This morning, my wife decided to stay home and telework. So for once, I had company in the morning. I did my writing in one room, and she set up base in another.
After waking up lazily and taking her time to get ready, she fired up her laptop, connected to her VPN and started doing exactly what she does in the office! Which made me wonder why more people don’t decide to do it. I realize that not all bosses will be happy, but surely that’s a question of their own inability to monitor work? I feel a good manager should be able to ensure that his or her subordinates get their work done no matter where they are.
From where I sit, here are some major advantages:
- Less hassle. No commuting stress
- Can save hours by not having to travel
- No money spent on travel
- Reduces fossil fuel emissions and helps the environment
- Creates less traffic congestion on the road
- Can get some more sleep
- Cheaper for the company. No office to maintain
- Fewer accidents
- Potentially more free time to enjoy or spend with your family
It seems like a win-win situation for everyone involved. So I don’t know why more people don’t take it up. Do bosses feel they will lose control? Do they feel that employees will slacken? In these days of virtual conferences, email, and mobile phones, why do we need to sit in a particular place and work? I can understand sales people needing to go out and do their stuff, but the vast majority of administrative staff and desk workers need not.
I feel that management of telcommuting employees will be easy with objectives based management where each person is allocated tasks for the day and deadlines for completion. As long as they meet them, it doesn’t matter where they sit and what they do.
Of course, some people like to go to work. Sometimes I myself miss the hussle and bussle of an office – but for me, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. What do you think?
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Some people simply cannot work from home, others will not want to. I personally find it depressing to not leave the house all day. Sangitha’s point about being on the job 24 hours is a concern as well. If we all work from home, then companies will probably require us to answer email at all time, where would the excuse be?
Furthermore, it will kill cities. I think I would rather die than live anywhere else but the city, the huslte and bustle makes me feel alive! A lot of that comes from the fact that people are at work during the day. Of course, some telework could be useful and help individuals who live far from work…….I’d rather that they sell there terrible suburban house, move to the city and take the subway to work!
In reply to Vincent
Welcome to my blog Vincent!
Most people don’t really have a choice about where they live. But I agree with you about the hustle and bustle of cities. I myself couldn’t live for long in a suburban area. But cities are necessary because of other reasons, and not just work. Convenience of walking to the local store is one big part of it. Certainly it doesn’t make too much sense to preserve the way of working just to have cities around :D