Will telecommuting (work from home) jobs become more attractive as the cost of commuting to work rises? It would certainly seem that way.
For everyday commuters, steep commuting expenses hurt the family budget and in turn affect vacations and discretionary spending.
Environmental consciousness and the willingness of employers to save office expenses and retain valued employees - who now commute an average of 8,000 miles per year - are becoming added incentives for employers to consider telecommuting arrangements. There's no question that employees are becoming increasingly attracted to job offers that allow them telecommuting privileges at least a few days per week. Even workers who hadn't considered telecommuting in the past are beginning to be attracted to telecommuting jobs.
Businesses – especially small businesses that can offer workers fewer benefits – may find it increasingly difficult to retain good workers unless they make telecommuting an option. High commuting expenses and the growing "green" movement present golden opportunities for telecommuting arrangements to blossom.
Telecommuting Requires Mutual Trust
Telecommuting arrangements must be based on mutual trust. Businesses need to trust that their telecommuting employees will get the work done without missing target dates or sacrificing quality. Telecommuting employees need to trust that their physical absence from the office won't have a negative impact on their standing in the company and they won't grow to become isolated from the company's culture. Both sides should set some ground rules before embarking on telecommuting arrangements.
Management Styles and Telecommuting
Telecommuting arrangements can work quite well if work objectives are clearly defined and results are measurable. "Management by walking around" is not a style that works for telecommuting, so managers need to be receptive to more of a "management by objective" model. Managers need to clearly define goals and expectations and then be able to communicate them clearly to the employee. The telecommuting employee's performance then needs to be measured on the achievement of these objectives.
Communication and Telecommuting
Communication may be the single most important factor in any work-at-home arrangement. Since it's not possible to drop in on a telecommuting employee or have important news conveyed around the water cooler, channels of communication between telecommuters and their managers need to be open. Again, the manager's style and the employee's style of communication need to be in alignment.
For example, if a manager wants to make the telephone the primary means of communication for telecommuting employees, some consistency can be developed so that the employees are not constantly interrupted by the telephone. The flexibility of working at home allows telecommuters to be more productive, but they need to be given the opportunity to prove it.
The cost of teleconferencing equipment has dropped to the point where teleconferencing by phone or video teleconferencing can be effective means of communication between telecommuters and their offices. During phone conferences, managers need to be aware of participants they're not hearing from and draw then into the discussion by asking them an occasional direct question.
E-mail can be an excellent means of communication and its main advantage is that everything is in writing. For the telecommuter who is constantly interrupted by e-mail, this can also be a major distraction. Employers should not expect telecommuters to respond immediately to every e-mail message. Instant messaging can be used for that purpose or for having interactive conversations in nearly real time. What e-mail and instant messaging lack are the physical expressions people use when they speak face-to-face as well as tone of voice. That can be a benefit when someone's physical gestures may imply anger or may result in an unintended reaction, but it can also be a drawback when a comment that would have not been taken as negative because of the context in which it was made suddenly seems like a slam in writing.
Employers can also consider establishing secure network connections that allow telecommuters to directly access the company's network at home when telecommuting just as they would do if they were in the office. Additionally, telecommuting employees can save files to the network where they can be viewed – perhaps collaborated on by others - and backed up regularly along with the rest of the company's digital assests.
Social Interaction and Telecommuting
Because face-to-face time is greatly reduced in a telecommuting situation, those who work at home even just a few days per week may feel like they're "out of sight, out of mind" and that their ability to climb the corporate ladder is hampered by their telecommuting. Managers can help alleviate the problem by maintaining regular contact with their home workers, by scheduling occasional video or in-person meetings with other team members and by suggesting an occasional social outing where remote workers can gather as a group and share their telecommuting experiences.
Social interaction is more important to some telecommuters than others, but for those who do not interact well in person, a work at home telecommuting arrangement can be a very positive, productive, possibly even career-enhancing experience.
Some telecommuting workers develop a feeling of isolation and loneliness after telecommuting for an extended period of time. Many feel the need for human interaction and if they can't get it at home while they are telecommuting during the work day, they should either reconsider their telecommuting arrangement or make it a point to get out in public or stop in at the office occasionally.
Will telecommuting will become the lifestyle of the future? It's certainly possible with today's technology and the issues that face both employees and employers. The biggest remaining stumbling blocks to telecommuting are probably resistant managers who feel the need to keep their employees in sight at all times and certain jobs the do not lend themselves to telecommuting at all.
Next: Telecommuting Employment - Making it Happen
