There are two main reasons for a company to offer telework, but they can be combined in one answer: If done correctly, telework can benefit both the employee and the company.

In a 2006 national telework employer survey conducted by MITE and Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, telework-friendly employer respondents indicated they would consider telework for several reasons, as seen in the table below. The majority of employers (73%) indicated telework helped them respond to specific employee needs. Employee satisfaction is the biggest benefit that telework offers in most cases. Stress is reduced, work is more enjoyable and easier, and a new sense of loyalty is developed for their jobs.

Telework may be the employee's idea, and once they prove to their employer that it can be a productive situation for both parties involved, telework becomes a mainstay. Employees eliminate a daily commute or a frantic rush hour and regain a sense of control to effectively complete projects increase employee satisfaction.

Telework also provides nice rewards for employers as well. Employee retention and increased productivity rated second and third, with other respondents identifying cost savings and reduced operations costs. These rationales were not necessarily exclusive of each other. For example, as employers responded to specific employee needs by providing telework options, they also may have been striving to retain that employee.

The underlying fact was that telework, in most circumstances, enabled increased employee flexibility and more effective job performance, which directly and often indirectly, led to enhanced organizational productivity. Employees have increased job satisfaction, and less distractions in the office. Bottom line -- they are able to do more work in less time, and do it better. Employees also often reduce travel costs in both time and money.  [top]

What do I need in to have "in place" before offering telework?

The majority of telework friendly employers indicated that prerequisites to offer telework to current employees included a completed probationary period, in-office work experience and a core work schedule. For those organizations that had utilized telework, employers reported the existence of several telework support strategies to enable supervisors to better manage teleworkers in general, as seen in the table below.

Existing telework policies helped to set parameters such as eligibility, work schedule, technology requirements, work processes and performance reporting. However, research concluded that having a telework policy did not necessarily ensure that telework would be aggressively adopted. [top]

Why doesn't everyone telecommute?

Quite simply, telework is not for everyone. Some people need the physical separation between work and home. Others cannot focus with the distractions inherent in working from home. Many people find it easier to stay on track seated in their cubicle with daily office operations going on all around them. And, some people just don’t do well being alone for an entire day, Part-time telework, or having the flexibility to work at home periodically, often provides a good balance so employees can work without distractions. [top]

Equipment and office space should be part of the discussion between a supervisor and employee before telework is initiated. In general, companies are utilizing more laptop technology, as it is less cost-prohibitive than in years past. Depending on the amount of time spent teleworking, an employee may need a laptop, may already have one, or may share a laptop among office workers. If a laptop can be shared, it may allow others in the office to telework occasionally, too. Be aware that allocation of equipment can be a challenge because it may be seen by other employees that the teleworker is getting the best of both worlds.

Teleworkers should have adequate space and equipment to do the work when in the office, but may not have the amount of space available in comparison to in-house employees. The supervisor can designate a space in which teleworkers can temporarily work, if needed. If a person is teleworking much of the time, they should still feel welcome and part of the team when he/she is in the office. And on the other hand, non-telework employees must not be made to feel less important simply because they are required to have more traditional work arrangements.

A more important issue is one of effective connectivity by the teleworker to the employer’s technology infrastructure. Teleworkers need to effectively interface with specific applications and data to perform their job tasks. Employers need guidelines regarding remote access and security. These guidelines will often require communication with the information technology division to ensure procedures are followed and teleworkers are able to log in to the system without major challenges. [top]

Most of the time, telecommuting is the employee's idea. An employee who asks to telework is often the type of person that isn't bothered by working alone, and often times works better when alone. However, as with anything that is new, teleworkers may discover that they need the daily contact with the other people in the office. Sometimes, even for those who like to telecommute, it does get a little bit lonely.

Unfortunately, sometimes the sense of loneliness is something that can only be found out by actually trying telework. Some people don't think about every aspect of telecommuting before they try it, which leads to unexpected findings such as, "I feel like everyone has forgotten about me." Most telecommuters count on their time in the office as an opportunity to strengthen the social bonds that exist in good working relationships. Every situation is different, but the feeling of loneliness can be avoided by visiting the office on a regular basis, keeping in contact daily through phone and e-mail, and educating employees interested in telecommuting about what an average day of work as a telecommuter entails. [top]

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