Telecommuting: Do employees need bosses around?
Technology has made it easy ever for many employees to get work done from anywhere on the globe. But a new study warns about the effects that distance can have on the employee-supervisor relationship.
In a survey of 500 Canadian workers, 48% of them said their jobs would be be much harder, or somewhat harder, if they had to report to a boss who wasn’t working at the same location.
That’s compared to 21% who said it would be easier to get work done, and 26% who said it wouldn’t matter.
Issues like this are what companies need to think about when coming up with a telecommuting policy and strategy. First of all, whether or not an employee should be able to work remotely depends on the job. Some positions need constant interaction with supervisors and peers, while others don’t. It depends on the person, too. Some people are more equipped to work on their own than others.
If some kind of remote working is arranged, there are ways to leverage technology to encourage collaboration, even without face-to-face contact. Videoconferencing is an option, but if you don’t already use it, the benefits of implementing the technology might not outweigh the costs if it’s just for remote workers.
Some sort of instant messaging software, on the other hand, is a cheap or free way to enable home workers to keep in constant contact with their bosses back in the office. Also, software like Google Apps or other Web-based programs can let people collaborate on the same documents from anywhere they have an Internet connection.
Finally, your company may want to institute a policy requiring teleworkers to be available for phone calls at certain times, or ask them to come to the office one day a week, if that’s possible.
