Many employers feel that if an employee is not sitting in the office working then that employee is not being their most productive. Many employees will argue otherwise. The ability to work remotely is a double-edged sword that needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis.
It is understandable that there be a concern on the employer's side in regards to their employee's productivity when they are not visible and accessible to others. It's a classic thought pattern; I can't pay you for work I didn't see you complete. However, not all white collar work has to be constantly overseen nowadays. In today's technological world where employers employ VPNs to allow their workers to access the company network while away from the office the possibilities for remote work open up. Unfortunately this same technology which allows employees to work from home once in a while has the possibility to be abused to the point in which an employee can remain employed while getting away with doing even less work than could be possible if they were in the office.
In general, allowing workers to work from home once in a while, is a wise and healthy idea. Dedicated employees gain the ability to work on projects from the comfort of their own home, without interruptions from coworkers. They have the opportunity to be more available for family in the middle of the day if necessary. Even taking time off to spend with family for an hour or two does not affect the worker's productivity as the time not spent on the road between the office and home can be spent working, thus shifting that time to a more useful and enjoyable activity. This brief respite from work also gives the worker a chance to relax once more and be more refreshed when they resume their work again.
The down side to working remotely is its ability to be abused. It is possible for a worker to stay remote for weeks on end, not be available via their mobile phone, not inform anyone of the status of their projects, and still remain employed. Unfortunately it is these few "bad apples" which cause headaches and problems for not only those who would like to have the option to work remotely from time to time, but to everyone involved with them as their lack of presence prevents others from being able to complete their jobs. Those who abuse the system are directly responsible for validating the managerial paranoia which fuels corporations to try and prevent the ability for any employee to work remotely.
In order for an employee to be allowed to work remotely, they should first talk with their manager to explain their situation/reasoning. From there the manager should be able to grant or deny the employee's ability to work remotely. For obvious reasons, standard corporate policies should be taken into consideration on both the part of the employee and the manager, but the initial approval should be requested and approved before the employee tries to work remotely. The manager can suggest increased status reports from the employee if they are concerned that the employee may be one of those "bad apples" trying to abuse the system. Or, if the manager trusts the employee enough, can grant them free range to work when and where they please as long as they show up to requested meetings and complete all of their tasks on time.
As long as the employee sends regular status reports and remains available via email and mobile phone while they are working remotely the company can see that their money is not being wasted. If that happens enough, then hopefully more and more companies will begin to realize that a happy employee is a productive employee, and that an employee who can work from home once in a while, is a very happy employee indeed.
