Yesterday Congress passed legislation that requires the head of all Federal agencies to establish policies to allow qualified personnel to telecommute from home or convenient location. While the Federal government already allows telecommuting, the participation has been low due to management resistance, security issues and technical problems. In 2006 only 6% of the 1.8 million Federal employees telecommuted at least one day a month. The new legislation directs the General Services Administration which has a goal of 50% telecommuting by 2010 to assist and guide other agencies in setting up telecommuting programs.
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Managers are still at the forefront when it comes to opposing telecommuting. Many still manage the old fashion way in which work involves going some place and sitting in a cubbie regardless of the employee’s productivity. But the old excuses are coming up thin in a world in which money is tight…even for businesses.
Over twenty years of studies have proven that telecommuters are more productive partly because they are happier and partly because they aren’t held back by work environments that aren’t supportive or condusive to work. Of course, many managers struggle to equate increases in productivity with increased profits. But hard economic times that are forcing cut backs and layoffs are causing many businesses to look at telecommuting as a cost saving strategy. AT&T did a study years ago that showed businesses could save as much as $10,000 per year per telecommuter. Some companies have taken this to heart and have gone completely virtual thereby eliminating real estate overhead and many other business expenses. Others have tentatively started allowing part-time telecommuting.
And yet, many managers are still resistant to telecommuting believing that employees need to be seen. This always bugged me because being at work isn’t the same as doing work. We’ve all worked with someone who seemed to dawdle and gossip all day. In the old school management, as long as that guy is in his cubbie, all is well. Telecommuting in many ways is better because employees are judged on productivity not how long they sit at their desk. Productively equals money…usually.
What managers need to understand is that work is a verb not a noun (place). Its something people do and in many cases they can do it just as effectively if not more from home.
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