The Advantages of Telecommuting for the Firm - Literature review Example

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2 The Advantages of Telecommuting for the Employee 2 The Advantages of Telecommuting for the Firm 4 The Disadvantages of Telecommuting for the Employee 5 The Disadvantages of Telecommuting for the Firm 7 Companies that Practice Telecommuting Accenture 8 American Fidelity Assurance 9 Cisco 10 Sun Microsystems 10 Conclusion 11 TELECOMMUTING AT WORK Introduction Telecommunication is defined as “the combination of information technologies with the concept of a flexible workplace” (Di Martino & Wirth, 1990). “Work is carried out in a location which is remote from central offices or production facilities where employees have no personal contact with co-workers” (Di Martino & Wirth, 1990). The emergence of information technology (IT) companies all over the country means that more workers need to be employed. However, not all potential workers are willing to travel every day to work and this is why several people have decided to work from home instead. It helps that technology has been developed in such a way that work can be delivered even without “physical proximity” of the worker to his/her workplace (Pilskin, 1997). The practice of telecommuting has become even more of a trend because of the popularity of electronic data mode of communication (Davies et al., 1996). However, despite the advantages of telecommuting, the same does not come without its own share of disadvantages as well. This is what this paper seeks to determine, as well as the way telecommuting works and how it is being managed. The Advantages of Telecommuting for the Employee Harpaz (2002) has determined some of the advantages of telecommuting for employees. It must be noted that there are advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting for the employees and the company that supports such a practice. And it turns out that some of the pros and cons for the employee may not coincide with that of the company. The following paragraphs will illustrate this point, starting with the advantages of telecommuting for the telecommuters themselves. According to Harpaz (2002), there are seven advantages felt or experienced by the telecommuter by working in the comforts of his/her own home. These are 1) “autonomy/ independence” because obviously, since the employee is not being supervised, there is an increased chance that he/she would be more productive due to the increased level of responsibilities expected of the said employee. 2) “Flexible working hours” is a self-explanatory advantage because the telecommuter has more freedom to take on the job either in the evening or at night and there is the increased time to balance tasks that are not within the sphere of work, 3) “Improved time management” is another advantage, Because of telecommuting, the telecommuter is less prone to getting distracted (by other employees for instance). 4) “More efficient management of free time” because the telecommuter can balance his/her time more effectively and efficiently. Time can be set aside for taking up a hobby or other activities not related to work. 5) “Savings in travel time and expenses” because the telecommuter need not spend money to travel to and from the workplace. The company itself need not also spend for the employee’s travel expenses. 6) “Flexibility in caring for family members” is related to the previous advantages mentioned. Because of the time saved from being distracted and from traveling to and from the workplace, the employee can instead, use this time for his/ her responsibility and finally, the last point, 7) “professional flexibility.” The employee is given more freedom to pursue other interests or even another job. The Advantages of Telecommuting for the Firm The company itself that encourages telecommuting also experiences a number of advantages as well. One of these is the decreases in “operating expenses.” For instance, instead of spending a considerable amount of financial resources on real estate (for office space), the company can instead channel their resources to telecommuting. The savings that can be incurred through such a move can reduce costs from twenty to forty percent of a company’s financial assets (Tan-Solano & Kleiner, 2001). There are also considerable savings realized from telecommuting since employers need not worry about the costs spent on energy (electricity for example), and also energy from “vehicle-related materials and resources” (Johnson, 1994). Other positive advantage brought about by telecommuting involves human resource management. Through telecommuting, the chance of “employee job-hopping” is reduced. According to Johnson (1994), one of the problems experienced by companies is employee retention. Employees may like their employer and would like to continue working for the same company, but the former may not like their workplace location. With telecommuting, employees are free to travel without having to worry about losing their job and looking for another one. The firm also benefits since they need not spend valuable resources for the recruitment of new employees. Other human resource implications include the reduction of the problem of absenteeism among their employees and there is an increased level of productivity as well, especially since time for going to the workplace (Lorenz, 2007). Interestingly, there are also environmental implications provided by the company by supporting telecommuting. Because of the fact that employees need not travel to work, huge savings in fuel cost are realized. There is also a large increase in road traffic and as a result of these factors, pave the way to cleaner and safer communities. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, as cited by Lorenz (2007) in her article, just telecommuting once a week would cut down gas spent on driving for miles and human beings can breathe cleaner air. The Disadvantages of Telecommuting for the Employee Some of the disadvantages of telecommuting have been determined to be: 1) “impaired feeling of belonging”, the telecommuter may not experience the satisfaction of working with a team, which is usually done inside the workplace. The telecommuter is also less likely to experience the feeling of being inside an organization that shares a common goal with the other employees. While the latter may be felt even outside the workplace, it is not doubted that the experiences inside the workplace make the situation different. 2) “Feeling of isolation.” Telecommuters are expected to feel lonely, especially when tasked to mingle with their co-workers in person. They are also less likely to have better social skills as compared to their co-workers who actually work in the workplace. This kind of situation is especially unsuited for telecommuters who thrive on “social interaction.” Chevron and Primeaue (1996) agree that working at home is quite “lonely” for the telecommuter. There is a psychological need to interact with other human beings which telecommuters are not able to experience as often as others who are to be physically available at a workplace. Another disadvantage, pointed out by Harpaz (2002), is: “no separation between spheres of work and home.” This situation may be a problem for the telecommuter because his/her time may be taken for granted by the people around him/her. For instance, without setting clear boundaries as to what is work and leisure time, the telecommuter’s family may think that the former is free whenever, just because there is absence of a traditional workplace. 3) “Self-discipline.” There is a different level of discipline experienced by workers who actually work at the office, as compared to those who do their jobs from the comforts of their home. The latter ones tend to work at their own pace. 4) “Lack of professional support.” In the workplace, there is a possibility that there are secretaries, and co-workers who would be willing to work with, help or advise a co-employee. Such a support group is obviously not available at the telecommuter’s home. 5) “Career advancement problems.” Because the employer barely sees the telecommuter, there is a chance that the latter’s work efforts would go unnoticed, as compared to an employee who is constantly under the employer’s radar by simply being physically present at the workplace. Thus, opportunities for promotion are few or are difficult to achieve. 6) “Over-availability syndrome.” One of the problems also being experienced by telecommuters is that their employers, clients or co-workers may think of their situation as an opportunity to badger the telecommuter, even outside working hours. 7) “Personal unsuitability” comes out of the possibility that there may be some employees who work best when being supervised closely, and there may be those also who are not accustomed to working on their own, and, finally, - 8) “legal issues” with regards to the exploitation of the worker’s time and availability (Harpaz, 2002). According to Pilskin (1997), ISDN lines are to be available in the houses of employees who have opted to work from home. Such lines are used in order to boost “communication bandwidth” from the employee’s house to the workplace. The only problem is, while this may be an effective way for communication to be optimised and employers can check on the progress of their employees more often, it is impossible to install such ISDN lines in every worker’s home. It would be too costly. The Disadvantages of Telecommuting for the Firm One of the main disadvantages experienced by employers is that they cannot supervise the performance of their employees the way they would like to do. There is also a problem which implies the fact that an employer may not be able to contact an employee promptly, especially when deliverables are required. As a result, the client might be burdened with a delay in services. Another issue that may possibly be faced by the company as a result of telecommuting lies within the framework of security. There is the possibility that the information and secret data used by the telecommuter can be hacked and the same may also fall into the hands of a third person, even without hacking (Swati, 2008). It has been suggested that in order to deal with the problems mentioned above, employers should take notes from other companies that practice telecommuting. There is also a need to sufficiently provide the telecommuter with materials and resources that would aid him/her in carrying out the tasks effectively and efficiently. Such resources can include a phone, fax machine and other gadgets that would not only help the telecommuter in doing the job, but also the company because these enable the employer to keep in touch with the employee (Ahmadi et al., 2000). With regards to the problem of lack of supervision, the employer should be focusing on the results delivered by the telecommuter instead of focusing on time spent by the latter to get his/her work done. It is easier said than done. Managing telecommuters is challenging to the employer because there is a need to conduct certain measures in order to accommodate the telecommuter. This means that policies, rules and regulations should be modified. Supervision can indeed be frustrating on the part of the employer, but there is way to make the situation less frustrating or challenging (Watad & Will, 2003). To avoid a situation where there is a complete lack of management and the progress of the work to be done deteriorates because of this, it is advised that telecommuters should meet with their employers face to face in order to report to them, and discuss other matters whether in relation to work or the life of the telecommuter as an employee. This is also a form of supervising of the work being done by the employee. In doing so, the telecommuter can also experience the support provided by the company, as well as his/her co-workers. In other words, the telecommuter gets the chance to interact physically with the people who he/she shares the same goals with within one company. The employer also gets the chance to ask the telecommuter whether he/she is satisfied with the job and whether the latter can provide feedback with regards to the operations of the company (Ahmadi et al., 2000). Companies that Practice Telecommuting Accenture One of the top of companies that practice telecommuting is Accenture, a well-known international firm. Telecommuting is especially well suited for the company because they are equipped with the best kind of technology to accommodate telecommuting practices. The company provides their employees with the latest gadgets to accompany their assigned tasks, and also provides a flexible work schedule to accommodate their employees who wish to work away from home. The firm also provides options for their telecommuters to choose the hours they want to work, taking into account the cultural factors surrounding the working conditions and the law of the area where the telecommuter is located. In order to assist the supervision process, Accenture boasts of a video conferencing system, where the managers can check on the progress of their employees. Through such a system, the telecommuters and the managers can also keep in touch with their clients, and supervision is not really a problem (Accenture, 2012). American Fidelity Assurance A company which might be an option for telecommuters to choose working for would be this life insurance company, which is one of the largest in the United States, with its headquarters in Oklahoma City. This company, which has been ranked as one of the best insurance firms in the country, also serves more than a million insurance policy holders. As a result, the company requires a large human resource pool, and one of the ways for the company to serve a wider client pool would be to employ telecommuters to help with their sales and other matters with regards to insurance (such as support). This kind of a job does not require physical presence of the employee so telecommuting is perfect for performing such a task (Flex Jobs Staff, 2012). Cisco Cisco, one of the leading Information Technology companies, is reaping the benefits of telecommuting. According to a study conducted by the company, it was found that their employees reported positive results with regards to their productivity and flexibility, while working as a telecommuter. The telecommuters also reported that they were satisfied with their work conditions and their status as telecommuters. Because of telecommuting, the company was able to garner $277 million in savings. It was also reported that employee retention rate increased and 83 percent of the employees reported that communication with the managers of the firm and their co-workers was at the same level as if they worked inside the workplace, and often, the communication progress was even better (Cisco Newsroom, 2009). Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems is one of the companies that boast of a workforce where 56 percent of its employees are telecommuters. However, such employees are not always considered to be telecommuting on a daily basis, but the majority of them do work away from the office at least for one day a week. Because of this business practice, the company has experienced huge savings of up to 15 percent, at least in the real estate department. The company also experienced savings of up to 70 percent in providing for financial support for their employees. Apparently, more savings are realized when employees work away from the workplace (All, 2008). Conclusion Clearly, telecommuting is here to stay, regardless of the problems that the business practice may face. I think that aside from the problem of supervision, another issue to worry about would be the security of the company data that is entrusted to all their employees, especially with the advancements of the technology today. In order to fix these problems, I feel that there is a need to really invest in technology that would minimize the problem of lack of supervision and security threats. Accenture, for instance, has invested in a video conferencing system so the management can not only keep in touch with their customers, but also keeps track of the progress of their employees. Similar technologies can also be applied to minimize or completely eradicate the security problem. Overall, telecommuting is an effective and efficient business practice that has been shown to boost productivity levels among employees. The latter are not burdened with the long hours of traveling to work, and instead they can use their travel time to accomplish the tasks assigned to them. Indeed, the pros outweigh the cons, and it is only a matter of time before the disadvantages of telecommuting would be completely overcome. References Accenture (2012). Accenture’s work environment. Retrieved from http://careers.accenture.com/ph-en/working/overview/environment/Pages/index.aspx Ahmadi, M., Helms, M. M., & Ross, T. J. (2000). Technological developments: Shaping the telecommuting work environment of the future. Facilities, 18(1/2), pp. 83-89. All, A. (2008). Employers find telecommuting brings savings plus productivity. IT Business Edge. Retrieved from http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/articles/blog/employers-find-telecommuting-brings-savings-plus-productivity/?cs=23193 Chevron, J., & Primeaue, M. (1996). The telecommuting innovation opportunity. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 13(4), pp. 40-48. Cisco Newsroom (2009). Cisco study finds telecommuting significantly increases employee productivity, work-life flexibility and job satisfaction. Retrieved from http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2009/prod_062609.html Davies, R. (1996). Internet conference on telecommuting. Career Development International, 1(5), pp. 29-37. Di Martino, V., & Wirth, L. (1990). Telework: A new way of working and living. International Labor Review, 129(5), pp. 529-554 in Davies, R., Internet conference on telecommuting, Career Development International: 1996, 1(5), 29-37. Flex Jobs Staff (2012). About American fidelity assurance. Retrieved from http://www.flexjobs.com/jobs/telecommuting-jobs-at-american_fidelity_assurance Harpaz, I. (2002). Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting for the individual, organization and society. Work Study, 51(2), pp. 74-80. Johnson, R. (1994). Ten advantages of telecommuting: In the areas of conserving energy, protecting the environment, promoting family values and enhancing worker safety. Retrieved from http://www.gilgordon.com/telecommutesafe/telebenefits.html Lorenz, K. (2007). What’s the advantage to telecommuting. CNN International. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/04/27/cb.work.home.advantage/index.html Pilsin, N. (1997). The telecommuting paradox. Information Technology, 10(2), pp. 164-172. Swati (2008). Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting to work. Saching - Free Online Articles. Retrieved from http://www.saching.com/Article/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Telecommuting-to-Work/455 Tan-Solano, M., & Kleiner, B.H. (2001). Effects of telecommuting on organisational behaviour. Management Research News, 24(3), pp. 123-126. Watad, M.M., & Will, P.C. (2003). Telecommuting and organizational change: A middle-manager’s perspective. Business Process Management Journal, 9(4), pp. 459-472. Read More