Future of Telecommuting
Telecommuting is slowly growing as an option for employees. Employers are beginning to offer telework programs, where employees can work from home or another remote location. With the federal government passing an act regarding teleworking and a push to make our world "green." telecommuting has a bright future. While some jobs and people do not lend well to telecommuting, many do, and the flexibility is appealing to workers and companies.
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The Pros
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Telecommuting has several benefits for both the employee and employer. For the employee, it can provide increased job satisfaction, better work/life balance, no commute, and savings on clothing, gasoline and car wear and tear. For the employer, telecommuting provides savings on office space, increased productivity due to improved employee morale and the ability to work in bad weather or other unexpected circumstances. Telecommuting is also a win for the environment. Fewer cars on the road and employees in the office equal less dependency on gasoline, reduced emissions and lower electricity costs.
The Cons
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Certain jobs are not suited to telecommuting; these include administrative support, facility management and hospital jobs, among others. Employers may feel employees are less accessible and productive when working remotely. Training remotely is more difficult than in person. The lack of face-to-face contact is not for all employees. Employees may feel isolated and not part of a team when telecommuting. Every situation is different and the job description and employee's personality and work habits factor into the decision to telecommute. Many telecommuters spend some of their work time in their employer's office setting.
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Federal Mandate
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In November 2010, the federal government passed the Telework Improvements Act of 2010. The bill mandates federal executive agencies to create policy for employees to telework. Each agency is required to establish a telework officer to implement and oversee the telecommuting for their agency. The Office of Personnel Management encourages federal agencies to implement telecommuting and provides support, training and materials to facilitate the program. According to an OPM report, from 2007 to 2008 48 agencies reported an increase in their overall telework numbers.
Statistics
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Based on data collected by U.S. Census Bureau from their annual American Community Survey, telecommuting is slowly climbing. The percentage of telecommuters in 2006 was 1.86% and increased to 2.18% in 2008. The Edge Report, a Robert Half International Survey, reports that telecommuting is a factor for 72 percent of employees in choosing a job. One quarter of employers surveyed plan to begin offering telecommuting for retirees and 29 percent began offering telecommuting options to improve employee retention.
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References
- IT Business Edge: Federal Telework Mandate Gets Congressional OK
- Telework Exchange: Legislation
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Status of Telework in the Federal Government Report to the Congress
- Telework Research Network: Telecommuting Statistics
- U.S. Census Bureau: 2006-2008 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates
Resources
- Photo Credit work at home image by Leticia Wilson from Fotolia.com
