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8 August 2007
The Man Should Lighten Up- Datamation
Today's global economy increasingly rewards nimbleness, adaptability and the leveraging of technology. Which are among the reasons that telecommuting -- with its numerous time, cost and talent-pool benefits -- has become more popular in recent years.
Yet far too many business executives remain incredibly reluctant to let employees telecommute. Why?
A rhetorical question, of course. We all know the answer: The Man doesn't trust us.
This recent Telecommuting Survey by software vendor Intranet DASHBOARD, written about on Intranet Journal here, reiterates the point quite clearly. Seventy percent of respondents to the U.S.-based survey reported being restricted from telecommuting. And the main reason? The Man.
More specifically, The Man's inherent suspicion that any employee not herded into a webcam'd cubicle plantation during the workday is goofing off somewhere, even if just for a few minutes.
Well, some of us are. And some of us are working. Ironically, that's exactly what's going on in the cubicle plantations. There are people working, and there are people who just look like they're working. They check their email every two minutes, they call their mother, they visit espn.com to catch up on the West Coast scores.
Newsflash for The Man: It doesn't really matter where you are, it matters that you produce.
Are there legitimate concerns about telecommuting? Sure. Productivity can be one of them. So measure it and shut up. Another is document safety. Laptop users who like to work from Starbucks can cause some genuine security issues, such as transmitting sensitive corporate documents over an unsecure network. There's also the bonding factor; seeing the people you work with every day, being part of onsite teams, catching up with corporate gossip, these all have real value that telecommuters miss out on. As a longtime telecommuter, I know this.
But by focusing on the downsides of telework, wary executives deprive their organizations of telecommuting's many advantages. First and foremost is as a tool to retain talent. The Internet Dashboard survey found that 83 percent of respondents say their staff view teleworking as a perk or incentive, and 65 percent of respondents said flexible schedules were more important for motivating and keeping staff than higher salary and bonuses, stock options and other equity incentives, and gifts and reward programs.
Did you hear that, The Man? Nearly two-thirds of respondents say their workers would be happier telecommuting than being given more money. Not exactly sticking it to you, is it?
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