December 2001
Time to Talk about Telecommuting
By
President of Workforce Associates
and author of
NetWork: Maximizing Your Career Resources on the Internet
Available online and in print from Author House
Because of the impact of the tragic events of September 11th, more and more folks are choosing to telecommute. Advances in technology have made working at home a popular option for people in a wide variety of industries and in many countries in Europe as well. Depending upon which data you read, whether it’s the Bureau of Labor Statistics or telecommuting research groups, there are somewhere between 4 million and 19 million people in the U.S. who spend some or all of their work time at home.
While there is some misconceptions attached to the home worker, placing her in front of a computer in her jammies at all hours of the day while kids run in and out of the office space (invariably the kitchen table), there are studies that show home time is not goof-off time. Several studies contend that home-based workers are more productive with their work time than their in-office counterparts. Successful home workers have to be able to define their boundaries (Yes, I'm home, but I'm actually at work), as well as deal with the isolation from colleagues, bosses and the tenor of the office itself.
Develop Your Own Telecommuting Plan
If you’re thinking about telecommuting as an option in your present or new job, here are several considerations that you need to be aware of first. Once you think through all of these points, you’ll be in a much better position to sit down with your boss and colleagues and work through these considerations associated with telecommuting.
A) Implementing telecommuting requires serious change.
Implementing telecommuting sometimes can require changes in a company’s policies, practices, and equipment. Generations-old traditions may need to be disrupted. Corporate culture may have to be modified to accept this new arrangement. Planning and training are needed. Because the changes needed for implementing telecommuting are considerable, it is usually best to make sure that there is a key business justification for you to telecommute -- an office space crunch, the need to concentrate on a project, or a temporary family issue that needs to be taken care of. Be prepared to give several compelling reasons for why telecommuting will work best for your colleagues, your supervisor, as well as for yourself.
B) Telecommuting is not easy to manage.
Managing a group of people whose work location can change from day to day is different and more difficult than managing people who work in a fixed location. The face-to-face communications technique of stopping by the office to observe and talk must be replaced on telecommuting days by more conscientious telephone calls and email. Be prepared as a telecommuting worker to be in regular contact with your colleagues throughout the day. You can’t communicate too much when you’re out of the office.
The problem is, not all work-a-day activity can be reduced to tasks and completion dates. There are other issues in organizational life, such as learning, teaching, criticizing, praising, building trust, dealing with incomplete information, and negotiation. That’s why successful telecommuting plans include regularly scheduled face-to-face meetings. You should be prepared to visit your office and check in with colleagues and your boss once or twice a week. "Out of mind, out of sight" will keep you out of the loop and not as promotable.
C) Telecommuting is not suitable for everybody.
Telecommuting is not for everyone. It requires flexibility on your part and the cooperation of your colleagues and boss. All these folks have to buy-in to this new arrangement. It is estimated that no more than 16 percent of the workforce is currently able to telecommute, given the constraints of management resistance, job unsuitability, technology, cost, and other factors. Furthermore, not everybody who could telecommute wants to.
Successful telecommuters are usually trusted members of the team whose occasional absence is more than compensated for by their higher productivity and constant communication.
D) A person's suitability for telecommuting changes over time.
Several studies suggest that most telecommuting arrangements last no more than 18 months. The reasons for this are many: your job or boss may change or else there’s a change of circumstances at your home -- marriage, divorce, new children, new pets, parents moving in, moving to a different residence, or other potential distractions. Be sure to tell your boss about any changes that may affect your performance. This may also signal and change your telecommuting status.
E) Telecommuting can raise possible legal issues.
Over the past several decades of telecommuting, legal issues have begun to arise. The scope of legal concerns is wide and includes:
Wages and hours laws Workers' compensation IRS on home office tax deductions Employee versus independent contractor status State and local tax laws Selection discrimination Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Local land use (zoning) regulations Software licenses Electronic privacy Sensitive & classified material rulesMost employers have found the legal issues manageable but they cannot be ignored. You’ll be miles ahead with your proposal to telecommute if you research which of these concerns above needs to be part of your telecommuting contract with your boss.
F) Measuring productivity improvement is often difficult.
Keep a log of what you are supposed to accomplish and when so that it becomes very clear to your boss that whatever productivity measurement you and your boss agree to is being met, even if you’re not in the office. Jack Niles, telecommuting researcher, has found that "over a wide range of jobs and people, average productivity increases for telecommuters range from 5 to 20 percent." The reason for this marked rise in productivity for telecommuters is that many workers report that they
work harder (e.g., write faster) work longer hours for the same pay work smarter avoid wasted time, including unnecessary meetings work with fewer interruptions work at personal peak timesOn the other hand, make sure that before you start telecommuting that you have the following:
complete support and assistance from colleagues in the office; access and coordination with other members of your team; a workable arrangement of computers, email access, and whatever other office equipment you may need at home.Many telecommuters use their own computers but ask for their company to pick up the cost of a second line or high speed modem access. You don’t want to become less productive because you hadn’t thought out which pieces of equipment and cooperation that you will need first. Make sure that the company’s insurance policy as well as your own covers computers and office equipment adequately.
Potential Downsides to Telecommuting:
1) Losing Work-Life Balance.
It’s easy to become so absorbed in your new work place at home that you easily exceed a normal 40 to 60 hour professional workweek. With telecommuting, the boundary between personal life and business life can become thinner, blurred and ill defined, or can be breached completely. Don’t let yourself fall in the trap of working harder just to counter the stereotype of the lazy home worker. Burn-out can become a real possibility when you work at home because it’s always close by and there’s always more to do!
2) Getting Out of the Loop.
Some telecommuters become so tied up in their work that they fail to connect with colleagues and their boss regularly. Or they become lonely and depressed because of their isolation. Or they become unpromotable because their productivity and communication is not exemplary. Keep up your memberships in professional associations and attend their regular meetings. This will help keep your networking active and keep you from becoming out of touch with your profession.
Conclusion
Telecommuting is one of the many flexible work practices that workers and employers are finding attractive. By researching examples of successful telecommuting programs in other companies and your own, you can make telecommuting work for you!
Resources:
Working Today is a national nonprofit membership organization that promotes the interests of people who work independently.
American Telecommuting Association
Global Telematics, John Niles’ group, that invented the term "telecommuting".
Feel free to contact me re questions or concerns about telecommuting. Next month we’ll focus on how to effectively use letters of recommendation and references.
In the meantime, I can be reached at jlommel@WorkforceAssociates.com
Happy Holidays and happy telecommuting!
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