When proposing to telework, an employee may encounter support or resistance. Some managers believe the teleworker will be less productive. Other managers who are control-oriented become anxious if they cannot observe their employees. It takes time, a well thought out plan and policy to create a successful teleworking environment.
One financial services company asked their employees to justify why they could not telework. This made them really think about what were the disadvantages of teleworking. It turned out to be a better exercise than trying to justify teleworking.
The advantages of teleworking for the employer are many, and trying to justify why you can’t is a hard thing to do nowadays, especially since flexible working practices have been set in the UK by the government since April 2009.
Telecommuting improves employee satisfaction--79% of people want to work from home. A poll of 1,500 technology professionals revealed that 37% would take a pay cut of 10% if they could work from home. 80% of employees consider teleworking a job perk.
Telecommuting reduces attrition--The cost of replacing an employee extends far beyond the recruiting process. It includes separation costs, temporary replacement costs, and lost productivity training costs and frequently lost customers, co-workers, and corporate intelligence. Studies put the cost as high as 75% of a non-exempt person's earnings, and 150-200% of an exempt person's salary. 46% of companies that allow telecommuting say it has reduced attrition. 72% of employers say telework has a high impact on employee retention.
Telecommuting reduces unscheduled absences--Unscheduled absences cost employers £3,000/employee per year. Telecommuting programs reduce unscheduled absences by 63%.
Telecommuting increases productivity--Best Buy, British Telecom, Dow Chemical and many others show that teleworkers are 35-40% more productive. Sun Microsystems' experience suggests that employees spend 60% of the commuting time they save performing work for the company.
Telecommuting cuts down on wasted meetings--Asynchronous communications allow people to communicate more efficiently. Web-based meetings are better planned and more apt to stay on message.
Telecommuting increases collaboration--Once telework technologies are in place, employees and contractors can work together without regard to logistics. This substantially increases collaboration options.
Telecommuting expands the talent pool--Over 40% of employers are feeling the skilled labour pinch that will worsen as Boomers retire. Teleworking reduces the geographic boundaries. It provides access to disabled workers. Over 70% of employees report that the ability telecommute will be somewhat to extremely important in choosing their next job.
Telecommuting ensures continuity of operations in the event of a disaster. Three quarters of teleworkers say they could continue to work in the event of a disaster compared with just 28% continuing to work for non-teleworkers.
There are many other advantages for both the employee and the community. For example, fewer commuting drivers means less traffic, less pollution due to car exhausts, less wear on the roadways and fewer accidents. The employee has lower stress because they avoid commuting and have more personal time.
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