Written by: Yutaka
Categoly: Reserch Paper
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Telecommuting Revolution

What would you do if your company assigned you a telecommuting job? Once copy machines were not common in offices, and fax machines were postal mail. A decade ago, no one expected to be using computers in their offices; but now people can hardly do their work without those kinds of modern equipment. Throughout history, new technologies have always transformed into new devices, which have given people convenience and revolution. In the same fashion, recent technologies development has expanded telecommuting for most kinds of jobs. As a matter of fact, about 20 million people telecommute from their home at least once a month in the U.S. (“Paradigm for the new economy” online). The phenomenon of telecommuting is caused by the development of personal computers accompanied with network technologies, and many employees and employers like the idea. As telecommuting is largely accepted, it results in some beneficial effects, such as high productivity and high flexibility. However, some problems are emerging. They are self-discipline issues, health and safety issues, and computer security issues.

Telecommuting has become possible because of the development of computer technologies and the spread of the broadband network. In many offices, personal computers have replaced handwriting and calculations with word processing and spreadsheet entries. The development of personal computers is changing people’s working styles. Nowadays, many people face computer screens for most of their workdays. This fact makes it possible for people to work at home because as long as they face computers, where they work does not matter. Shuste states that the increased power of personal computers is one technology which is fueling the trend of telecommuting (online).

The prevalence of high-speed networks is also necessary to enable telecommuting. Kosan states, “Compared with the agonizingly slow modems of yesteryear, using the cable modem is like being on a telecommuting express lane” (online). The cable modem is an apparatus which accelerates network speed. Because of high-speed networks, people can now transfer large files in a reasonably short time. Shuste describes that the breakthrough comes from shortened transfer time; high-speed networks enable downloads of large files in minutes or seconds, whereas it took hours before (online).

Telecommuting has emerged through the development of personal computers, and many employees like the idea of telecommuting. “Almost two out of five Canadians like the idea of telework….and four out of five workers assigned to telework say they like it” (“Telework Benefits All” online). But what makes them want to work at home? The reasons people want to telecommute vary. They might want to eliminate their superfluous commuting time, spend more time with their families, or get up a little bit later. For example, Garland writes that she started telecommuting because she wanted to take care of her 5-year-old daughter (online). These are common reasons, but they are not all of them. In Hefner’s case, she chose telecommuting because she was diagnosed with an illness that required her to stay in hospital for a month; she also needed 6 months of rehabilitation (Wilde online). Although reasons are different individually, most employees like telecommuting.

Not only employees but also employers have adopted telecommuting. Because of the tight market of technical labor and the low rate of unemployment, keeping talented workers is becoming more difficult for many companies. Wilde claims that telecommuting helps companies to hire and retain top-class workers while avoiding outrageous salaries and raises (online). However, other employers see telecommuting as a way of saving office space. Liu, a president of a small design company, allows his employees to work from their homes and meet at a rented space only when necessary. That way, the company can reduce office fees and offer competitive prices for its products and services (Shuste online). Employers choose telecommuting because it gives them competitive advantages.

As telecommuting becomes largely accepted by both employees and employers, it results in some positive effects, such as high productivity, high flexibility, and environmental advantages. Contrary to many managers who imagine employees lazily working at home, telecommuting increases employees’ productivity in most cases. Stinson insists, “[AT&T] found that [their] salespeople working at home had sales boosts of 20% to 40%” (Dobrian online). Similarly, Kosan states that telecommuters’ productivities are 22% to 45% higher than non-telecommuters’ ones (online). If telecommuting raises productivity, what makes it different? In AT&T’s case, Stinson believes that telecommuting employees visited their customers more often instead of sitting at their desks and had fewer distractions and intramural meetings (Dobrian online). In general, Bennet analyses the advantages of telecommuting and states that employees who work at home have fewer interruptions and lose less time due to commuting. Furthermore, they experience less stress because they gain more inspirations at home and can enjoy the comforts of their homes, such as relaxed clothing and time to refresh themselves (online). These advantages are considered the reasons of high productivity.

Telecommuting also increases flexibility of working style. Benett describes, “I walk about 10 feet to my desk – sometimes still wearing my bathrobe. Now and then in the middle of the night, I wake up and go do some work” (online). The flexibility allows people to do some errands without wasting a day, unlike office employees who have to take holidays to do their errands. Moreover, people can take walks to refresh themselves when they are tired of their work or pick their children up from school. In fact, “the main advantage [of telecommuting] is the great flexibility that affords to coordinate their work schedules with personal and family responsibilities”  (“Telework Benefits All” online).

Apart from the benefits for employers and employees, telecommuting brings environmental advantages. Reduced consumption of paper is obvious evidence. Taylor points out that although the idea of a totally paperless office has failed, telecommuting and online trading systems are reducing paper consumption by millions of tons (online). According to a study, the Internet, which is commonly used for telecommuting, will decrease worldwide paper needs about 2.7 million tons per year by 2003 (Taylor online). Reduction of paper consumption results in preservation of forests, that is, telecommuting is contributing to keep natural environment healthy.

In the same fashion, telecommuting results in efficient energy consumption and less air pollution. Since telecommuters usually work at home, they do not drive a car or ride on a bus to commute to companies’ offices. Therefore, they save fuel resulting in efficient energy consumption and do not produce exhaust gas leading to air pollution. Research inserted in the London Times asserts that reducing the cost of highway construction, traffic congestion, energy consumption, and pollution alone can be good reasons to promote telecommuting (“Thelework Benefits All” online). Thus, telecommuting has environmental advantages.

Although telecommuting has been growing rapidly, it creates some problems that people have to consider. The first problem is the difficulty of establishing self-discipline. Because telecommuters work at home alone without being supervised, they need more control of themselves. The problem is not only laziness but also overworking. Because their work is always there, they can work at any time. Lord reveals that the biggest occupational problem for telecommuters is finding time to take a rest (online).

Distraction is another thing that requires self-discipline. Although telecommuters have fewer distractions, there are still some. Telecommuters might face crying babies, barking dogs, calls from their friends, or their neighbors’ visits while working. Bennett questions whether telecommuters should answer private calls, refuse neighbors, or do laundry while working (online). They need to set priorities that determine what they should do while they are working at home.

The second problem is the inadequate qualities of home offices. Companies’ offices are designed and regulated to protect employees’ health and safety. Enough light, ergonomic chairs and desks, wide alleys between desks, gently sloped stairs, and notices of emergency exits are advantages of companies’ offices. However, when it comes to home offices, there are no standards. The working environment at home is fairly dependent on the employees’ houses and their attitudes to improve them. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a section of the U.S. Labor Department that supervises working environments, insists that employers are responsible for identifying the possible hazards in home offices and eliminating hazards by providing training, safety tools, or other controls (Olson online).

However, regulating the home working environment is not easy because it involves financial issues and privacy issues. Most employers do not want to repair their employees’ broken stairs. Similarly, most employees do not want to have periodical inspections at home by employers. Therefore, the OSHA’s letter that explains home office requirements caused controversial arguments, and the employers’ responsibilities for telecommuting employees’ working environment became ambiguous (“Making Sense Out Of OSHA Home Office Requirements” online). Nevertheless, some guidelines are needed to protect employees’ health and safety. Herman, Labor Secretary of the U.S. claims, “[A] proposed ergonomics standard …will spare 300,000 workers painful and potentially disabling injuries and save $9 billion annually in workers’ compensation and other direct costs” (McClenahen online).

The third problem is the security of computers and networks. Most telecommuters use the Internet as a way of transferring data between their homes and companies’ offices. However, the Internet is not a secure place. Siepmann emphasizes that malicious hackers could hack into personal computers without warning (online). Once they get into personal computers, they can steal corporate information or destroy important files just as a prank. One solution for these kinds of intrusions is installing personal firewalls, which protect personal computers from network attacks. Howard notes that “some companies are now making [personal firewalls] mandatory for telecommuters” (Harrison online).

Although malicious hackers attack computer systems, computer viruses are more widespread threats for telecommuters. Computer viruses are contagious programs that affect computers in negative ways. For example, viruses can destroy files, display meaningless messages, or send dummy e-mail to friends. Siepmann reports that creating viruses for Microsoft products which support macros, commands that control applications, is not difficult (online). Therefore, everyday many new viruses are being created. Installing anti-virus software is a pragmatic defense to reduce the risk of infection although it is not a complete solution. Siepmann remarks that “a virus scanner should be installed on every [personal computer]” (online). To sum up, security issues are inevitable for a successful telecommuting.

Telecommuting, which has emerged through the prevalence of personal computers, has some beneficial effects although it also has some problems. The developed technologies of computers and networks have made telecommuting possible for many types of jobs. Employees and employers have reasons to choose it. Telecommuting contributes to productivity and flexibility, and it has environmental advantages. As many people adopt telecommuting, some problems, such as self-discipline issues, health and safety issues, and security issues, are revealed. However, telecommuting will be more largely accepted because more people are finding advantages in it: “So as the advantages of this new approach to work become more widely known, it is likely to become much more common” (“Telework Benefits All” online).

 

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