Advantages And Disadvantages Of Teleworking

In mid-sized companies such as Q-tel, telecommuting is much more frequently used than work in office. According

Telecommuting has been shown to reduce absenteeism, improve retention, and reduce recruitment costs for the organization (Family, pg. 730). Increased employee moral is also a benefit associated with telecommuting (Professional Isolation, pg. 512). Offering this new benefit that is such a satisfier for employees will likely result in reduced turnover within the organization and higher productivity. A study found pubic employees who were satisfied with their telework/telecommuting benefits were less likely to leave their positions (Family pg. 732). With the reduction of office time, an increase in employee productivity is likely due to fewer interruptions from fellow employees (Lessons pg. 10). With telecommuting having benefits to both the employer and employee, this new policy should bring positive results to the

It seems that employers are afraid that they will not be able to effectively monitor employees output and have major security concerns when allowing employees to telework. The initial costs of setting up telework to employees may also be a concern for employers.

“This remote work may be something we should be doing more of, according to two new studies. Working from home can be good for your health and productivity. Not only did people who worked from home report greater work satisfaction and less “work exhaustion,” they also got better sleep. Separately, researchers found that the highest performing workers were the most likely to cultivate and excel in a “WFH” environment (Gregoire, 2015)”. If workers don't prefer to work at home they are more than welcome to continue working at the main workplace. The company will give each employee the opportunity to try working from home in order to have more space at the main work

In the 1990s Telecommuting became popular. (“Wikipedia”, n.d., para.1) It allowed a way for employers to have workers that still accomplished the day to day task necessary to run a business and also allowed employee’s to work without traveling into a dedicate office building or store. In today’s society, I have noticed that there are more job posting for software developers in the United States that offer working remotely versus working at an office building. The purpose of the dissertation is to find out the habits and work ethics of successful remote workers so that a hiring manager could target those traits while interviewing potential candidates for telecommuting work.

Some reasons to expand remote work includes; saving time, saving money, and reducing resources usage. Employees will have a better work/life balance, have improved productivity, and have the flexibility to schedule work around personal needs. These employee improvements will lead to less stress, better creativity, and higher performance, and better job satisfaction. Allowing more employees to work from home can prevent a future need to expand to larger office spaces.

MedEx should roll out the telecommuting on a voluntary basis for employees with high performance evaluations. I feel this will show the employees the organization cares and has addressed their concerns based on the survey. If the telecommuting policy is implemented correctly, telecommuting can increase productivity and overall job satisfaction. If the policy is crafted to tied the privilege of telecommuting with positive performance evaluations, it will motivate employees to not lack off while working remotely. The option of telecommuting can work as a way to attract high performing top professional to the organization. Telecommuting should also reduce turnover and absences. Work life balance will always be a very important part of keeping

MedEx has reported having a high employee turnover rate and based on the employee survey, there are a lot of employees that are not happy with their work commute, lack of parking downtown, and the challenge of balancing their personal life with their work responsibilities. Telecommuting is a great way for the employer to address all these employee concerns. The incentive of telecommuting would eliminate the commute time and parking associated with the commute, allow an employee a comfortable work setting, and offer a more flexible schedule allowing for employees to deal with personal issues when needed (Young, 1991). As you can see, telecommuting would benefit MedEx since it would improve the employee- employer relationship by promoting employee

Harry Davis, who is the Human Resource Manager (HRM), is determined to discover what is causing the high turnover rate with the medical billing specialists at MedEx. According to the text, telecommuting is an example of an unconventional work arrangement where employees work from home or another location besides their traditional employer (Martocchio, 2013). Nevertheless, Harry conducts a survey, which reflects, that a vast majority of the employees would prefer to work from home. The possibility of telecommuting being offered at MedEx, for the medical billing specialist, has finally become a reality. However, telecommuting has its disadvantages and challenges.

Telecommuting can be great for organizations but there are also some disadvantages and challenges in offering telecommuting.  According to (Martochhio, 2013), Telecommuting programs may also lead to disadvantages for employers and employees.  Some employers are concerned about not having direct contact with employees, which makes conducting performance appraisals more difficult.  Some employees also feel isolated because they do not personally interact as often with coworkers and superiors. Some organizations may feel unsure about allowing employees working at home, because when you have internet or computer issues, getting your system back up and running efficiently and effectively can be an issue. There can be a lot of wasted time trying to get your system back up and running and this can ultimately cost the company time and money.  MedEx employs over 100 medical billing specialist, therefore, it is important for all of their employees systems to be up and operating at all times. Their daily jobs are intense and consist of working on specific accounts, coding medical

The typical telecommuter as examined in Smeal School of Business’ analysis (Smeal: Research: Telecommuting A Win-Win For Employees And Employers 2007) was a manager or a professional from the information technology or sales and marketing department of a firm. While this example does still hold true, this is no longer the only company benefit. Estimates for providing office space for the typical knowledge worker run as high as $10,000 or more annually.(Wainhouse, Greenberg & Nillsen: Telework and the U.S. Federal Government: At the Tipping Point 2008) To further illustrate the extent to which telecommuting can be utilized, a local Casper branch of Energy Laboratories initiated telecommuting for lab analysts in 2008 to facilitate reporting of failures after-hours. While an analyst still needed to travel to the lab to restart an analytical run, without this in place, a run would remain stalled until the next business morning. Every area of expertise within our firm can benefit from this technology, and with that in mind, every client will benefit as well. What are the downsides for the company? For this pilot program to succeed, two major issues will need to be addressed: 1. Employees will need to maintain focus on the work or projects that need to be completed in a timely manner.

* Everyone is not cut out to be a remote worker. People who are self-starters, savvy with the computer and do not have many distractions are prone to do well with a telecommuting job. When interviewing someone for this position. It should be emphasized that distractions will not be tolerated. Also employees should have a place that is dedicated for their office.

Many businesses are now presenting the possibility for their personnel to work from home utilizing office material distributed by the company or the employees’ personal computers. This process is referred to as telecommuting, it permits a business to decrease its overhead prices by having fewer office spaces and using less utilities for everyday operation.

The freedom to telecommute with international employees remove geographical barriers to productivity and allows for schedule flexibility. To meet needs and function efficiently in an ill-defined hierarchy, these companies can change quickly by organizing expert employees in groups and giving them the decision-making authority. When employees manage, and coordinate their own projects, it fosters a sense of pride in the ability to change and meet the demands of the situation fostering a strong work ethic.

As more and more professionals seek a better work-life balance and more companies adopt flexible policies to accommodate shifting workplace priorities and realities the working from home option is becoming increasingly viable. Employees see this as an ideal means to remain in the workforce and continue to be employed thereby maintaining all the tangible benefits of being part of an established company, while enjoying all the advantages of being based at home. The option has its potential pitfalls however and below we discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of working from home.