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In 2006 almost all information technology professionals polled by Intermedia said they intended to go in to work—that’s commute to the office—over the year-end holidays. This year less than half declared that intention. It’s not that IT pros are getting lazy. The majority still plan to at least check in remotely on a regular basis and even to do work from home. And that represents one of the major benefits of telework. Namely that employers will get more work from employees whom they encourage to work away from the office or shop.

Network World summarizes the benefits of off-site work in “Telework programs as good as cold hard cash, survey says.” The article author Denise Dubie says, “Companies offering telework programs not only will find their employees more productive, but also happier because of the money they are able to save by working from home at least part of the time, according to a recent survey.”

The US Government Office of Personnel Management and General Services Administration provide an official website, telework.gov, for its telework program in order to give participants easy access to information about telework in the Federal Government. Even though the information on this site pertains only to Executive Branch agencies and employees, it offers any company enlightened enough to venture into telewok a place to begin benchmarking.

I looked at their Basics for Employees guidelines to see how we working professionals might help ourselves make telework work. Governemt bureaucrats tend to cover their policy and procedure in minute and meticulous detail. But that means they don’t miss much. With that in mind I summarized their advice to employees. These guidelines should serve those working in creative and marketing jobs as well as information technology professionals.

General Benefits for Employees

Greater flexibility in meeting personal and professional responsibilities
Freedom from office distractions
Reduced on-the-job and at-home stress
An alternative worksite setup that can be used in case of emergency.

With the benefits in mind, let’s also examine the cautions and questions that arise.

1. Check Your Teleworkability
Before you jump in head first, ask yourself if telework is right for you. Do you have enough work that can be done remotely? Consider not only if you can work alone and independently but also if you’re ready for what might later feel like isolation? How often do you feel you need to see your supervisor? Will you be comfortable in your remote workspace—at home with your family or at Starbucks with strangers? Can you get enough work done around your spouse, kids, neighbors?

IT pros should not need work-at-home tech training but creative and marketing pros might require some technical backup. When something goes wrong at the office, you call IT. What happens when you crash at home? Will you be able to get what you need from the office as easily as you can when you are there?

Are you and your employer comfortable with information security? Do you both understand your responsibilities in safeguarding work-related information?

Even though you’ve escaped office commotion you might be interrupted more often by people at the office hitting you with phone calls, email, IM, and texts.

Ready for all this? If so, we’ll consider defining telework and ensuring security Wednesday in Telework: Working out the Bugs, Part 2.