Managing workers who work from home an telecomute - Research Paper Example

This aids concentration on work for longer time. Furthermore, greater autonomy and flexibility in work schedules act as a motivator (Bennett, 2009). Moreover, offering telecommuting work arrangements allows organizations to recruit people with the greatest potential. This is because geographical distances became immaterial when telecommuting arrangement are offered. In fact, organizations are also in a position to employ disables, elderly, and other individuals, who are mentally capable to work but their physical condition hinders them from working on-site.

Various researches have revealed that increased number of employees working in far-off locations or at home has greatly reduced labour-turnover and absenteeism rates (Watad & Jenkins, 2010). Undoubtedly, organizational overheads have gone down with the advent of telecommuting. Investment and expenditures on parking lots, office buildings, and rents have registered a sharp downfall with the growing trend of telecommuting. Organizations involved in managing telecommute workers rely on trusting employees, give greater autonomy and empowerment to workers, and measure performance against outcomes.

Disadvantages Although, telecommuting has immensely benefited organizations, it has also presented various challenges. The fundamental disadvantage is the difficulty of supervision and monitoring employee performance. Establishing an organizational culture based on trust and supportive relationships is particularly difficult for employees who hardly ever interact face-to-face. In consideration of this reason, a combination of on the site work and telecommuting is given preference over complete telecommuting arrangement.

Therefore, telecommuting is increasingly being considered more as a complement than substitute to on-site work. Research has revealed that autocratic managers and organizational cultures that previously exercised a line-of-sight approach find telecommuting unsettling and unproductive to the organization (Watad & Will, 2003). Traditional line managers who managed through observation and not results find it difficult to implement telecommuting. This even threatens the liability and compensation of telecommute workers.

Therefore, telecommuting should be supported by training and development to teach employers how to conduct meetings, evaluate work, use simulation programs etc. Increasing number of telecommute workers means greater loss of control and distrust amongst the employers. This forces employees, as well as the supervisors, to work harder in order to develop and sustain a relationship with workers. Furthermore, telecommute workers may not be as productive in the first few months of employment. This low productivity can be attributed to the fact that employees, managers, and co-workers need time to understand the new working condition.

Telecommuting hinders synergy and teamwork between telecommuters and their colleagues. Additionally, office setup may be inadequate to support telecommuting, leading to low productivity. Thus, managers need to show patience until telecommuters can settle in. Ultimately, the productivity is likely to go up as reported by majority of the employers worldwide. Most importantly, telecommuting can adversely affect a person’s career prospects. This is because organizations rarely promote those employees to management positions that