Yes it is appropriate to ask. If this will be a deciding factor for you when selecting between two companies then you need to have the facts.

A source of information will be a company policy/benefits document. If it is in a benefits document it is easier to ask for a copy before you make a decision. Unfortunately you also need to know what is the policy at the particular office you work for, and the policy of the contract you may be supporting.

I have worked with companies that had a very liberal policy towards working from home. I have also worked for ones that had a very difficult approval process. The catch is the local/contract situation. The customer may dictate that all work be done in a specific location. The local office could also decide to be more strict or less strict than the corporate policy describes.

You need to ask about it without sounding like it is is a deal breaker. Ask in the concept of a scenario. "At my current company some employees have laptops so that some work can be done from home when they are home during bad weather/doctors appointments/work on the weekends, another place I worked had a VPN setup for these situations. Does your company have similar policies in place." You might have to ask some follow up questions, depending on how they answer.

You could also work in a similar question about alternate work schedules such as 4 days a week or off every other Friday.

If their answer is truly a deal breaker, then you should let them know. If it isn't an ideal answer but they imply there is some wiggle room, then I would keep going forward with the process. Of course If they have no problem with working from home, then that is great news.

Yes it is appropriate to ask. If this will be a deciding factor for you when selecting between two companies then you need to have the facts.

A source of information can be a company policy/benefits document. If it is in a benefits document it is easier to ask for a copy before you make a decision. Unfortunately you also need to know what is the policy at the particular office you work for, and the policy of the contract you may be supporting.

I have worked with companies that had a very liberal policy towards working from home. I have also worked for ones that had a very difficult approval process. The catch is the local/contract situation. The customer may dictate that all work be done in a specific location. The local office could also decide to be more strict or less strict than the corporate policy describes.

You need to ask about it without sounding like it is is a deal breaker. Ask in the concept of a scenario. "At my current company some employees have laptops so that some work can be done from home when they are home during bad weather/doctors appointments/work on the weekends, another place I worked had a VPN setup for these situations. Does your company have similar policies in place." You might have to ask some follow up questions, depending on how they answer.

You could also work in a similar question about alternate work schedules such as 4 days a week or off every other Friday.

If their answer is truly a deal breaker, then you should let them know. If it isn't an ideal answer but they imply there is some wiggle room, then I would keep going forward with the process. Of course If they have no problem with working from home, then that is great news.