Click here for a full transcript of the episode.

In episode 1 of “The JoyPowered™ Workspace Podcast,” JoDee and Susan discuss the growing trend for working remotely, the benefits, the problems, and common concerns. Topics covered range from when it is appropriate for employers to let employees work remotely, and what employees can do to maintain professionalism when working remotely. Also, they discuss a bit about dealing with employers who aren’t yet hip to the trend.

Only about 23% of the US population say they work remotely, but 80% say they want to work at home at least part of the time. JoDee and Susan have loved having the option to work from home during their careers, but many employers are wary of the trend. Some employers fear losing control of the security of company information and employees becoming disconnected from each other. On the other hand, benefits of allowing employees to work from home include cost savings, increased productivity, and more engaged employees.

To successfully work remotely, you need to be able to take charge of your schedule and figure out what works for you. Knowing what times of day are best for meetings vs. individual work or creating “Theme Days” like days for invoicing or client appointments may help you focus. Most jobs can be done remotely, you just need to make it work for the organization’s and your personal needs.

To wrap up the episode, JoDee and Susan give advice to listener Julia about convincing her boss to allow her to work from home, and discuss a new study that says 8% of workers continue to stay at a job despite feeling unmotivated, disengaged, and negative about their employers.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Purple Ink, the HR consulting firm JoDee owns
• Susan Tinder White Consulting, the HR consulting firm Susan owns
• Dropbox, the file storage system Purple Ink uses
• “You’re 87% More Likely to Love Your Job if You Work from Home,”, a Forbes article about telecommuting
• Flexjobs.com, a website with lots of meaningful job opportunities that you can do from home
• “Actively Disengaged and Staying,”, an Aon Hewitt study that discusses disengaged workers staying at their jobs
• JoyPowered, JoDee’s book
• StrengthsFinder, an assessment that JoDee and Susan promote