The Arguments in Favor of and Against Telecommuting - Case Study Example

Arguments For and Against Teleworking Introduction The terms telework and telecommuting are used interchangeably in the vast amount of literature on the subject, and in order to understand the benefits and disadvantages of doing telework or being a telecommuter, a clear definition of the concept is required. Telecommuting is best defined as any arrangement that allows an employee to work from another location, usually at home, rather than in his or her employer’s place of business. (GAO, 2001) What makes this possible, of course, is the use of telecommunications technology, particularly the Internet, which allows people to have the same communications tools they use in the office in almost any other location. (Mokhtarian and Salomon, 1996) So telework, then, is just another way to describe what a telecommuter does. For people not fluent in trendy business jargon, it would probably simply mean work, but it does have the important distinction of not being done in a place traditionally associated with work. Most telecommuters work in their homes, but not all home workers are telecommuters; people who own and operate their own business from home are not telecommuters. In the same vein, other workers who are technically telecommuters, such as travelling salesmen, people who are employed full-time by companies in other parts of the world – journalists, for example – and others who move frequently and work in temporary locations, are not usually counted among those doing telework. (Walls and Safirova, 2004) Telecommuting is an alternative to travelling to an office, and that is also an important part of the definition, which is: When the same work that is normally or could be done in an employer’s place of business is done somewhere else, it becomes telework, and the person who is doing it becomes a telecommuter. With that definition in mind, this paper will explore some of the arguments in favour of and against telecommuting. The benefits of telecommuting that are most often cited are reduced stress on employees, increased productivity, and more flexibility for families. (Mokhtarian and Salomon, 1996, and Citrix, 2007) In addition, there is credible evidence to suggest that telework reduces vehicle use and emissions. (Walls and Safirova, 2004) On the other hand, telecommuting also raises some problematic issues. Labour and employment laws and tax regulations often do not adequately address telework circumstances, and telecommuting can also raise issues of employee supervision and protection of sensitive data. (GAO, 2001) There are also practical concerns about technology, since telework cannot be done without secure and reliable broadband Internet access. (Song, Orazem, and Singh, 2006) Personal issues such as motivations for telecommuting and a productive work environment must also be considered. (Gilbert, 2008) And finally, there are legitimate reasons to question how much telecommuting actually helps the environment by keeping workers at home and out of their cars. Arguments Favouring Teleworking The balance between employees’ needs to care for their families with employers’ needs to have productive workers is regularly cited as one of the major benefits of telework. Telecommuting is considered the most “family-friendly” arrangement for employees, better than alternatives such as flexible work hours, maternity or other family leave, or employer-sponsored child-care arrangements. (Mayo, et al., 2008) From the employee’s perspective, telecommuting can improve morale and reduce stress. From the employer’s perspective, allowing employees to telework can help attract and retain good employees, improve productivity, and reduce costs due to lost work time for family or other personal matters. (Citrix, 2007) Another significant benefit of telework is the reduction in vehicle use, which also results in lower air pollution levels. A specific study of this subject was conducted in five American cities between June 2001 and February 2004 with a total of 535 participants. The average reduction in VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and NOx (Nitrous Oxides) per day was found to be between 0.120-0.142 pounds and 0.105-0.124 pounds respectively. (Walls and Nelson, 2004) Those do not seem to be large amounts but they are definite reductions, and so the argument is apparently correct. In addition, telecommuters also seem to use their vehicles slightly less for travel unrelated to work, although the reasons for this are not really clear. (Walls and Safirova, 2004) Apart from the reduction in emissions, telecommuting also saves money. The 2001-2004 study found that the average commute distance to work in the US was 22.4 miles. (Walls and Nelson, 2004) 2005 figures from the American Automobile Association estimated the cost of operating a vehicle at 56.1 cents per mile. (Citrix, 2007) Those figures suggest a rough estimate of $25.13 per day as the cost of commuting by car. By comparison, the average UK driver’s commute is 8.7 miles (13.9 kilometres), at an average cost of 20 pence per mile (12.5 p/km) (WorkWiseUK, 2008, and The Automobile Association, 2009), which works out to around £3.48 per day. The arguments favouring telework are sensible. Staying at home and working instead of driving to the office will obviously save money and reduce pollution, and these results have been confirmed through testing. Reductions in work time lost due to commuting can probably also be tested as well. Other factors such as benefits for families, better employee morale and productivity, and recruiting advantages for employers who can offer a telework alternative may be difficult or impossible to prove, but they seem to make sense. There are, however, a number of compelling arguments against teleworking that present reasons for not telecommuting that are just as sensible as the reasons for doing it. Arguments Against Teleworking Perhaps the biggest obstacle to telework is technology. It is considered axiomatic that telework requires broadband Internet access, but not everybody or every place is equipped with a suitably reliable system. (Gilbert, 2008) This is particularly apparent in rural areas, which in general are not covered as completely by broadband networks as urban and suburban areas. A study done in the US in 2005 found that this was the main reason rural inhabitants were less likely to telecommute than city-dwellers. (Song, Orazem, and Singh, 2006) This diminishes the other benefits of telecommuting, such as emissions reduction, because the people with the longest distances to travel to work are the ones least likely to telecommute. This study contradicts a different study which found rural dwellers more likely to work at home than urban residents, but the focus of that research was in Southern California, where broadband coverage is extremely high and not really a factor in most peoples’ choices. (Walls, Safirova, and Jiang, 2006) Another related issue is privacy and security. The assumption is that telecommuters use their own computers for telework, and it is also assumed that employers have a right to monitor their employees’ work-related activity both for supervisory purposes and to maintain the security of their companies’ systems and data. (GAO, 2001, and Song, Orazem, and Singh, 2006) Unless the employee’s computer is connected to the office through a secure network or intranet – not likely, considering what the cost of several kilometres’ worth of LAN cable would be – connection through the Internet adds another layer of security exposure risk. And then there is the matter of privacy for the employee. On a computer in the office, it is considered normal and sensible for an employer to have access to monitor employees’ activities. But if the computer used for work belongs to the employee, he should not be obliged to allow his employer to have access to personal files that are unrelated to his job. Both the rights of security and privacy must be upheld, and the difficulty in doing this may be enough to prevent teleworking. Legal and regulatory issues such as taxes and workplace health and safety laws are also raised as obstacles to telecommuting. Tax jurisdiction is not as big an issue in the UK as it is in the US, where much of the tax law – as well as unemployment compensation and workers’ injury insurance – is determined by the individual states, a confusing problem when the employer and employee are in different states. For example, the issue of which state is responsible for paying unemployment insurance has had to be decided in court. (GAO, 2001) But in both countries there is a question of how – or even if – workplace health and safety laws should be applied to peoples’ homes, when those homes are also workplaces. Although issues are gradually being clarified, most of the applicable laws predate the present era of technology that makes telework possible. (GAO, 2001) There are also personal issues and conflicts that could make telework impossible. Naturally, not all jobs are suitable for telecommuting, nor are all workers. People who are easily distracted either by external distractions such as children or other family members, or internal distractions such as the urge to update the Facebook page and check the latest YouTube videos are not good teleworkers. At the other extreme, people who have a difficult time setting limits on their work time and remembering the “home” part of “home office” risk high stress and burnout. Managers can have problems with telework as well. Those who are not comfortable with or skilled at supervising people remotely or have trouble maintaining an appropriate level of communication can scuttle a teleworking arrangement just as quickly as an unsuitable employee. (Gilbert, 2008) Conclusion Teleworking, which is best defined as doing work at home or from some other remote location as an alternative to working in a traditional office or shop setting, has rational arguments both for and against its wider use. It can offer opportunities to employees with family or distance constraints, and in same regard, offer employers more choices in recruiting good people. For people who are suited to the teleworking lifestyle, it can improve morale and increase their creativity and productivity. The flexibility permitted by telecommuting can also have a positive financial effect on employers by reducing the amount of lost work time. Telecommuting is clearly a money-saver for employees because of the costs of vehicle operation that are eliminated. And while the larger benefits depend on how many people telework, removing commuter vehicles from the road has been shown to definitely reduce emissions levels. But there are also clear pitfalls to teleworking. Successfully connecting a remote employee to the office requires reliable broadband Internet service, and if this is not available, telework is difficult if not impossible. Doing work over publicly-accessible networks can also pose a security risk, and the common teleworking practise of letting employees work and play on their own computers raises serious matters of employer monitoring and employee privacy. Laws addressing matters of taxation and employee health and safety may not adequately protect employees and employers in a teleworking arrangement. And finally, some people may simply be unable to telecommute, due to their personalities, work habits, or the nature of their jobs. In the final analysis, the arguments in favour of teleworking outweigh the arguments against it. It is a matter of simple reasoning; factors such as the reduction in vehicle emissions and reduced vehicle costs have effects that might vary in scale, but cannot be refuted. And the subjective benefits to employees and employers – more flexibility for families, less stress, and greater productivity – may not be experienced by everyone involved in teleworking, but they cannot be shown to be false. On the other hand, while the arguments against telework are legitimate obstacles, they are simply problems that must be solved. Even the issue of personalities, which is probably the most difficult obstacle for some people to overcome, is not something that affects everyone. And for at least some of those who are susceptible to distractions or have trouble managing time effectively, training and education can help. The constantly-growing reach of high-speed Internet and the growing recognition of telework as a realistic working arrangement make telecommuting possible. The stresses of an unhealthy economy and the need to lessen Man’s impact on the environment make telecommuting necessary. As the key problems that make telecommuting difficult are solved, there will be fewer and fewer reasons for companies not to make it part of the way they do business. Works Cited The Automobile Association. (2009) Petrol car running costs – basic guide for 2008. [Internet] Available from: [Accessed 15 March 2009] Citrix Online. (2007) Get Off the Road and Go Online. Fact Sheet, 27 March 2007. [Internet] Available from: [Accessed 13 March 2009] General Accounting Office (GAO). (2001) Telecommuting: Overview of Potential Barriers Facing Employers. Report GAO-01-926, July 2001. [Internet] Available from: [Accessed 12 March 2009] Gilbert, Jody. (2008) 10 signs that you aren’t cut out to be a telecommuter. TechRepublic, 7 January 2008. [Internet] Available from: [Accessed 11 March 2009] Mayo, Margarita, Pastor, Juan Carlos, Gómez-Mejía, Luis, and Cruz, Cristina. (2008) Contextual Factors and Contingent Reward Leadership: Employer Adoption of Telecommuting. 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