This accountability acts as a guiderail for employees. From work ethic to personal behavior, accountability is often the invisible boss looking over the shoulder of an organizational employee.

What of the Out of Office worker, especially those who are solopreneurs? Of course, there is a level of accountability imposed by working with clients. Missing deadlines, not delivering on promises, or delivering a low-quality experience is a surefire way to go out of business. But what about goal setting and other aspects of accountability? There is no annual review for the solopreneur, no career path per se that provides an indicator of professional progress. Of course, the bottom line provides some indication of achievement, but that is impacted by many factors, not just the performance of the individual.

One way around this is to find a friend or business partner who will help with accountability. I have encountered some solopreneurs who form accountability groups. They overcome one of the biggest fears of this type of group, that of revealing proprietary information by creating non-disclosure agreements between members of the group to avoid conflict-of-interest situations and thereby creating a “safe space” in which thoughts can be shared.

By setting public goals and having others with whom you share progress can be a helpful way to overcome the sense of a lack of accountability. Solopreneurs in particular relish challenges; after all, if they didn’t they wouldn’t be working for themselves. Without goal setting and accountability for those goals, it can be easy to miss the opportunity to measure oneself and professional progress.

In an organizational setting, it is fairly common to celebrate achievements, large and small. Recognition from co-workers, bosses, or even clients and customers are cause for celebration. Without co-workers, those moments can be few and far between, and when they do occur they can be hard to celebrate. An accountability partner or group can provide that opportunity.

Even if it is only sharing some good news with an accountability partner over coffee, the sense of sharing a success can be inspiring and a motivator to meet the next set of goals. There is much to be said for the “Atta boy” and its impact on the individual and their performance. The interesting side-effect of this is that it is not only the person sharing the success that feels motivated. The person hearing the news shares in that motivation and can be inspired to increase their own efforts in meeting their next goal.

I know of writers who reward themselves with non-work-related treats for completing chapters or reaching other milestones. Perhaps they get to take in an afternoon movie, or spend time playing a video game. Whatever motivator works for them and allows them to meet those goals is a way of keeping track, being accountable, and making progress.