When proposing to telework, an employee may encounter support or resistance. Some managers believe the teleworker will be less productive. Other managers who are control-oriented become anxious if they cannot observe their employees. It takes time, a well thought out plan and policy to create a successful teleworking environment.
This made them really think about what were the disadvantages of teleworking. It turned out to be a better exercise than trying to justify teleworking.
The advantages of teleworking for the employer are many. The post "Telecommuting Pros and Cons" provides a range of advantages for employers and employees and their communities. The list of advantages is long. Some of the employer advantages included in the post are:
Telecommuting improves employee satisfaction--79% of people want to work from home. A poll of 1,500 technology professionals revealed that 37% would take a pay cut of 10% if they could work from home. 80% of employees consider teleworking a job perk. Telecommuting reduces attrition--The cost of replacing an employee extends far beyond the recruiting process. It includes separation costs, temporary replacement costs, and lost productivity training costs and frequently lost customers, co-workers, and corporate intelligence. Studies put the cost as high as 75% of a non-exempt person's earnings, and 150-200% of an exempt person's salary. 46% of companies that allow telecommuting say it has reduced attrition. 72% of employers say telework has a high impact on employee retention.
Telecommuting reduces unscheduled absences--Unscheduled absences cost employers $1,800/employee per year; that adds up to $300 billion/yr for U.S. companies. Telecommuting programs reduce unscheduled absences by 63%.
Telecommuting increases productivity--Best Buy, British Telecom, Dow Chemical and many others show that teleworkers are 35-40% more productive. Sun Microsystems' experience suggests that employees spend 60% of the commuting time they save performing work for the company. AT&T workers work 5 more hours at home than their office workers
Telecommuting saves employers money--The Telework Savings Calculator shows that if the Americans who hold work-at-home-compatible jobs did so just half of the time, U.S. companies could collectively increase their bottom lines by $400 billion as a result of savings in real estate (assuming 18% of offices could be eliminated or shared), electricity, absenteeism, turnover, and increased productivity. That's over $10,000 per employee, per year. Full time telecommuting can save companies over $20,000 per employee per year. IBM slashed real estate costs by $50 million through telework. McKesson's telecommuting program saves $2 million a year. Sun Microsystems saves $68 million a year in real estate costs.
Telecommuting Equalizes personalities and reduces potential for discrimination
Telecommuting cuts down on wasted meetings--Asynchronous communications allow people to communicate more efficiently. Web-based meetings are better planned and more apt to stay on message.
Telecommuting increases employee empowerment
Telecommuting increases collaboration
--Once telework technologies are in place, employees and contractors can work together without regard to logistics. This substantially increases collaboration options.Telecommuting expands the talent pool--Over 40% of employers are feeling the skilled labor pinch that will worsen as Boomers retire. Teleworking reduces the geographic boundaries. It provides access to disabled workers. Over 70% of employees report that the ability telecommute will be somewhat to extremely important in choosing their next job.
Telecommuting slows the brain drain due to retiring Boomers--75% of retirees want to continue to work. 36% of retirees say the ability to work part rather than full time or to work from home would have encouraged them to keep working even if it didn't provide health benefits or meant a temporarily reduced pension.
Telecommuting reduces staffing redundancies and offers quick scale-up and scale-down options
Telecommuting ensures continuity of operations in the event of a disaster
--Federal workers are required to telework to the maximum extent possible for this reason. Three quarters of teleworkers say they could continue to work in the event of a disaster compared with just 28% continuing to work for non-teleworkers.Telecommuting improves performance measurement systems--Drucker, Six Sigma, and management experts agree that goal setting and performance measurement is the key to successful management. For teleworking to work, employees must be measured by what they do, not where or how they do it.
Telecommuting reduces unscheduled absences--Unscheduled absences cost employers $1,800/employee per year; that adds up to $300 billion/yr for U.S. companies. Telecommuting programs reduce unscheduled absences by 63%.
Telecommuting increases productivity--Best Buy, British Telecom, Dow Chemical and many others show that teleworkers are 35-40% more productive. Sun Microsystems' experience suggests that employees spend 60% of the commuting time they save performing work for the company. AT&T workers work 5 more hours at home than their office workers
Telecommuting saves employers money--The Telework Savings Calculator shows that if the Americans who hold work-at-home-compatible jobs did so just half of the time, U.S. companies could collectively increase their bottom lines by $400 billion as a result of savings in real estate (assuming 18% of offices could be eliminated or shared), electricity, absenteeism, turnover, and increased productivity. That's over $10,000 per employee, per year. Full time telecommuting can save companies over $20,000 per employee per year. IBM slashed real estate costs by $50 million through telework. McKesson's telecommuting program saves $2 million a year. Sun Microsystems saves $68 million a year in real estate costs.
Telecommuting Equalizes personalities and reduces potential for discrimination
Telecommuting cuts down on wasted meetings--Asynchronous communications allow people to communicate more efficiently. Web-based meetings are better planned and more apt to stay on message.
Telecommuting increases employee empowerment
Telecommuting increases collaboration
Telecommuting increases collaboration
Telecommuting expands the talent pool--Over 40% of employers are feeling the skilled labor pinch that will worsen as Boomers retire. Teleworking reduces the geographic boundaries. It provides access to disabled workers. Over 70% of employees report that the ability telecommute will be somewhat to extremely important in choosing their next job.
Telecommuting slows the brain drain due to retiring Boomers--75% of retirees want to continue to work. 36% of retirees say the ability to work part rather than full time or to work from home would have encouraged them to keep working even if it didn't provide health benefits or meant a temporarily reduced pension.
Telecommuting reduces staffing redundancies and offers quick scale-up and scale-down options
Telecommuting ensures continuity of operations in the event of a disaster
Telecommuting ensures continuity of operations in the event of a disaster
Telecommuting improves performance measurement systems--Drucker, Six Sigma, and management experts agree that goal setting and performance measurement is the key to successful management. For teleworking to work, employees must be measured by what they do, not where or how they do it.
There are many other advantages for both the employee and the community. For example, fewer commuting drivers means less traffic, less pollution due to car exhausts, less wear on the roadways and fewer accidents. The employee has lower stress because they avoid commuting and have more personal time.
