Photo: mccun934 on Flickr

Let’s talk about remote offices for a moment…

Telecommuting, e-commuting, e-work, telework, working at home (WAH), or working from home (WFH) is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links. Many work from home, while others, occasionally also referred to as nomad workers or web commuters utilize mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or myriad other locations. [Wikipedia]

I’d like to discuss some common arguments relating to telecommuting or the use of remote offices as a viable option for corporate employees:

Pros of telecommuting for the employee

• The ability to set one’s own hours
• Cost savings from an eliminated commute
• Time savings from an eliminated commute
• A lesser need for appropriate wardrobe
• Easy access to lunch

Pros of telecommuting for the company

• Reduced space requirements
• Reduced costs from lower energy needs
• Reduced sick days as people are not spreading germs to one-another
• Reduced environmental impact from eliminated commute
• May reduce the instances of job-hopping by employees

Cons of telecommuting for the employee

• Disconnection from colleagues and the social element of work
• Communication can be more challenged as body language can’t be considered
• May reduce business perspective if removed from the core business activity
• Home environment can be distracting

Cons of telecommuting for the company

• Loss of direct and immediate contact with the employee
• Remote offices don’t promote response to immediacy or last-minute needs

Telecommuting requires a shift in mindset

Photo: esperales on Flickr

I think managers and company executives, particularly from the older Gen X crowd and Baby Boomers, are afraid of telecommuting. At least that’s my experience. I suspect there is a lot of fear that employees will sit at home, play a little Xbox, check their email, watch some TV, have some lunch, make a call or two, type a little bit of that report due next week and then call it a day at 3pm. Despite the numerous case studies that outline some really positive experiences with employee telecommuting – even older ones such as this paper outlining AT&T’s 5 year study of 600 telecommuters – implementation of telecommuting or creation of remote offices as a regular and accepted way of performing one’s duties requires a whole new method of management and a whole new definition of success.

The days of the 40 hour work week are gone.

With today’s highly effective and super simple communication tools we exist in a world that is plugged in 24/7. It’s not possible to just leave your job at the office anymore – not if you work in a white collar or management capacity. It is no longer acceptable to show up at your place of employment, be physically present, move some stuff around, have some conversations and leave without producing.

We’re already in remote offices. They just happen to be in the same building.

We’re emailing the people sitting next to us. We’re phoning those in the next office. If we want to sit and waste time doing nothing we can just hang out on Second Life or MySpace from the comfort of our cubicles; we don’t need to leave the vicinity. How many companies are having regular meetings anymore?

With digital files and internet-based tools, Google docs, Skype, netbooks and laptops, iPhones and our printer/scanner/copier all-in-one’s there is very little need to be physically present to get a job done.

I know I start my day sipping coffee on my couch with my 2 year old while reading my feeds on my mobile device, then I check my work email for urgent matters, go to work, work a regular work day, go home have dinner with my family, check my email, moderate the company blogs, go out for the evening, come home, check my email…

Most jobs nowadays are so specialized, the person doing that job is the only one who can. When productivity increases, so does the expectation. We are doing so much more with fewer people than we were just 10 years ago, that we have no choice but to conduct business outside of traditional working hours.

As I said: We’re already working remotely. For many of us, that’s on our ‘off’ time, whatever that is.

A few crucial elements required for effective telecommuting on a regular basis:

• The right equipment: The right computer, accessories and software for the job
• A dedicated space to work: We still need to be organized somewhere even if we move around from there
• A set of clearly defined and measurable objectives: We need to understand what’s expected of us

Here are my own thoughts on telecommuting:

• I would telecommute at least part time if my company were supportive
• I would enjoy working in my comfiest of clothes (though I’m not known to wear suits anyway)
• I would absolutely need a more appropriate working space at home
• I would have to keep my son going to daycare because I couldn’t work with him there
• I might save money by having my car insurance set to ‘pleasure use only’
• I would save gas money
• I would have a little more time with my family

It all comes down to setting the right expectations and then trusting your employees to accomplish what they’re tasked to do.

What do you think? What are your pros and cons of remote offices? Would you work from home if you could? What would be your biggest challenge?