Telework Revolution Is Well Underway
by Best in UC on 06/06/12 at 7:24 pm
The portion of employees working remotely has more than tripled over the last decade in some industries. This statistic comes from a report from The Conference Board, which shows that the telework trend has grown dramatically in recent years.
Drawn from a number of recent surveys by the U.S. Census Bureau and private sources, The Incredible Disappearing Office : Making Telework Work finds employees taking more frequent advantage of mobility across the board, with 84 percent of employees who telework more than once per month now working remotely at least one day per week. In 2008, that number was 72 percent.
“A confluence of factors, led by the rapid expanse of sophisticated, secure, and relatively inexpensive communication technologies, has sparked a quiet revolution in where and how many Americans do their jobs,” said Amy Lui Abel, director of human capital research at The Conference Board and a co-author of the report. “To take full advantage of the opportunities teleworking provides—while avoiding the many potential pitfalls—employers and employees must engage in an open dialog that establishes the mutual expectations and responsibilities that come with this new workplace culture.”
The latest research finds that teleworking rates (just over 2 percent nationwide) remain highest in occupations traditionally associated with the practice—including child care workers (9.1 percent in 2010), writers and authors (9.3 percent), and sales representatives (10.8 percent).
The fastest growth, however, has been outside these familiar work-from-home roles, with the most dramatic increases seen in computer-related positions and others reliant on remote access to technical systems. The advancements in home networking over the last decade have been accompanied by huge teleworking gains among records clerks, 5.5 percent of whom teleworked in 2008 to 2010 (up 516 percent since 2001 to 2003); insurance underwriters (4.5 percent, up 275 percent); lawyers (2.0 percent, up 166 percent); computer software developers (6.1 percent, up 127 percent); and many similar professions.
These trends are fundamentally altering the profile of the average teleworker. Where employees of non-profit organizations were most likely to telework in 2000, by 2010 the for-profit sector had taken the lead. It may be unsurprising that workplace flexibility appeals both to older workers nearing (or delaying) retirement and Gen-Y new hires for whom virtual presence and multichannel communication are second nature.
Steady technical refinement, however, has made teleworking an increasingly attractive business proposition as well. As a case study, Making Telework Work cites IBM’s long-term holistic strategy, which grew out of the 1970s and the idea of installing access “terminals” in employees’ homes. By 1995, 10,000 IBM employees were mobile, allowing the company to move from a traditional 1:1 workspace-to-worker ratio to 1:4. In just that first year, a $41.5 million investment in worker training returned $74 million in savings.
In surveys, teleworkers cite a number of obvious lifestyle benefits. With no commute, employees enjoy time with loved ones during precious morning and evening hours. Based from home, they gain the flexibility to adjust their schedules as job and personal demands arise. Likewise, teleworkers often note improved performance and higher productivity, with the ability to focus on work priorities free of the stress of distractions and office politics.
At the same time, this very autonomy can have distinct drawbacks. Teleworkers may feel cut-off from their colleagues and weakened in their ability to influence both day-to-day decisions and larger strategic plans. They often lack sufficient professional and administrative support and fear that being “out of sight, out of mind” keeps them from being properly recognized and rewarded by management.
With meetings and group projects more difficult to coordinate, teleworkers also risk resentment from office-based colleagues, who may assume additional responsibilities in their absence. Finally, the same “always on” technology that makes the modern home office possible can mean difficulties setting boundaries between home and work time, setting the stage for potential overwork and burnout.
According to Making Telework Work, extensive, proactive planning from the top is key to reaping the significant cost savings and worker-satisfaction gains of teleworking while maintaining organization-wide morale and cohesion. Whether opportunities for telework are reserved for the best-performing employees, promoted across an organization, or used to attract standout applicants from a wider talent pool (such as disabled veterans, semi-retired experts, and parents with young children), leaders must establish formal, transparent guidelines if the “virtual office” is to be a real success.
“Research concurs that the dual lynchpins of effective teleworking are strong management and robust IT,” explained co-author Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at The Conference Board. “With support from HR, managers at all levels must make the ‘mental shift’ to trusting that employees are getting the job done without seeing them every day—and to have the strength to act decisively when they’re not.
“On the technology side, the right hardware and software choices backed up by abundant support staff can make the difference between a seamless transition and hundreds or thousands of man-hours lost to bugs and faulty connections,” Levanon added.
Does your company support teleworking? Tell us about it in the comments section.
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