I spent two years carefully making my case for working from home. I had all the technology in place and working (at my expense) and then asked to stay home a couple of days when I had a doctor appointment, my wife was sick, etc. I also found some great articles on the web about companies enhancing QWL for their employees and reducing costs by having employees work from home. I sent these articles to my manager. I also discussed it during my performance reviews. Having excellent performance reviews before you start talking about working from home is a good idea if your company culture is focused around everybody being onsite. It also helps to have a job that doesn’t require a lot of face-to-face. In my case, most of my time was already spent on the phone and computer so it was not a giant leap.

Working from home is very enjoyable for me. I don’t mind being somewhat alone and skipping the commute is awesome. I save money (even paying for my own “technology” costs), and I get more time with my family. My productivity is every bit as good or better than in the office.

Finally, don’t brag about it to your coworkers. Most of the people I interface with, even from my own company, don’t realize I work from home. Keep it as transparent as possible.

I do take my cell phone into the bathroom, as I frequenty get emergency calls. But, I make sure any PJs (ie “work clothes”) I buy have a breast pocket, so that’s where the phone goes.

Mute buttons ARE crucial. Unfortunately, I have a very vocal cat who likes to “work” with me. When people ask what that noise is, I just say, “Oh, someone brought her baby to the office.”

As for taking the phone to the bathroom, the other party knows because of the echo!