Does telecommuting kill careers?
August 25, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Telecommuting
Looks like security issues and concerns from management aren’t the only things keeping would-be telecommuters tethered to the office.
Often, it’s the workers themselves who are reluctant to skip the drive into work.
Almost half (46%) of workers said their companies allow them to work from home — but only 32% actually do it, according to a recent survey by Steelcase, Inc. Why?
One biggie: They don’t think it’s a smart career move. Of the workers who can telecommute but don’t, 71% said they think their bosses would worry about a drop in productivity and 64% thought they’d be skipped over for a promotion if they weren’t in the office every day.
They might be on to something: Half the respondents overall said they are in fact more productive in an office environment.
That’s a key bit of info for managers to note. As more employers offer the arrangement, it’s going to be important for managers to keep an eye on who’s getting the work done and who isn’t.
Tags: managers, Steelcase, Telecommuting
August 25th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
The people have valid concerns. But they are surmountable. Sure, if you don’t know what you’re doing and don’t make any effort, then you might lose productivity at home as well as losing visibility to your manager. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Many telecommuters I know say they are way *more* productive at home. It just takes some discipline to make sure you don’t get distracted by household stuff. Sticking to your regular work schedule helps. Some people find it helps to get up, showered, and dressed - to begin the day as if they were going into the office. Everyone is different.
For the visiblity there are *many* techniques to maintain your visibility with your boss and peers. You can arrange recurring short phone meetings to keep in contact with key players. You can send weekly email status updates so others know what you’re doing. There’s lots of techniques. A company that invests in a simple training program for their employees would really see a return in terms of their telecommuters’ productivity and connection with the team.
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September 3rd, 2008 at 2:59 pm
As someone who was a full-time teleworker for 10 years, I have a few comments. It absolutely takes discipline to be a teleworker and I know many people who couldn’t do it. But if you do have that discipline, you have the ability to be extremely productive. Now, don’t get me wrong, being in the office (which I am now) has its advantages, but I believe my productivity isn’t as high as it used to be because the two hours I used to be working, I now spending commuting. As for the visibility, I think you make your own visibility within your organization by the work you do, the actions you take and the way you communicate. The last 5 years of my teleworking I won awards related to performance. In my current job, my boss and peers don’t work in the same building as me, but I always have a line to my boss or peers if I need anything or need to have a conversation with her. Some of the folks I support do work in the same building as me yet I could go several days without seeing any of them if I don’t need to do so. With today’s technology (email, instant messaging, cell phones/blackberry’s), you’re never far away whether you’re sitting in an office or in your basement. As long as you have the ability to know what it takes to do what needs to get done, working from home isn’t an issue.
September 8th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
[...] Interesting post asking, does telecommuting kill careers. [...]