Telecommuting: The Issues

by Team 4 - CSMN 601 - Section 9040 - May 8th, 1999

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Management Issues with Telecommuting

With telecommuting becoming such a hot topic in the last few years, managers are now forced to take a serious look at it as a viable option for workers. Cynthia Froggatt, a consultant for companies such as AT&T and McGraw-Hill on workplace strategies, says about most managers, "They're all chasing creativity and innovation. But then they tell employees, 'Come to our office at the time we tell you, sit in this fairly boring cubicle, wear the clothes we tell you to' And then they sit around saying, 'Well, where are the ideas?' when they've taken away all of employees' choices." (Kuchinskas 1998).

The number of telecommuters was upwards of 11 million people in this country alone in July 1997 and is expected to reach 14 million by the year 2000. Managers are seeking training so that they can better cope with these new developments (Lazarus 1997). New conferences designed specifically for managers have been designed. One such conference is AltOffice (http://www.altoffice.com). AltOffice developers are out to train managers on all the newest ideas on keeping a bright, productive workplace while still allowing their employees the freedom they need to be creative.

Although a lot of companies are taking a good close look at telecommuting and trying to make realistic decisions, there are still many more companies that don't trust the employee enough to give it a try. Burke Stinson, an AT&T spokesman says, "A lot of managers think that if they can't see you, you must be lolling around in your pajamas watching daytime television," he observed. "Control- freak managers can ruin a workplace, and they can ruin someone's work experience at home." That way of thinking may be slowly burning employees out on their work. (Lazarus 1997).

When it comes right down to it, there is a feeling in the industry that managers just don't like the telecommuting issue because they don't feel like they are in control. It becomes a politically motivated decision instead of a technically motivated decision, as some managers would like you to believe. Sean Gallagher, a writer for InformationWeek magazine, says, "It's all about control-- they're uncomfortable with a workplace where they can't eyeball their subordinates in a cubicle. Even Microsoft--the company that is as responsible as any for making the virtual workplace possible--can't handle the telecommuting issue." (Gallagher 1998).

But managers should be looking at the telecommuting issue from a financial viewpoint as well. The logistics of managing "in-office" workers is normally more complex and financially draining than managing telecommuters. A spokesman for Merrill-Lynch puts it this way, "the office spaces in our New York and New Jersey headquarters cost us about a quarter of a billion dollars per year. By encouraging some of our employees to telecommute, we should save substantial sums on office space. For example, if 10 percent of our New York and New Jersey employees telecommute full-time, we will save about $25 million dollars per year." By saving those dollars that would be spent on workers in the office, they not only cultivate creativity and relieve stress among their workers, they also save the company valuable resources. (PC World 1997)

Another benefit of telecommuting for companies is that they can now attract talented people who might not have been able to work a straight 8 hour day because of a complex family life or dual-income home. By tapping into this new well of talent, the employees get the benefits of contributing to a real work environment again and the company gets new viewpoints and new creative ideas. Talent is difficult to find these days and any way to tap into some new talent should be considered.

But even the best things in life can turn sour. Telecommuting has failed before and will probably fail again in the future, but careful consideration can help managers to avoid these issues. Sometime the job just is not suited for telecommuting and is too difficult to maintain in that environment. Managers need to be able to discern whether a job is really fit for telecommuting.

People can cause telecommuting to fail as well. Some people just aren't cut out for this kind of work. Without being in the workplace, some employees aren't motivated and don't feel like a part of the "big picture". It takes some time to adjust to the new work environment and some workers can't adjust. But one failure often means the end of telecommuting for the entire branch or company. "If too many problems occur--and if management feels "burned" by failures--the company may stop offering telecommuting to all its employees. When that happens, it may be difficult to persuade management to try it again in the future. (PC World 1997)"