Some telecommuting frustrations are minor things that seem too petty to complain about, especially to those who are . Others are major problems that can affect your career. This article lists some from each category, provided by real telecommuters who have entirely too much personal experience.

Telecommuting's Trivial Annoyances

Are these minor? Sure. Would they keep you from telecommuting? No. But they sure do add up.

1. No free food. During tight deadline crunches and at team get-togethers, the office brings in lunch for in-person meeting participants. People who work at home are excluded from the free pizza, office donuts and holiday potlucks. Considering the generally poor quality of such food, and a telecommuter's freedom to toddle down the hall to the kitchen, this may not sound like a big deal. But it works to exclude the remote team member from the community. Also, by pizza as much as anyone else is. (Besides, the kitchen can present its own danger. Many new telecommuters because it's entirely too easy to snack.)

2. Technology gets in the way. You can't count on coworkers or clients to have the PC skills or hardware necessary to set up a with screen sharing, , etc. A lot of time is wasted sorting out those issues. Nor is this problem limited to others: When your own Internet access gets flaky, you can't get your work done.