Telecommuting not so great for those left in office

While telecommuting may decrease stress and boost morale, it may have the opposite effect on those left behind in the office, study shows.

The story "Telecommuting not so great for those left in office" published January 11, 2008 at 9:05 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[Penguinisto]

Not always true...

Personally, I find it far easier to maintain/build servers and networks when there aren't so many people physically around to bug and distract me.

It also means more physical space to stretch out in... Compressed cubes become full-sized ones, and my cube turned into a hard-walled office.

I'm sure the same happens elsewhere as well. The savings also means that departments can spring for bennies to boost morale among those who still slog it in: a play area (yes, we have one now), freebie soda/coffee/tea, a chance to park oneself in a conference room instead of a cube (conf. calls are usually done from the desk now), things like that. :)

/P

[taphilo]

Those Left Behind Get Assignments

The person who did the study missed out a basic fact - those who are around get assigned more work that can only be done in the office. The people left in the office are the only ones there that CAN perform work - people at home cannot jump up and attend a meeting, go look at equipment, trace wires, look in (oh no!) file cabinet and other tasks that require physical presence. Thus, people left in the office get all these assignments and build resentment. Human nature.

Tom Philo
http://www.taphilo.com

[RompStar_420]

u need a gallery

You should consider installing the PhotoGallery software on your web site, since you are a photographer. It connects and works with a database and is highly custamizable, you can install all kinds of modules, it's neat.

You can also create your own watermark for copyright and have that applied to the photos that you upload and if you have a lot of photos, you can do a batch upload as well using a utility program. Otherwise you control everything though the web browser.

Check it out: http://gallery.menalto.com/

[Get_Bent]

Not an option for many IT people

For those people who have to maintain the computer systems -- servers, routers, etc. -- working from home is not an option (or at best, a very infrequent option). Someone has to be on hand to fix problems with the equipment, just so the telecommuters can get their work done. If you're at home and switch needs to have its power cycled to reboot, you end up going in to the office anyway. Or even worse, you're required to make "house calls" to fix your coworkers' machines....

[drhamad]

I hate telecommuting

As somebody that worked at IBM for 8 years, and telecommuted most of them, I agree with this story entirely. When I was in the office, it was simply depressing. More, I saw time and again how the people that were in the office got all the stress, because they were the ones you called to say "hey could you do this for me." It gave me little incentive to ever want to go to the office, and for the company as a whole, I felt like it was counterproductive. But sure, it saves them money on office space. I guess.

Having the flexibility to work from home is nice. But regularly working from home is drain.

[beardiethor]

Left Corporate America With A Smile

I left C.A. 12 years ago with a smile and never looked back. I work at home in my jogging suit and drink Starbucks and for a long time did not make a lot of income, of course, but now, make more than I did, much more, than when I was there. I don't think that is a healthy environment for some, and of course, others thrive on it.

Sincerely,

Rick
www.londonstimes.us

[Mr_Good_Man]

Good Question, Bad Survey

It's a good question, but surveying 240 workers in one middle sized company doesn't necessarily translate. A wider sample group with more questions would be needed.

Not sure that one companies corporate culture should influence the rest of the worlds.

[chucklw]

Validity of Conclusions in Research Findings Questioned by Telework Coaliti

After reviewing the Study ?Telecommuting May Harm Workers Left Behind in the Office? conducted by Timothy Golden, associate professor in the Lally School of Management & Technology at Rensselaer, we question the validity of his research and quite frankly are surprised that it was released. Drawing conclusions on a study based on ?a couple hundred people from a single company?, may say more about that company?s policies and procedures, or lack thereof, than teleworking. How can anyone perform a study with his only source of data being one medium size company and imply that his conclusions are valid for any other organization?

In 2006 we, The Telework Coalition, conducted a Telework Benchmarking study of 13 large organizations with mature telework programs. In it we asked about the attitudes of those employees who did not telework. Both our study and two previously conducted studies by other organizations in which there were multiple participants showed that the non teleworking coworkers were both enthusiastically supportive and felt teleworking was good for the organization, or at the least, the situation was a non issue.

In Mr. Golden?s study none of the distributed work program?s many benefits are measured, compared, or contrasted with the grumblings from 'those left behind'. We have seen more employers concerned with transit strikes, the possibility of a bird flu pandemic, terrorism, recruiting and retention issues, rising gas prices, faltering transportation infrastructures, etc. than the negatives alluded to by Mr. Golden.

Were there no positives in this company?s telework program? Was there top-level support, written policies and procedures, and processes, selection criteria based on the employee and job, a communication plan (so everyone is the ?loop?), training, and program evaluation (to identify/resolve any start up issues). Did this company follow these steps?

So many questions, and yet so few answers from Dr. Golden's research.

The Telework Coalition
Washington, DC
www.TelCoa.org
[e-mail]