Telecommuting, a Solution to Employee Morale and Retention Issues

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

Employers allow telecommuting for many reasons, including the ability to recruit better talent, decrease overhead expenses, increase productivity, expand the employee base to include those with disabilities (Anderson, Bricout & West, 2001; Lipin, 2010; Myungjung & So Hee, 2017), and to support

Justification 
The Bay Area is a traffic nightmare. The option to take public transportation, the CalTrain, for example, is a huge benefit and saves time and money. Telecommuting is also a great way to avoid the hassles of traffic and provide a flexible work schedule. Autonomy goes hand in hand with Telecommuting, with allowing people to have a flexible schedule. Also, it fosters a feeling of trust and encourages productivity and creativity.

Telecommuting is not a very new idea; in the past customer care services have been done through

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.

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

According to Hess (2014), employers’ benefit from the cost saving from not maintaining large office buildings to house their employees and the employees benefit from saving money on travel, meals, and in some instances child care. Hess (2014) goes further and says that distractions usually found in a typical office environment (i.e. phone calls, office conversations, and the like) promotes more efficient work. Although there are inherent positives for the employer, there are also inherent negatives that a manager must face in order to promote a good work environment for the company and for the remote employee. Fallon (2014) gives four challenges that a manager faces managing remote employees. The challenges of Communication, Tracking Productivity, Employee Trust, and providing a Unified Company Culture are the four main issues that Fallon

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.

The company will save on heating, cooling and lighting. The lesser employees that are in the building the lesser the energy consumption will be. By telecommuting to work instead of using the traditional methods, companies have a great potential to save energy.

As far as innovation, institutions can implement innovative approaches, such as telecommuting. In telecommuting, “employees can carry out their regular work activities from the privacy of their own home” (Lazar, et al., 2010). In the Healthcare Clinic, telecommuting can be applied so that nurse practitioners can perform uncompleted task at the privacy of their own home. This may reduce the toll of working long hours and receive compensation while working at home. The other advantages of telecommuting are that it reduces “commuting time, to be able to work in a less disruptive and stressful environment, reduce work-related expenses, and most importantly, allows the employees to organize their work around their family and personal needs”

* 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.

In order to gain a competitive edge, the employee must understand the influences which have a direct effect on their abilities to telework. These include autonomy, flexibility, minimal distractions, lack of commute, and cost saving, allowing the employee to cover the distance by utilizing communication (Schulte, 2015). With high-speed internet communication available throughout the world, including remote areas, it’s easier for virtual face to face meetings to happen, eliminating the need for the physical office meetings.

Unfortunately, the prompt did not specify how well telecommuting had been working for the firm before asking for suggestions. Hypothetically we will say that the percentage of productivity for off site workers was equally as high as on site. A company would have a difficult time if everyone telecommutes, however, it would be wise to allow some flexibility in work schedules. The tech firm could include temporary off site work as well. For example, allowing an employee with a cold to work at home or if a deadline is pressing and a staff member works better at home. If the company executives decide to allow a