The Good and Bad of Telecommuting

The good and bad of telecommuting

Telecommuting may be the movement of the future, which will allow more people to work away from the office. Many people see telecommuting as a way to be close to home or allow them to be connected to their organization while working abroad. While telecommuting might work for some people, telecommuting is not for everyone. There are many disadvantages; as well advantages to telecommuting which most people do not take into account. When considering telecommuting, the advantages fall for both employer and employee. The same can be said about the disadvantages of telecommuting.

Advantages of Telecommuting

One of the main driving factors for any company is economics and how will telecommuting allow the corporation to be profitable. The primary saving for companies embarking upon the telecommuting concept is the reduction in the amount of office space required to conduct business. Telecommuting benefits the employer because they have an expanded pool of employees. The skills of employees with commuting difficulties, childcare conflict, disabilities, geographical barriers are made available to a telecommuting employer. Companies are now starting to expanding oversees where the labor price is cheaper for telecommuting. This however can be looked at as both an advantage to the employer, and as a disadvantage to the employee.

The advantage of telecommuting for some employees can be invaluable. One huge advantage an employee has when telecommuting is flexibility. Telecommuting allows for increased flexibility to coordinate work schedules with personal and family priorities. Flexible working arrangements improve quality and work done (Dudman, 2001). Achieving a balance between work and personal duties can help individuals gain more control over their lives.

Often overlooked is the impact telecommuting has on the environment. One great advantage for the environment is the conservation of energy. With a great deal of energy is required to produce a vast amount of transportation vehicles such as automobiles, buses and subways. The fuel required to operate these vehicles would be reduced. An employee also is also a great consumer of energy, once at an office, the office building has heating, cooling, and lighting needs. When magnified, the energy use can be great. Whereas working from home requires only a minimal amount of energy use for heating, cooling, and lighting needs. For every advantage, most of the time there are disadvantages associated with it.

Disadvantages of Telecommuting

One huge disadvantage that employers face with the use of telecommuting is losing direct control over the employees. One of the biggest problems for managers and staff involved with telecommuting is how to monitor the work done by employees (Dudman, 2001). Managers find it easier to monitor the level of work done employees in the office and would not have to worry if an employee would work as hard at home as he or she would in an office setting. When employers look at telecommuting as a new median for expanding