 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group What Happened to Telework? Monika Merkes monika@melbpc.org.au |
Telework had been predicted to be a common future way of working. The future
is here, but what happened to telework? Judging by peak hour traffic, most people still seem to rush to the
office. Recent Australian statistics show that only 7% of workers have formal agreements regarding working
from home (The Age 19/2/01).
Telework has been made possible by new technologies that enable people to work anywhere, anytime and in
virtual teams - even in virtual global teams. It implies working at home, away from an employer's place of
business, and using information technology such as computers, the Internet, email, fax and telephones.
Telework also refers to neighbourhood centres which are occupied by employees from more than one
organisation, and to mobile workers. Telework is a flexible work arrangement which is sometimes used by
employers to attract and keep employees.
Working from home has (potential) advantages for workers, employers, the environment, and the
community.
Workers can enjoy:
- flexible work time;
- increased autonomy;
- working more undisturbed at home;
- less travel time;
- a better balance between work and life responsibilities; and
- the flexibility for parents to be available for their children when needed.
- increased flexibility;
- more highly motivated workers;
- increased productivity; and
- savings through shared desks and office space.
- reduced traffic and traffic congestion;
- enhanced air quality;
- better links with rural and remote areas;
- new opportunities for people who are outside the economic mainstream (eg. people who have been excluded from the workforce because of disabilities or geography); and
- better integration of the spheres of work, family and education.
What type of work and worker is suited to telework? Jobs in sales, customer service, auditing, data entry, to name a few, can be converted to full-time telework. This is more difficult when face-to-face contact with customers and colleagues is required. Teleworkers, it is argued, must share the work ethic and values of the organisation. They need time-management skills and must be self-motivated, trustworthy, and able to work independently. They may need training in how to work effectively in a new environment.
The International Telework Association and Council surveyed employers in the U.S. and found that they saved US$10,006 per teleworker per year in costs related to absenteeism and job retention. The study concluded that an organisation with 100 employees, 20 of whom telework, could potentially realise savings of US$200,000 annually. http://www.telecommute.org/twa/1999_research_results.shtml.
IBM in Germany employs more than 4,000 people who telework more than 50% of their work time. The company found that productivity increased up to 30%. http://www.telekooperation-competence-center.de/telekooperation.nsf/
0A775FD419B44AC7C125696600561F1A/$File/telearbeit_ibm.pdf.
A German study on women and telework found that mothers have little flexibility to determine their working hours, but that this is determined by the needs of their families. Mothers of young children typically performed their telework during the evening hours when their children slept or during the weekend when their partner was available to care for the children. Further, the study found that unpaid work increased and was not questioned by teleworkers. Because access to telework was regarded as a privilege, teleworkers made an effort to be flexible and available at all hours. Cleaning of the home office was done during the teleworkers' own time, as were telephone calls with colleagues in the office. (Findings of this study are available at http://www.telechance.de/download/heimvorteil.pdf).
An American study informs us that although very few women do childcare simultaneously with work, the priority for women is still the family, while the priority for men is work. The author of the study recommended a physically separate home office and a routine schedule for women to provide the psychological separation that helps decrease the stress associated with juggling work and family responsibilities. http://www.dol.gov/dol/asp/public/telework/p3_3.htm.
Telework is an evolving way of working, and there are still questions: How does one manage a remote work environment? How should employers evaluate the performance of a teleworker? What is the definition of overtime for the teleworker? Do teleworkers have to accept to be on call around the clock? Issues of training and occupational health and safety have to be addressed, and managers must learn to shift from monitoring time spent in the office to managing by objectives or results.
| Other Internet
Resources: Telecommuting (portal) http://telecommuting.about.com/smallbusiness/telecommuting/ SocioSite: Telework - Telecommuting http://www.pscw.uva.nl/sociosite/TOPICS/Telework.html TeleTask, telework outsource solutions (includes the Tele Task Skills Register with 260 skilled teleworkers) http://www.teletask.com.au/ The 4th International Telework Workshop in Tokyo in 1999 (includes conference papers for downlaod) http://www.iff.org/telework99/ |
Reprinted from the April 2001 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
