There are times when you may need to work remotely rather than in the office, for a variety of reasons. You may have a contract that allows you to work from home on certain days, you may have a job that involves a lot of time out of the office or you could be sent abroad on a business trip.

Some people may think that working remotely can easily be abused, that you may not start work till lunch time or could be watching television instead of writing those reports.

It is important that you work the same office hours of everyone else in your workplace. If you’re travelling you need to let your office know when and where you can be reached, taking into account time zone differences if applicable.

Having set targets and goals will ensure that both you and your boss know that everything is getting done as it should, along with regular communication and team meetings. With instant messaging and the new generation of mobile phones with email capabilities this makes keeping in touch even easier.