Both managers and their employees love the idea of remote work.

From the employee side, remote work offers comfort, flexibility, and an alternative to a long commute into the office. In fact, a third of American workers say they’re willing to take a small pay cut in exchange for such an opportunity.

From the management side, remote work gives businesses the flexibility to run a little leaner because of reduced overhead costs.

But remote work arrangements require managers to place additional trust in their employees — and for those employees to earn that trust by proving they’re able to do good work from wherever they are.

This is a challenge for many people, especially first-time remote workers. A kitchen table or a corner seat at a cafe is a cozy place to work from, but those environments can be surprisingly distracting.  Read more...