In light of a difficult economic year, more employers are embracing the idea of employees spending at least some of their working hours out of the office. Telecommuting makes both financial, and motivational, sense. In our next two posts we will review the recent statistics, why employers and staff would consider telecommuting, and how to create a policy that will help the employee, and protect the employer.
Telecommuting Statistics
- The number of Americans who worked from home or remotely at least one day per month for their employer (“employee telecommuters”) increased from approximately 12.4 million in 2006 to 17.2 million in 2008. A 39% 2 year increase and 74% increase since 2005. [1]
- In 2008, nearly nine out of 10 (87 percent) said they telecommuted from home, up from roughly three out of four in 2006. [2]
- Five million employees work from home most of the time, another seven million do so at least once a month. [3]
- 50 million U.S. workers (about 40% of the working population) could work from home at least part of the time yet, in 2008, only 2.5 million employees (not including the self-employed) considered home their primary place of business.[4]
There are numerous reasons why employees and their managers would take advantage of a telecommuting policy. However, with these benefits, come risks.
Pros of Telecommuting for Companies:
1. Improves employee satisfaction. People are tired of the rat race, eager to take control of their lives, and want to find a balance between work and life. A growing number of employees would choose telecommuting over a pay raise.
2. Reduces attrition. Losing a valued employee can cost an employer in the tens of thousands. The annual cost of employee turnover in the United States is a staggering $5 trillion[5].
3. Decreases unscheduled absences. A large percentage of employees who call in sick, really aren’t. They do so because of family issues, personal needs, and stress. Unscheduled absences could cost employers’ thousands of dollars per employee/per year.
Cons of Telecommuting for Companies:
1. Management mistrust. Most managers say they trust their employee, but a small percent say they’d like to be able to see them, just to be sure. Company culture must embrace the concept of telecommuting at all levels.
2. It’s not for everyone. For some, social needs must be addressed. Telephone, email, instant messaging are a solution for some. Innovative answers such as virtual outings and online games can be creative resolutions.
3. Career Visibility. Successful telecommuting programs overcome the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ issue with performance-based measurement systems, productivity versus presenteeism attitudes. Telecommuters who maintain regular communications (telephone, email, instant chat, even the occasional face-to-face meeting) with traditional co-workers and managers find career impact is not an issue.
In our next post we will review the steps required to create a well-balanced and risk free telecommuting policy.
Sources:
[1] Telework Research Network, http://undress4success.com/research/people-telecommute/
[2] [3] Gartner Dataquest Telecommuting Forecast for 2009
[4] BrightHub, “Telecommuting Trends in the 2009 Economy”, August 11, 2009
[5] www.talentkeepers.com
So just how do you do it? You’re convinced that a well balanced work/personal lifestyle makes health sense for your employees, and financial sense for you. You just don’t know where to start. Take these 4 easy suggestions:
