Telecommuting not working out after all?
Telecommuting is oft praised as a boon to the elusive balance of work and life and many companies have enthusiastically jumped on board.
But, is the honeymoon for telecommuters over?
Some studies suggest that the “myths” of telecommuting might be true:
Sixty-one percent of executives surveyed in January 2007 by Korn/Ferry International, a Los Angeles-based recruiting firm, said they saw career stagnancy among telecommuting workers.
Nearly half of CIOs felt that remote employees’ quality of work suffered due to reduced in-person contact with colleagues, and one-third said that these employees were less productive due to a lack of supervision, in a study released last July by Robert Half Technology, an IT staffing firm in Menlo Park, Calif.
I think that the success of telecommuting depends on the person and the position as well as a certain level of trust between employee and employer.
I’m sure there are some cases where is just didn’t work out for an employee to work from home, and in other cases it turned out better than expected for everyone and it’s hard to speak in absolutes about it.
However, the current gas price situation may force employees and employers to look more intensely at making telecommuting work.
Tags: telecommutingRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Work and Life, Working from Home
4 opinions for Telecommuting not working out after all?
DBN
May 5, 2008 at 8:24 am
I have a telecommuting option that I never exercise. Instead I use the resources to work MORE from home at night after working at the office. Sometimes when I have a big project that I need to focus on I can work from home, but only if my house is clean.
Angelique
May 5, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Honestly, I think telecommuting only works well in certain industries and for very specific personalities.
It’s up to the individual to figure out whether he/she can handle the demands of being “on call” 24/7. (I know… I work from home!)
Zoe@Flexible working life
May 6, 2008 at 11:39 am
Telecommuting works when people want it to work. I certainly agree that it’s up to the individual on how sucsessful remote working is, and it might not be the ideal for everyone, but for the telecommuters that I know, it works.
JayMonster
May 9, 2008 at 6:21 am
I am allowed to telecommute on an “as needed” basis that provides some flexibility (read this as, if they can get me to work, when I would otherwise be calling out).
But in several places, even those that sort-of “allow” telecommuting, it is often frowned upon. Especially by older baby-boomers (that now tend to have a lot of the “upper” positions like CIO). They don’t believe your work is getting done unless they are on top of you to see you working.
This doesn’t apply only to telecommuting but also to “flex time” as well. When my daughter was born I shifted my hours so that I was in a 6 am - 3pm shift. When I would leave, I would CONSTANTLY have to hear remarks from management about working “half a day” because they weren’t there to see me at 6 am.
These are the same people that are trying to say telecommuting doesn’t work… because they don’t like it. (In my not so humble opinion anyway)
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