Space & Infrastructure
In keeping with the theme of maintaining routine, the physical space and infrastructure should be as close to a "real" office as possible. Ideally, there should be no difference in the ability to perform one's job, except for the obvious limitations of physical separation from coworkers. To this end, a dedicated work environment is essential. This kind of set up does not include a kitchen table, coffee table in front of the TV, bed, Starbucks, or beach chair. An office should be a place to go to work, free from distraction (more on that later, by the way). There is a reason that every real office, be it cubicle or closed-door, has the essentials: a desk, chair, and telephone. It might be convenient or easy to set up at any available space, but that will inevitably lead to distractions. Obviously, not everyone's home is equipped to provide a separate room, but you get the idea - an office space needs to be an office space, and nothing else.
With the physical setup addressed, next on the infrastructure checklist is Internet connectivity. This will vary for different needs and people, but personally, much of my work day requires very little general Internet access but a great deal of corporate network connectivity. So in my case, two things come into play here: first, I need fast, reliable access out of my house. This comes in the form of high speed Internet via my cable provider. Other options include DSL or fiber optic communications, but the need is clear: there cannot be a noticeable bottleneck at this level, or my productivity suffers. (Whether or not the cost of this connectivity is covered by the employer is unique to each situation.) The second concern is a need that must be met by my employer, that of a reliable, robust Virtual Private Network, or VPN. This allows me to connect to the internal company network, as if I were sitting in the corporate office. The key here is reliability. If the company's VPN software is slow or unstable, productivity suffers again. A user / employee should never "notice" that they are sitting at home instead under the cold glow of fluorescence. Again, this is not an issue for every person or situation, but if a job requires unfettered access to an internal network, the tools provided to access that remotely must work.
As a corollary to connectivity, if the expectations of a job require network access, do they also require comparable computing power? Often, an employee is provided a computer in the company office to do their job. If this is a desktop machine, different considerations will need to be made while discussing telecommuting. An employee might find using their personal home computer for work unacceptable because the company has not paid for it. An employer might find it unacceptable for reasons of security. But whether a company issues a laptop or desktop, the right tools must be provided to realistically expect one to effectively telecommute.
While I plan to detail this more in the following section, a reliable telephone is one of the final crucial pieces of infrastructure for a home office. Removing the face-to-face aspect of a work environment begs the question of means of communication. Given the amount of time one will likely spend on the phone while telecommuting, my personal preference is for a landline with headset. As with Internet connectivity, this may or may not be a cost which can be covered by an employer, but there are many options for just getting a dialtone into your house. This is also preferable to a cellphone which, despite the industry's efforts, cannot be trusted to maintain a clear or uninterrupted call. Far too much time is wasted on conference calls (again, more on this later) deciphering the noise from the ether. While considering sound quality, I also opt for a phone capable of supporting a headset. Speakerphones are nice for hands-free calling, but there will always be a pet, person, or lawnmower imposing itself on one's call - all of which is, to some extent, minimized by a headset [with a mute button!].