Telecommuting is either the best thing since sliced bread or the cause of all problems. After all, it was telecommuting that Melissa Mayer banned at Yahoo in order to combat waste and phantom employees. Many managers feel that they if they can’t actually see their employees, the employees aren’t working.
But employees? Overwhelmingly, they want to work from home. A new survey conducted byKona/SodaHead.com shows that 70 percent of workers want to work from home. That number jumps to an astronomical 81 percent for workers age 35 to 44.
What about those who work in the office while their coworkers work from their homes? They’re jealous! 57 percent of employees in general are jealous, but that number jumps to 60 percent for parents and 75 percent for people making over $100,000 per year.
So, how can you implement a reasonable telecommuting policy in your office?
To keep reading, click here: Want happier employees? Send them home
I am at a loss to understand why Yahoo employees are getting SO upset at this rule. No argument with the idea that telecommuters are happier, and probably more productive employees. But I can also understand why a new CEO of a huge company like Yahoo that has been struggling, would want to get a better sense of who her employees are, what their personalities and work styles are, and how they organize tasks. Some of those things you just CAN’T do via Skype. I am willing to predict that once things have stabilized and Ms. Mayer has a clearer picture of the company she is running, she will begin reinstating telecommuting as an option. People need to chill. IMO.
They’re upset because it’s management-by-bludgeon.
It’s a not-so-subtle way of getting forcing people to leave without firing anyone (much easier for bad managers).
I’m actually working from home right now – it’s great. But, I make sure to get tangible work done and report back to my manager with what I’ve done. That way, he knows I’m working!
Telecommuting or working from the office – it’s a never-ending debate, but personally I cannot side with any of the adherents. I see why employees find telecommuting the best perk ever, but I also understand that employers don’t want to pay people who aren’t actually working and just make use of the lack of direct control over them. As an average office worker I dream about the possibility of telecommuting, but if I were an employer I don’t think I could let my employees loose.
Its all about mind set. We need to move to a work centric environment, where people are questioned on the deliverables with time lines and not that how they did it, even if it was working from home. Organizations can save a lot on infrastructure expenses if they change their mind sets
As a manager, I like to know the employees for whom I am responsible. If I don’t see them often, it is hard to get to know them. I very much prefer to develop and promote employees I know.
E-mail helps, but communications experts tell us that about 10% of the content of communication is the words. Phone calls help, but communications experts tell us that about 30% of the content of communications is tone of voice, expression, etc. The other 60% consists of non-verbal cues, facial expressions, and “body language”. VOIP video calls can possibly achieve, my opinion, 80% to 90% of communications content.
If my staff works from home, what do they miss? Training opportunities, ad hoc chances to learn from colleagues or me, a sense of belonging to an organization and the teamwork that comes from that, the chance to know me better and the nuances of the standards and requirements I have.
If a majority of employees telecommute, then work becomes much more transactional, and the potential for the professional social environment in the workplace to be an effective motivator plummets to near zero.
Personally, I see both plusses and minuses to telecommuting in about equal proportion. For those whose jobs allow telecommuting, I see little problem with doing that one, two, or three days each week.
I do think the ideal telecommuting situation is 2-3 days in the office and 2-3 days at home. I think full time telecommuting is very difficult.
And I say that as a person who has worked exclusively from home for 4.5 years.
We need to move to a work centric environment, wherever individuals are measure questioned on the deliverable with time lines and not that however they did it, even it had been working from home. Organizations will save lots on infrastructure expenses if they alter their mind sets.