For many parents, balancing work and home life is as tricky as threading a needle. It’s so difficult, in fact, that parents are spending less time with their kids and more time in their car.
According to a survey conducted by Wakefield Research for Nintendo, 48% of parents report spending more time commuting to work than playing with their kids. In addition, the average parent tells their child they are too busy to play a full eight times a week.
“Between busy school and work lives, quality family time is becoming more and more limited,” said Meredith Sinclair, a lifestyle expert in play and family time explains to Business Wire.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports the average commute time in the U.S. to be 25.4 minutes. This number is dramatically higher in urban areas such as Denver, C.O., Washington, D.C., and Seattle, W.A. Comparatively, areas in Utah, Nevada, and western Texas have commute times of less than 10 minutes.
Tele-commuting could help this problem. As of right now, at least half of the American workforce holds a job that is compatible with partial tele-commuting. Many believe this work environment is the way of the future, and research shows it will only increase from here. In fact, within the past two decades, the amount of jobs allowing tele-commuting grew 25%.
Tele-commuting brings many benefits. A Forbes survey found that if a worker tele-commutes, they were 87% more likely to enjoy their job. This is because those with freedom in their schedule are more likely to have a better work and home balance, while boosting productivity.
Forbes details these three tips on how to convince a boss on allowing tele-commuting within the office.
1. Timing
Schedule a meeting instead of bombarding them with the question at any time.
2. Qualify your value
Put your value into numbers that your boss will understand. Include how much revenue you will be able to bring in once you are working from home with higher productivity and fewer distractions.
3. Anticipate red flags
It is always important to be mindful of the potential concerns your boss may have with tele-commuting, and be willing to work together to formulate a plan.