Does it Work?
Telecommuting
and Information Technology
INTRODUCTION
Does telecommuting work? The following information will define and discuss the basics of telecommuting. The topics that will be discussed include: the definition of telecommuting, defining what exactly a telecommuter is, who makes a good telecommuter, the types of jobs that are appropriate for telecommuting, the major companies that implement telecommuting, the benefits and drawbacks of telecommuting, the growing trends, and telecommuting and Information Technology / Information Systems. The information discussed in this report will help to decide if telecommuting works and if this will be the workplace of the future.
OVERVIEW
“The look and feel of office space as we know it today is dying. At least that’s the view of a number of architects, developers, office furniture designers and analysts who are thinking about the way office suites will be arranged in the next decade.
No longer will a typical office include a sea of cubicles and one big conference room. It will be designed to create a variety of spaces that inspire collaboration among employees, who won’t be chained to their desks.
When they’re not huddling with others on a team project, they’re likely to be working at home or in the field, using laptops and cell phones as their connection to the main office, which may contain a limited number of cubicles because those stations will be occupied only when an employee stops by for a few days a month.”
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2003/10/13/focus1.html
According to Traffic Solutions.info,
“telecommuting simply means performing your normal work duties at a location
away from the conventional office. This
remote location can be your home or an office closer to home. Telecommuting can occur in many different
forms. Most telecommuters do it once or
twice a week. Some telecommuters do it
nearly everyday, rarely entering into the office. And some people just telecommute occasionally, in order to meet
an important deadline without office interruptions.”
(http://trafficsolutions.info/telecom.html)
The telecommunication aspect that is the most widely recognized trip-saving application is telecommuting. Instead of coming to the office every working day, employees that are office-based work at home or at nearby telecenters for a few days each week.
(http://www.lbl.gov/ICSD/Niles/NilesChap1_1.html)
The following lists telecommuting variations:
Typical Home Telecommuter: Employee regularly stays at home and works, usually no more than 2 days per week.
Full-time Home Telecommuter: Employee routinely works from an at-home office or workstation within the same metro area as the normal office and travels only once per week or less frequently to the normal office.
Telecenter/Branch Telecommuter: Employee works for reasons of convenience and travel saving at a different facility provided by the employer but retains a desk in the normal office.
Telecenter/Branch Worker: People who are reassigned to working regularly and routinely from a remote Telecenter or branch office somewhere else in the metro area, their normal office being eliminated, downsized or shared.
Virtual Office Worker: Employees who are provided at home or portable office equipment and have their normal office taken away because they spend the vast majority (typically 80% or more of their work time in the field.
Long Distance Telecommuters: People who would have a company office with the rest of their work group if they lived nearby but instead are allowed to work from a distant residential location because their employer wishes to retain them. They may report to a more convenient branch office, work from home office, or do both.
Mobile Professionals: People who usually have a normal office to which they officially report to work but who are able to work continuously with location independence because of extensive travel requirements inherent in job responsibilities. Includes traveling sales people, field auditing trainers, and maintenance technicians.
Independent Home Workers: Self-employed people or business owners who could have an office outside of the home but who choose not to and instead work routinely from an office at home.
(http://www.lbl.gov/ICSD/Niles/NilesChap1_4.html)
According to TrafficSolutions.info,
“telecommuters should be self-motivated, proven, results oriented performers with
strong communication skills. They need
to achieve their work goals and objectives with a minimal amount of supervision
and must be able to accomplish specific work task within a predetermined amount
of time.”
Defining the Successful Telecommuter:
v Has little need for face-to-contact with coworkers or customers.
v Has Access to quiet areas or office space at home free from interruptions.
v Has access at home to needed equipment.
v Is a self-starter and able to work with little supervision.
v Reports to a supervisor who manages by results, not be surveillance or time clock.
v Works for someone who trusts him or her.
(http://trafficsolutions.info/telecom.html)
Successful
telecommuting depends on many different jobs.
The functions and tasks the employees will be performing are the key
elements, not the job. Some writing,
reading research, editing, working with data (entry processing, coding, etc.)
or talking on the phone are required by many of the telecommuting job
opportunities. Telecommuters should be
able to perform duties that can be accomplished independently and don’t require
face-to-face interaction.
(http://trafficsolutions.info/telecom.html)
According to Langhoff.com, “tasks that are most appropriate for telecommuting are jobs where a person often works alone, handling information such as reports, proposals, data or research. Writers, salespersons, accountants, programmer, graphic artist, researchers, engineers, architects, public relations professionals – all are prime candidates for telecommuting. But you don’t have to telecommute full time to reap the benefits of telecommuting. Since most telecommuters spend 2 – 3 days a week at their central office, it’s easy to save project work, reading, report drafting, research and the like for the days at home and use office time for face-to-face meetings, team sessions, and use of specialized office equipment.”
All sorts of people telecommute. Their work styles range from home-based traditional telecommuting to never-in-the-office, virtual office situations.
A Sampling of
Telecommuters:
v A
Vice President at a major telecommunications company telecommutes full-time
from his home outside
v A CFO of a toy company telecommutes, mostly as a road warrior, toting his laptop with him around the world.
v A health care manager saves 20 hours a week that she used to spend on clogged LA freeways. Instead, she drives to telework center just minutes from her home. The Telecenter provides phone lines, workstations, and office support service – all the comforts of the main office.
v A police sergeant telecommutes twice a week, performing casework and report writing at home.
v A
group of nuclear engineers telecommute to a nuclear generating station in
(http://www.langhoff.com/faqs.html)
According to Suite101.com, “telecommuting occurs in large and small companies in the private and public sectors. The jobs included in the telecommuting programs are as varied as the companies themselves. Below is a list of a few companies that offer telecommuting programs. This list is not exhaustive. Everyday new companies are recruiting or allowing employees to work at home.”
v ADC
Telecommunications
v American Express Travel Related Services
v Ameritech Corporation
v Apollo Group, Inc
v Arthur Andersen & Company
v AT&T
v Bankers Trust Company
v Baxter Healthcare
v BDO Seidman
v Bell Atlantic Corporation
v Bell Communications Research, Inc
v Blue
Cross/Blue Shield of
v Borland International, Inc
(http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/telecommuting/66157)
In a recent article in the Atlanta
Business Chronicle, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue said he wants to let
selected state employees work via computer form home or other remote locations
for one or more days per week. The
state is the single largest employer in
(http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2003/09/08/daily17.html)
“Many families are put in a bind when workers have to spend a lot of time during the day or week away from the home. There may be young children and aging parents to care for. A long day at the office and a long commute make those responsibilities even more challenging.
One solution is to do more work from home. And it’s a solution adopted in growing numbers.”
(http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2003/10/13/focus1.html)
Recruitment Tool:
Desirable employees may be attracted to the telecommuting option.
Expanded Labor Pool:
The physically challenged, parent with young children, people with aging parents, and families with dual-careers would be attracted to the telecommuting programs. This benefit gives the employer a broader range of applicants.
Reduced Sick Leave:
Instead of calling in sick with a cold or the flu, telecommuters can stay at home and still be productive. In fact, telecommuters work longer hours and more workdays than the average commuter.
Increased Productivity:
Telecommuters and their managers report that workers get
more done when out of the office. In an
AT&T sponsored survey of Fortune 1000 managers, 58% reported increased
worker productivity. The State of
Reduced Stress:
Time is rare in the stressed society we live in today. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ranks stress among the top 10 reasons for missing work. It’s estimated that the American worker spends an average of an hour a day commuting to and form work. Translated into yearly figures, that’s the equivalent of almost six workweeks. Sitting in rush hour traffic on a daily basis and worrying about making it to work on time puts a tremendous amount of stress on the typical commuter.
Disaster Preparedness:
Companies with telecommuters can keep going when disaster
strikes – weather related or otherwise.
Thousands of displaced workers in the
Environmental Benefits:
“If 10% of the nation’s workforce telecommuted one day a week, we would avoid the frustration of driving 24.4 million miles, we’d breathe air with 12,963 tons less air pollution and we’d conserve more than 102 million gallons of fuel each week.” -- Carol Browner, former administrator of the EPA
Facility Cost Savings:
There is less floor space needed if telecommuting employees shared offices on alternate days.
(http://www.langhoff.com/faqs.html)
The following information highlights some of the benefits of
the employer, employee and the community:
|
EMPLOYER |
EMPLOYEE |
COMMUNITY |
|
Increased Productivity |
Decreased Commute Time, Costs and Frustration |
Increased Neighborliness |
|
Reduced Turnover |
Increased Flexibility and Control Over Work Environment |
Reduced Air Pollution |
|
Decreased Overhead for Office and Parking Spaces |
More quality time with loved ones. |
Decreased Traffic Congestion |
|
Improved Recruitment and Retention |
|
Enhanced Economic Competitiveness |
(http://trafficsolutions.info/telecom.html)
Telecommuting does not work for everybody. Certain issues like; isolation, procrastination, even boredom, get to some. Employees that are workaholics tend to not be able to cut off their day because they can use their laptop almost anywhere. Distractions at home like neighbors, household chores and family can easily take away from work.
Family
Turf Problems:
Telecommuting can cause family stress. Some telecommuters report that their spouses resent leaving for work now that one partner is able to stay at home. Children can get confused too.
Water
Cooler Withdrawal:
Social interaction obtained by working in an office can be missed. They may feel they are not being kept up-to-date in office politics.
Telecommuter
Track:
Not being in the office everyday could cause a sense of being left out-of-the-loop. The loss of future promotions is a great fear of telecommuters. Some telecommuters were worried that their companies might think they were less committed to hard work.
(http://www.langhoff.com/faqs.html)
Approximately 20 percent of the workforce in the
(http://www.langhoff.com/faqs.html)
With downsizing being such a big trend these days,
telecommuting is a good way to improve productivity. Telecommuting has grown at a steady 7 percent annually for the
last ten years. Approximately 32
million employees will telecommute this year.
(http://www.techweb.com/tech/mobile/20020415_mobile)
According to Workingfromanywhere.org, the 2003 American Interactive Consumer Survey found that “the number of employed Americans who work from home during the business hours at least one day per month has increased by nearly 40 percent since 2001; for the self-employed, the equivalent increase is almost 18 percent. The report also found that 42 percent of the employee teleworkers work from home at least one day per week, and 22 percent of the employees work at home daily or nearly every day.”
(http://www.workingfromanywhere.org/news/pr090403.htm)
“Technology, of course, is the major reason more people can do their jobs away from the office.”
(http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2003/10/13/focus1.html)
Today’s telecommuter could be one day working from home, the next day traveling on the road or airplane, the third day from a customer’s location and be back at the office by the fourth day. This is made possible by technology. This technology allows the telecommuter to take their office with them. Now the telecommuter can work anywhere that best suits him or her. Because of this worksite flexibility, the criteria that best suit the telecommuter are expanded.
(http://www.hal-pc.org/journal/05telecom.html)
Companies usually realize after they set up telecommuting options for their employees that there are hidden costs in the form of computer support. There are more things that can go wrong at home than in an office environment. Telecommunication systems are not nearly as resilient in homes as they are in commercial properties. Storms can cause power surges that cause home computers to go down. Using the same computer at home for work and play can directly affect the heath of the computer. This only adds to the computer support costs that quickly eat away any salary savings created by the telecommuting program.
(http://www.computeruser.com/articles/2110,3,1,1,1001,02.html)
In order for the telecommuter to be productive there are some technical issues to be resolved. The technical issues are computing equipment, telecommunications facilities, access to corporate networks and software licenses.
Over the past few years, computing needs for the telecommuter have changed drastically. Not long ago, all that was needed was modem and an alphanumeric display. A powerful personal computer with sufficient secondary and backup storage, a printer and high-speed communications are needed in today’s telecommuting environment. The maintenance and system administration needed for these systems are very much similar to that needed at the main office
According to Uniform.org, “updates for system software and common applications must be obtained and installed, and repairs occasionally are needed. While major systems vendors provide rapid turnaround for hardware repairs, telecommuters may be drastically less productive while their system is being repaired. Access to e-mail, the Internet and the organization’s intranet limits the telecommuter’s access to timely information. Thus, organizational support for telecommuters should include the rapid delivery of loaner hardware.”
(http://www.uniforum.org/news/html/publications/ufm/apr96/infotech.html)
Although some employers will provide all the necessary equipment, most telecommuting jobs will require that you have your own equipment.
The type of hardware and/or software necessary to do a telecommuting job mainly depends on the type of job the telecommuter does. The following is a list of the standard tools needed for any telecommuting position:
v Internet-compatible PC with modem
v Internet Access
v E-mail service and e-mail address
v One or two telephone lines
v Fax machine or fax software
v Suitable work area that allows you to remain productive, professional and organized.
v Access to mail and other deliveries.
v FTP Access
v Scanners
v Special telephone lines or equipment
v Mobile phone
v Telephone Headsets
v Ability to place callers on hold
Long distance on the phone lines, high-speed Internet access and/or a minimum of two phone lines for their telecommuting associates may be required by some employers.
Most employers require a licensed copy of the software used to do the job. The most common programs are listed below:
General Administrative
v Word
v Excel
v Access
v PowerPoint
Graphic Design / Web Design
v Quark Xpress
v Adobe Photoshop
v Adobe Illustrator
v PageMaker
v A good HTML Editor
Internet Communication
v Internet Explorer
v Netscape
v Other Compatible Browsers
Many employers have their own internet-based applications for communicating with their telecommuting professional associates and private networks to optimize communication with special software to help you perform your duties. This is why high-speed Internet access is sometimes very important and many employers prefer computer savvy telecommuters so they can learn the software and do their internet-based telecommuting job well without training.
(http://www.telecommuting-101.com/telecommuting_jobs_tech.htm)
Telecommuting is on a growing trend. With more and more traffic congestion, single and working parents, improved Information Technology, and with more and more companies using it, telecommuting will continue to grow. The benefits seem to far outweigh the drawbacks. The question asked at the beginning of this report is, does Telecommuting work? According to the most recent studies, it appears telecommuting is a viable option in the work force today.
The following is a quote from HAL-PC.org: “The impact of telecommuting represents a fundamental change in the American economy. The change is not the result of a transitory economic cycle: it is the shift from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy. This shift from the industrial to the information age is having a profound impact on society just as the invention of movable type and industrialization had on the agricultural age. The major difference for this transformation between the ages is the speed of change. The speed of change between agriculture to industry age required centuries before the printing press and literacy began to impact European society. Industrialization evolved over two hundred years. Today, the impact of the informational age with its new methods of work such as telecommuting is coming in decades, not centuries. Each generation of faster computer processing chips and telecommunications improvements increase the flow of information. This continually accelerates the pace of the informational age.”
(http://www.hal-pc.org/journal/05telecom.html)
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