How will a work from home / telecommuting policy benefit Kohls?
The following came from articles and frequently asked questions on different webpages that resulted from a google search of telework and work from home. Some of the same themes and thoughts are covered more than once. URLs are provided at the end of the document.
Telecommuting gained more ground in 1996 after "the Clean Air Act amendments were adopted with the expectation of reducing carbon dioxide and ground-level ozone levels by 25 percent". The act required companies with over 100 employees to encourage car pools, public transportation, shortened workweeks, and telecommuting.
Help with traffic congestion, need less parking available
Telecommuting is seen as a solution to traffic congestion, due to single-car commuting, and the resulting urban air pollution and petroleum use. Initial investments in the network infrastructure and hardware are balanced by an increased productivity and overall greater well-being of telecommuting staff (more quality family time, less travel-related stress), which makes the arrangement attractive to companies, especially those who face large office overheads and other costs related to the need for a big central office (such as the need for extensive parking facilities).
Increased opportunity / reduce carbon footprint
Telecommuting options increase the employability of marginalised groups, such as mothers with small children, the handicapped and people living in remote areas. It can also reduce an individual's carbon footprint, through minimizing daily commuting. Telecommuting is found to be particularly impressive when one considers that it has a positive impact on such a wide range of issues. In addition to key transportation benefits like congestion relief, companies are finding telecommuting an invaluable component in their emergency preparedness plans. Telecommuting also expands opportunities for the handicapped.
Cost savings to employer / environmental impact
Telecommuting allows for travel avoidance that saves on time, traffic jams, office space, and parking space; and therefore, results in cost savings for the employer. Also, from an environmental point of view, "If 10 percent of the workforce telecommuted once a week, we'd save more than 1.2 million gallons of fuel, resulting in 12,963 tons of avoided air pollution". Telecommuting provides employee flexibility, eases the working parent's burden, increases employee productivity, and reduces absenteeism. Virtual offices allow employers to keep valuable employees, allow employers to hire employees otherwise not available.
Decreases absenteeism
Employees who telework take two to four fewer sick days each year than other employees.
Improves employee morale
People who telework see it as an employee perk; its a vote of confidence from their employer.
Decreases overhead
Telework can significantly decrease overhead costs associated with office space, equipment and employee parking.
Provides a great retention and recruitment tool
Telework is an attractive benefit to many employees companies who offer it can recruit skilled professionals across the state or country.
How do I know if telecommuters are really working?
The employee's completed work product is the indicator that he/she is working. Managers of telecommuters must focus on the quality, quantity, and timeliness of the work product, rather than on the process the telecommuter used to achieve the end result. Managers must manage by objectives or results, rather than by observation. The manager and the employee should establish the employee's goals and objectives together.
Will the employee work less if they are working at home unsupervised?
No. Survey results show marked improvements in productivity. Productivity increases because employees have fewer distractions and interruptions, work at their best times, and are less stressed due to the absence of the commute to work.
How will managers know how to supervise telecommuters?
Telecommuting presents an opportunity for managers to become better managers. By focusing on the employee's work product, managers will increase their own organizational skills and their own skills in managing by objectives. Managers of telecommuters should be given training on managing remote employees.
What kinds of jobs and what type of employees are suitable for telecommuting?
Many jobs or parts of jobs are suitable for telecommuting. Tasks that are successfully managed in telecommuting programs are those where the individual already works alone handling information, such as writing, reading, making phone calls, computer programming, word processing, and data entry.
Should a supervisor require an employee to work at home?
No. Participation in a telecommuting program should be entirely voluntary.
Won't loyalty to the organization diminish?
No. In actuality, loyalty is likely to improve since employees are happier with their work conditions. Employee morale also improves as a result of telecommuting.
How can social interaction be maintained to keep telecommuters from feeling isolated from their colleagues?
There are many techniques for overcoming feelings of isolation. These include part-time telecommuting, core days in the office, and frequent communication by telephone or voice mail. The telecommuters should be included in all scheduled meetings and events.
Can telecommuting result in reduced use of sick leave?
Yes. An employee working in the regular office usually has to use a half day of sick time to get to a doctor or dental appointment. A telecommuter can take an hour or two off for the appointment and then work that time later in the day or the week, thus not using any sick time. Also, often an employee that does not feel well enough to drive to the office can work some hours at home.
Will the need for overtime decrease as a result of telecommuting?
With telecommuting, employee productivity generally increases, which could reduce overtime.
Work / Life balance
I want to be able to be more reliable and work harder for my employer. I have children, so I am realistic enough to realize that working from home late at night, on weekends, and during holidays will make me a more efficient worker than if I had to miss work because of my children. By staying at home to work, I can make up for lost productivity by working off-shifts.
Less time wasted commuting
I would rather spend an extra 1-2 hours a day working, rather than waste time in traffic. During a typical commute to work, a lot of quality work time gets wasted sitting in traffic, when my time would be better spent doing extra work and meeting tight deadlines.
Work on projects at different times of the day
Standard office hours tend to restrict me. My skills are best utilized outside of the ordinary workday and I am most efficient and focused when I have the freedom to work longer hours than the standard office setting allows.
Less wasted hours during the day
My personal preference when working is to focus on the task at hand. I find the office setting to be too inefficient for me to truly work to my employer's advantage. When co-workers spend time chatting and socializing, it interferes with my ability to concentrate and work to my best ability. Although I enjoy socializing, I would prefer to choose my own social situations and leave my friendships outside of the work environment.
Employee recruiting and retention
Having a telework policy in place will improve morale with existing employees, and make it easier to recruit and retain employees
60 Minutes visited the corporate headquarters of Best Buy, the electronics retailer, in Richfield, Minn. Employees Stacy Verstraight, Jason Dehne and Marissa Plume say that putting in 60- to 80-hour weeks got them pats on the back.
"You know, you'd send an e-mail at nine o'clock at night. And the next thing your co-workers would say, 'Hey, wow, were you working that whole time? Wow. Great job,'" says Marissa.
But if you werent there at the crack of dawn, you were put down.
"You know, if I come in at nine o'clock or 10 o'clock, I was at a doctor's appointment, you know, people are saying, 'Oh gee. Glad you could show up today.' You know, so it felt [like] a little bit of a dig," says Stacy. "And people were just watching other people. So it felt like a lot of unnecessary pressure."
"I canceled booked vacations. I mean I booked vacations, and I'd cancel 'em because I had to work," Jason recalls.
In 2002, after a jump in people quitting and filing stress-related health claims, Best Buy launched an experiment: employees would be allowed to work wherever and whenever they wanted, as long as they got their jobs done.
That means the BestBuy.com unit that Chap Achen manages often looks like a ghost town.
"Some folks literally don't come in the office for weeks at a time," says Achen.
If asked where a specific employee physically is, Achen says he doesn't know. "I couldn't tell you if he was in his basement or he was at a Starbucks with a wireless connection."
Since the Best Buy experiment started, Jason's health has improved. Normally at his desk by 7:30 a.m., he now jogs to his local coffee shop and takes his 8 a.m. conference call by cell phone.
Marissa, a night owl, now does her best work around midnight from her bedroom.
"I have to trust that my team is going to get the work done in this environment," says Achen. "And the ironic thing about it is that it's that trust factor that actually makes them work harder for you."
"And just as long?" Stahl asked
"And just as long," he replied.
Or longer. Stacy, Jason and Marissa say they often work more hours than they did before. Not a bad deal for the company. Productivity among employees in the program has jumped a healthy 35 percent.
"We can spread out our work over seven days of the week," explains Stacy.
Asked why that's a positive, Jason says, "It's the way I choose to work."
"But if it takes 70 hours to do your job, why doesn't Best Buy go hire more people?" Stahl asked.
"You know, I am a happier employee, with the trust," says Stacy.
Asked if she wants to work the 70 hours, Stacy replied, "I love what I do."
The group all said they didn't think they were working too much when asked by Stahl.
"You're brainwashed," Stahl said, laughing.
"Maybe we're all crazy," Jason said. "Maybe we are," Stacy added, laughing.
http://www.drcog.org/index.cfm?page=telework
http://www.valleymetro.org/Rideshare3/9Telework/Index.html
http://www.networkworld.com/net.worker/news/2006/030606-teleworking.html
http://www.networkworld.com/nw200/2005/042505virtualvendors.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/31/60minutes/main1460246.shtml