Telecommuting for Dads

Both working dads and working moms want more time with their family, even as they fill the role of provider. Yet men, more than women, are under more societal pressure to work full-time. That means job sharing or other parttime options are less accepted and are rarely used. Also, the otherwise viable full-time work option of a compressed workweek (four, 10-hour days) may be a tough sell if five 10-hour days per week are the cultural “work norm” in your department. So dads, seriously consider asking your boss for a telecommuting arrangement instead.

Are You a Good Telecommuting Candidate?

If your full-time employment has you in an office doing so-called “knowledge work,” you may be a suitable candidate for doing your current job from home during part of the workweek.

Here are three reasons why a telecommuting arrangement may work in a winning way for you:

1. There’s no cut in salary or benefits

Telecommuting allows you to retain your regular, full-time schedule so there is no need to sacrifice pay or benefits in exchange for more flexibility and time.

2. Your visibility can be maintained

You can maintain an acceptable level of the “facetime factor” on your at-the-office days. On workat- home days, which are typically negotiated for one or two days a week, others can reach you through communication normally used at the office, such as telephone, e-mail, instant messaging, and fax.

3. More time with the family!

Telecommuting from a home office can be a savvy way to carve out several more hours each week to be with your family. Here’s how:

You Save Hours of Commuting Time

How many hours? Well, if you successfully negotiate working from home two days a week—a common telecommuting arrangement—you would cut out four time-draining commutes. Figure out how many saved hours a week that yields for you. How many family-bonding activities could you do with your kids in those big chunks of time?

You Can Scale Down Some of Your Extended Workdays

You know what I’m talking about. Those days that stretch for 10+ hours as you work on a crucial project or a pressing deadline.

How does telecommuting whittle down the workday?

Double-digit productivity gains are well documented among employees who work from a remote location. (This is a selling point with your boss.)

Working at home virtually eliminates all socializing and most interruptions. That means greater concentration, better workflow, less time wasted, and more productive work output in fewer hours. The result? You recoup those lost dinner hours with your family.

You Can Shift an Hour of Daily Destressing to an Hour With Your Family

Long days at the office and stressful commutes deliver a weary dad to the doorstep. Sure, you’re home from work. You are there. The kids are there. But when you are feeling tense and your energy is drained, it is hard to really “be there” with them, right?

You may need an hour or so of peace and quiet— alone—before engaging with your family. More lost time...

When you reap the combined benefits of the two other pay-offs you just read above, playing or reading with the kids at the end of your less-stressed telecommuting workday may be the perfect prescription for a better work-to-home transition time.

Put it all together and you can see that telecommuting works in winning ways for you and your kids.

To see all of the National Fatherhood Initiative's quarterly newsletters, go to https://www.fatherhood.org/ftnewsletter.asp.