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Is Telecommuting Working?

© Leslie Truex

A recent article in USA Today reports that telecommuting is not growing as expected and is in fact stalled. This fact isn't surprising especially considering the recent turn in the economy. However, what is surprising is that according to the article, much of the reason for stalled telecommuting growth has to do with a lack of interest or a dissatisfaction from work-at-home employees. According the article, the American Management Association conducted a survey and found that almost 60% of the companies that did not have a formal telecommuting program did so because there was no demand by employees. The article further reports that the Center for Work & Family found only 46% of telecommuters indicated they were satisfied or very satisfied with their lives compared to 60% of their non-telecommuting counterparts.

Why is telecommuting not working for employees? There are several reasons why telecommuting fails:

1)The employee has an idolize vision of working at home in pajamas and going to the park every day. In reality, working and living at home is very difficult to balance. Distractions from children, the refrigerator, and television prevent work from being completed.

2)Telecommuters work more. This is due in part to telecommuters feeling the need to be more productive to justify the work-at-home arrangement, and also in part to employers thinking that since home and office are in the same location, the telecommuter can easily perform more work.

3)Telecommuters are left out of the office loop. Out of sight and out of mind is true of telecommuters and as a result telecommuters may miss important office communications and be passed over for promotions.

4)Home office equipment is frequently inferior to that in the office. Slower computers and internet access can slow down production and frustrate work-at-home employees. Further, office supplies and other resources that are at one's disposal in the office, are not readily available to the home worker which can slow down productivity. 5) Lack of support from management. Managers and supervisors are still not convinced that telecommuting offers the financial and productivity benefits pro-telecommuters suggest it does.

So where does that leave telecommuting? Like many things in life, telecommuting is not the cure all for creating health and happiness. But, instead of viewing the studies above as an indication of telecommuting's failure, they should be used to suggest areas that telecommuters need to address when attempting to telecommute. Some key items to consider include:

1)Understand that working at home requires a great deal of organization and planning. You may be able to work in your pajamas but you do need to work and you may need to work instead of attending to family needs. Further, you should still consider child care arrangements to avoid distractions.

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