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An Analysis of Telecommuting
You can stay at home and yet be employed with a prestigious firm that pays you well. To many people, this is what telecommuting is all about and it seems to be a perfect option. Telecommuting has several advantages. But, to capitalize on its benefits, the challenges it poses must be first dealt with effectively. A telecommuting programme that offers a win-win solution for telecommuters and the employers must be a carefully planned and coordinated one. Coined by Physicist, Jack Nilles in 1973, ‘telecommuting’ refers to the practice by which an organization allows its employees to work off-site for all or at least part of the work- week. The employee from his home-office or satellite location commutes to work via the telephone or using other telecommunication technologies like the modem and high-speed internet. Today, this concept is gaining popularity. The WorkatWork Survey 2007 estimates that the workforce in the United States comprises 12.4 million telecommuters and their number is likely to rise to 100 million by the year 2010. Telecommuting has often been referred to as an ideal choice for parents with young children or those with responsibilities at home. It is also beneficial to physically challenged people and others with health problems. Assuming that a person spends 25 minutes driving to work each day, the Surface Transportation Policy Project Findings on the 2000 Census Journey-to-Work indicates that average American spends almost 206 hours every year traveling to work. This could be far higher in many other cases. To save on this time, many people view telecommuting as an ideal option. This system, they feel, allows for a healthy work-life balance. As a result, they enjoy lower stress levels, better health and even have time for a social life. While the benefits are many, telecommuting also demands effective time management skills and calls for high levels of self-discipline. On one hand, many telecommuters find it difficult to focus on their work as they are distracted by household chores and other responsibilities like family and children. Meeting deadlines and staying in touch with their colleagues also become challenges. On the other hand, several telecommuters find themselves overworked as they devote far more time to work than they would in a regular office. Lack of interpersonal relationships at work can result in low levels of motivation among telecommuters. Many of them do not feel part of a team and a sense of isolation can hamper work. Besides, the lack of face-to-face contact can result in misinterpretation of communication and ideas, thus negatively impacting relationship between co-workers. Addressing these issues and ensuring effective coordination and communication between the employees and the smooth functioning of all organizational tasks is a big challenge for organizations. Human Resource Managers have the important task of inculcating the organizational culture and spirit in telecommuters. While Human Resource Managers may use the telecommuting option as a recruitment tool, it is important for them to assess whether individual employees have the necessary self-discipline to succeed as a telecommuter. Managing telecommuters can be very different from managing regular employees. Thus, the organization must have in place a training system that helps managers understand the issues that come with telecommuting. They need to introduce innovative strategies to make telecommuters feel that they are an integral part of the organizational setup. This could also be the key to keeping employee morale high and ensure job satisfaction. Another key issue is information protection. The organization has the mammoth responsibility of ensuring that all confidential information available at the home office of its telecommuting employees is as safe as its regular office buildings. If these issues are tackled effectively, telecommuting can be a cost effective solution for employers and can even help increase their productivity levels. With telecommuting, geography ceases to be a barrier and the organization has the choice of recruiting talent from across the globe. Simultaneously, retention of employees becomes easier as many people switch jobs when they want to move to a new location. Studies have also shown that telecommuting employees are more likely to work even when on a vacation as compared to non-telecommuters. For the corporate sector, offering the telecommuting option can mean a big saving on real estate investments. According to the Stanford University's Computer Science Education (CSE) (http://cse.stanford.edu/class/cs201/projects-97-98/changing-nature-of-work/telecom.html), IBM saved up to 70 million dollars by eliminating 22 million square feet of office space. Less traffic, pollution, and the creation of green spaces by converting car parks are some of the other benefits of telecommuting. To conclude, it can be said that telecommuting, on proper implementation, can offer people a healthier, happier life, both at work and at home. Chillibreeze.com supports telecommuting and all our writers work from home. Want to write for us? Visit our writers’ section for more details. Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.
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