August - September 2001

Telecommuting: Policies and Perils 

by George F. McClure

Perhaps with the exception of a few areas, it's taking workers longer and longer to get to and from work. Commuting times are on the rise; the average commute in the United States currently stands at 24 minutes each way, with many areas reporting significantly higher travel times. In light of this, many of today's workers would welcome the opportunity to work from home, or telecommute.

According to Census 2000 survey data, four million U.S. workers — 3.2 percent of the workforce over age 16 — telecommuted in 2000. Proponents of this alternative work arrangement claim the numbers are much higher, since some workers have flexible schedules that allow them to split work time between home and the office. These supporters place the number of U.S. telecommuters at about 18 percent.

Can it Work?

A 1999 survey cosponsored by AT&T found that almost half of the workforce could do some teleworking, if given the opportunity. The survey projected annual teleworker productivity gains of $1,850 and reduced absenteeism savings of $2,000. In addition, Maryland, Virginia and other states have listed telecommuting as a way to reduce the need for new roads and mass transit improvements and address the environmental concerns associated with growing automobile use. In fact, Virginia Representative Frank Wolf has introduced legislation that would offer incentives to businesses that promote the telecommuting option. Wolf, whose Northern Virginia district has long been plagued by commuter-traffic woes, claims telecommuting would help save millions in transportation costs, and would ease some of the traffic and associated environmental problems that commuting now causes.

Many companies already have telecommuting policies in place; some even have training programs for such remote-work arrangements. Further, tips on telecommuting and on preparing proposals for seeking a telecommuting agreement are available on the Internet. But in spite of the notion that eliminating your commute would be ideal, should you do it?

Consider the liabilities and policies as well as the advantages and disadvantages related to telecommuting before hanging up those driving gloves.

Rules, Regs, and Other Policies

• Your employer maintains some responsibility for your home office. Although not required to inspect it, your company must include any work-related mishaps you experience at home in its compilation of accident statistics for the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA).

• You may forfeit a measure of privacy when you work at home. Understandably, companies are concerned about the security of their computer networks and may want to monitor your home setup. If you connect through a company server, your Web surfing may be monitored, some Internet sites may be blocked, your e-mail may be read, and even your keystrokes may be counted. In addition, company-provided remote workstations offset other home office cost efficiencies gained.

• Your homeowners' or renters' insurance may need a home office endorsement for coverage of equipment or activities related to your working at home.

• Check residential zoning restrictions carefully, since they may limit or prohibit business visitors to your home office. You may also need a special business license.

• While taxes have not had a negative impact on most teleworkers so far, the General Accounting Office says that out-of-state employees who telecommute could expose employers to additional state taxes.

Personal Considerations

• Your home office is only a few steps away, so you may add the time you used to spend commuting into your workday, giving your employer more hours for the same pay (see Dilbert's Dilemma about this situation).

• It is easy to blur distinctions between job time and vacation time or time away, if your boss becomes accustomed to e-mailing you at any time and expecting a prompt response. If left unchecked, your job could quickly become 24/7.

• Non-telecommuting colleagues may resent your work flexibility and not take the extra care necessary to keep you in the loop. You will also miss out on informal lunchtime or water-cooler discussions that could affect your project. Ultimately, salary increases could suffer.

• Missing the "face time" of team meetings or interactions with your boss, you could be forgotten when plum assignments come up, just as employees posted overseas sometimes fall behind their stateside colleagues when promotion time comes around. "Out of sight, out of mind" is a threat to telecommuters.

• Unless your home office has high-speed Internet access, you may experience frustrating and even costly work delays. One telecommuter, who worked for a Dallas firm from his Florida home, chose to live in one county over another solely because ISDN was available to support his home server and three PCs.

• Workers who need to feel a sense of belonging to an organization may feel isolated as virtual workers. The Journal of Management (March 2001) presents a study of this aspect of telecommuting.

Telecommuting could increase your quality of life. Consider, for example, the significant number of teleworkers who live more affordably in Oregon, Utah and Colorado while "working in Silicon Valley." But look before you leap.

Additional information and tips on telecommuting can be found at www.telecommuting.about.com.

Editor's Note: A related article on telecommuting appears in this issue of IEEE-USA Today's Engineer. Click here to read that article. And for additional resources on telecommuting, visit IEEE-USA's Self-help on Telecommuting web page.

George F. McClure is IEEE-USA's Technology Policy Editor and co-chair of the IEEE-USA Workforce Committee.