Work culture in the 21st century is undergoing many changes, one of the most significant ones being telecommuting, also known as work-from-home. Several organizations are switching to letting some or all of their employees telecommute, for reasons that range from saving on office costs to reducing their carbon footprint to accommodate their employees’ family priorities.
If you are looking to establish telecommuting in your organization, you might benefit from our IT Manager’s Telecommuting Resource Kit. This and the few following blogs will give you a more detailed introduction to this interesting new work phenomenon.
In essence, telecommuting allows employees to not have to commute to an office destination everyday, and make use instead of telecommunication facilities like the internet to stay in touch with colleagues and clients. It is made possible by the advent of such technology as Bluetooth, wi-fi, mobile phones, email etc, which allows people to communicate with each other using their laptops.
The reasons for implementing telecommuting may be many, some voluntary, some legally required.
1.Municipal authorities may encourage telecommuting to prevent traffic snarls during rush hours.
2.Government authorities may encourage it as a means to reduce environmental pollution (e.g. the Clean Air Act amendments of 1996), and/or fossil fuel consumption.
3.It may be a way to provide people resident in remote communities with better employment opportunities, especially if they cannot afford the commute.
4.Women with young children may prefer it, as it allows them to take care of them without having to give up their jobs
5.Employees recovering from injuries or orthopedic problems might temporarily wish to telecommute.
6.Part-time employees and consultants might prefer this, especially when they also have other appointments.
7.Telecommuting is probably the most viable method for employees who are constantly on the move, and for whom coming to office is of little use, such as sales representatives.
Increasingly, professionals are looking at telecommuting opportunities as an employment incentive. A survey of 1,400 CFOs by recruitment firm Robert Half International, indicated that 13% consider it the best recruiting incentive that they can offer today.
However, like any other management practice, telecommuting has its drawbacks. It is difficult for managers to call team meetings, to oversee employee performance and to maintain organizational coherence. It requires a style of management in which as long as the results keep coming in, close scrutiny of employees is avoided, a practice that can make appraisals difficult.
However, many organizations have implemented telecommuting with a great degree of success. The next few blogs will explore multiple aspects of technologies and policies you will need to have in place to organize telecommuting.
