Work From Home Handbook: Flex Your Time, Improve Your Life (USA TODAY/Nolo Series) (Paperback)

by Nihara Choudhri Attorney (Author)
Key Phrases: teleworkable job, telework days, telework programs, New York, Stephen Fishman, Social Security (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A must-read for employers and employees focused on embracing flexibility in the workplace." -- Catherine Clifford,YourOnRamp.com

"Flexibility is key to business success today. And so every organization-and all employees-need to understand how to create solid, well-thought-out flexible work arrangements. This book gives employees the tools they need to demonstrate that flexibility is good not only for workers, but for managers, CEOs and the business as a whole." -- Carroll Lachnit, executive editor, Workforce Management

"Diana Fitzpatrick and Stephen Fishman cover the nuts and bolts of becoming a freelance at-home worker." -- MarketWatch

Product Description
Make going to the office optional!

Haven't you ever wished that you didn't have to waste hours in rush-hour traffic on your commute to the office? Had more time with your kids? Or simply had the luxury to go to work in your pajamas?

Co-produced with USA TODAY, The Work From Home Handbook is an excellent resource for anyone who dreams of a work-from-home career. You can find the option that best suits your personal, financial and professional goals through the book's systematic, step-by-step advice.

This book shows you how to:

Find out where and how you work best

Prepare a great proposal for your current employer

Demonstrate productivity in your home office

If your current employer is inflexible, this book also covers finding a new "beyond the office" job, or becoming an independent contractor.

Filled with solid tips, real-life examples, practical advice and - best of all - inspiration, The Work From Home Handbook can help you transform and achieve a healthy balance in your life and career.

Seventy-nine of Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" last year allowed - even encouraged - employees to work from home at least 20 percent of the time. More than two thirds of all American companies offered some telework options in 2005. And the country's largest employer - the U.S. government - encourages employees to work from home "to the maximum extent possible." Don't be left behind. Find out how you can chose this career option for yourself.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: NOLO; 1 edition (March 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413307019
• ISBN-13: 978-1413307016
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #599,353 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not even worth the reduces Amazon price frankly, November 26, 2008

By	Satia Renee "Satia Renee" (Altanta GA USA) - See all my reviews

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This is a timely book--very timely in that some of the statistical data and such will probably become dated before too long. The resources are good but even websites can come and go so anyone who is serious about working from home needs to hurry to get a copy before the information loses its immediate relevance.

With that said, there's more than enough good stuff here to almost justify the price. The book by arguing for the many reasons someone might want to work from home without glossing over the reality of it. Not everyone is able to work from home because some people simply prefer the interaction of others, want to get away from the house even if it means facing rush hour traffic, or simply have careers that are not conducive to working from home. And those who may sincerely want to do so are not necessarily equipped to do so in other ways--lacking the technology or maybe even the discipline to do so.

Being home all day with the kids may sound better than having to leave every morning for the office but when you have to be on a conference call you'll still need childcare.

This book does a good job of presenting the arguments both for and against working from home before addressing how to make it happen. No need to work out a way to approach your boss about working from home if after reading the first couple of chapters you realize that you can't (because your professional role won't allow it) or shouldn't (because you really don't have the right home or personal context to do so).

The book devotes one chapter to approaching your current employer with an argument for telecommuting before moving onto another chapter where finding a job that is telecommuting friendly is offered, including some warnings about work from home scams. The last few chapters are devoted to more practical advice regarding freelancing including an overview regarding how to file taxes along with suggested resources if you need more information.

This is a good book. Is it worth $19.99? No. At fewer than 200 pages you're paying too much for not enough information. The same websites are mentioned more than once between chapters if not within the same chapter. If you can spare a couple of hours, go to your local bookstore, buy a cup of coffee and read it while taking notes. It won't take you more than two hours to read this cover to cover and get a list of the resources you may want/need. Or borrow it from the library. But it is not worth the hefty price and that is a shame because it's not a bad book really just not very thorough.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice approach to working at home in CURRENT job, November 13, 2008

By	Natasha Stryker (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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What I liked about this book was that it provides advice on how to coax your current boss into seeing the light in letting you work from home. Many books on this topic are of the "quit your day job and do something else from home" school of thought. But I like my job a lot and would like to keep it, I just want to know how to approach my boss the day I get pregnant. I like how the book lets you know what points to hit with your boss that will be attractive to him/her. The key is to make it seem like the best answer, and this book shows how you can begin planning to do it.

In addition to this book you should also research your industry and find out what percentage work from home vs. in office. Having hard stats before you approach your boss will let him/her know you are serious. Make sure you are busting a$$ at work and doing really well before you bring it up. The key is to be a comodity they can't afford to lose.

I think this book is a great start!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good basic book covering various aspects of telecommuting/teleworking., November 12, 2008

By	Bond... James Bond "007.5" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

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This book piqued my curiosity mainly because I myself have had a full-time telecommuting job for the past three years developing e-commerce software from the comfort of my own house. While I do thoroughly enjoy the 10-second commute times to my home office (especially when it is snowing outside and all the roads are clogged with rush-hour traffic) and every weekday is a bring-your-pet/child-to-work day, there are times when I miss the camaraderie of mingling with co-workers in an office environment (e.g. going out to lunch together and after-work happy hour get-togethers). Of course, if your work experiences have involved disliking your fellow co-workers, telecommuting would distance them more and make communication and having to work with them more tolerable :-D

I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 stars mainly because while over half of the book discusses strategizing the transition to telecommuting and considering some legal aspects of telecommuting (after all, both the author and publisher are in the legal trade), not enough attention and consideration is given to the home office infrastructure in Chapter 3's "Can You Do Your Job At Home?" Some of this feasibility analysis is performed in Chapter 4's "Making Your Case", but it is also incomplete. A telecommuter's "toolbox" should also include online conferencing, sending Voice Over IP via IP telephones to the company's PBX, using VPNs, remote access to files and company servers, video conferencing, screen sharing tools, collaborative software, as well as heavy use of instant messaging, and possibly taking advantage of Web-based calendar, project planning, and time tracking applications. None of this is discussed. The book also does not consider the various aspects of creating a fault-tolerant home office such as, for example, the increased importance of creating back-up copies of all work-related files residing on your local home computer in case of disk or computer failure, buying a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) in case of a power outage, contingency plans in case of computer hardware failures (do you have a back-up computer or do you have the option to drive into the company's office to continue to work), and contingency plans in case of loss of your Internet connection.