Grateful Separation

It's nice not having to move as many sandwiches in the refrigerator to fit your lunch in, and it's equally nice not having to make small talk with as many people at the coffee machine, or fight with quite as many people for a parking spot. So, telecommuting is pretty good. Beyond the creature comforts of more space, less people (I'm an introvert. Can you tell?), some say it's a good way to retain up-and-coming executives and Boomers ready to retire. I think there could be some truth to that.

Telecommuting equates in my mind with a chance to be more lazy, and where there's a chance to be more lazy, I'd say there's a chance for motivation. Who doesn't (truly) want to be more lazy?  Sure, you say, look at all the productivity being accomplished in the quiet isolation of my dining room table with no one around but Captain Jack the tabby cat?  And, I'd say that can be true, and I wouldn't argue as long as your work output illustrated your argument. And, more importantly, I wouldn't care how little or how much you worked during the day as long as your assignments got finished in a timely, high-quality manner. Unfortunately, though, not everyone is as erudite as I.

There's a lot of interpersonal pettiness in offices, as shocking as that may be. So with the increase in telecommuting, I'll bet there's an increase in snide comments about the telecommuter. A woman I used to work with loved to telecommute, and one of my co-workers would often greet her over the phone by asking  for an update on that day's Oprah Winfrey Show. It turned out she wasn't the world's best workplace performer, so she was eventually pressured to leave anyway, but I think the attitude of my co-worker was typical of what even diligent telecommuters will experience. My old boss, for instance, was a nearly full-time telecommuter who happened also to be a bona fide workaholic. Despite the fact that we'd often receive e-mails from her sent at two or three in the morning, there was resentment about her "luxurious" online lifestyle. Never mind that when she came into the office for her one-or two-days-a-week appearance she looked anything but relaxed. There was still that old, nagging suspicion that she was pulling something very sneaky off.

So as you launch your clever telecommuting plan (cost savings in office space, more flexibility for employees, more room in the refrigerator...etc...), consider the morale issues of those left behind in florescent-lit cubicles and an hour commute two times a day. One solution that might pop into your head is offering the mobility plan to everyone so there's no resentment, but is that really going to work?  I think it could for some businesses, but for many others I imagine it really wouldn't. We're all perfectly connected in Cyberspace, but a physical office where people can collaborate face-to-face is handy, as is having a place to greet visitors to your company. How professional is it to greet new business partners in the local Starbucks or, better yet, on your living room sofa next to Captain Jack?  I trust you'll get out of your bathrobe for the occasion, but still.

Therefore, the biggest hurdle is deciding who gets to telecommute, and making it clear you'll rescind telecommuting privileges if they're not doing their job well, or you'll just get rid of them the same as you would if they were office-based and not  adequately performing. Next, you have to decide what to tell the workers left behind. As they tough it out in all their cubicle glory, with their boss home most days in seeming domestic splendor, how do you soothe them?  It's easier than usual in that case to imagine the boss as the one who gives the orders, focusing much more on "delegation" than that strange thing they call "work."

Along with creating a structured telecommuting program with checks in place for the telecommuter, offering a collaborative meeting space online is handy. It might be that all the collaboration can be done within your e-mail system; for others of you a semi-sophisticated collaboration tool that accommodates live meetings, ongoing strategizing, and peer-to-peer feedback is a good idea.

Of course there may be some hesitancy on the part of telecommuters to incorporate live, online meetings if a Webcam is involved, so maybe you'll choose to forego the visuals. After all who really wants to see the backstage persona of your top performers?  I think I'll gladly leave their time on the couch with Captain Jack to my imagination.

What's your telecommuting strategy?  Do you have one, or have you decided mobility just isn't the right solution for your company?

Comments

[Jacqueline Durett]

Margery, I completely respect your opinion and feel you have laid out your argument very articulately here, but I must disagree.

I know that I'm in the minority on this, but I think there are so many negatives to telecommuting. If you have children, an ailing parent, or another situation that truly impedes your ability to work in an office, then sure, by all means, go home. But to the rest of the workforce, all I can say is: Go to work!

As part of a company, you are, contrary to popular belief, not just there to do your job. The world is not all about you and your marketing report. You have a larger obligation to be part of a company community. To be friendly with and a resource to others. I'm not saying you have to be everyone's--or anyone's--best friend, but you DO have to be a part of the company culture. You have an obligation to be part of the reason others want to be there. Dust bunnies dancing around cubicles do not make a place inviting for prospective hires.

The other issue is advancement. If your CEO works from home, by all means, leave your company this instant. An engaged workforce is communicating face to face, and a manager manages people in person. The cliche "Out of sight, out of mind" still lingers in the vernacular for a reason.

In short, there's a reason that office building downtown is called work and a reason why that room in your house called a living room. They are not meant to be interchanged. There are a lot of perks that come with being a professional: higher salaries foremost among them. Why does the white-collar workforce get to enjoy yet ANOTHER privilege? To those who complain that they don't want to be beholden to strict hours or whatever the reason du jour is for justifying working in your jammies, I say: Quit whining.

So put on some real clothes, get in your car, and stop thinking you're better than everyone else. If we treated work like the community that it is, the idea of telecommuting would never have grown into this entitlement-laden behemoth.

[Brian P.]

As someone who goes into his office as little as possible, I have to disagree with my friend Jackie. First, you have no responsibility to your employer other than to do your job effectively. I happen to work for an employer that allows people to work from home regularly, to the point where there are people who works for us full-time and don't live anywhere near our offices in NY and San Francisco. And here's the thing - no one minds because they are effective at what they do. In that type of environment, there is no resentment of people who work outside of the office. Telecommuting has taken off because the Internet has given us a new level of connectivity that makes it possible for people such as myself to do the bulk of their work without being physically present in the office. Now I should add that telecommuting is not conducive to every situation, and should not be allowed if there is no effective way to measure how well the person is doing unless they can be physically observered or there is any suspicious the person truly is slacking off. Then again, I did take time out of my day to post on this blog, so maybe I shouldn't talk... :)