A Design For Telecommuting

In January 1988, the state of California began a 2-year pilot program in which about 200 employees work from their home offices for part of the week. Participants are volunteers, and all costs for the employer and employee are being tracked. Many of the telecommuters perform tasks in the field and r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personal computing 1988-10, Vol.12 (10), p.148
Main Author: Flemming, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computers
Government employees
Minicomputers
Productivity
State government
Telecommunications industry
Work at home
Working at home
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Summary:In January 1988, the state of California began a 2-year pilot program in which about 200 employees work from their home offices for part of the week. Participants are volunteers, and all costs for the employer and employee are being tracked. Many of the telecommuters perform tasks in the field and return to the office to prepare reports. By using existing and volunteered resources, it is estimated that benefits will exceed costs by almost 9 times. Factors such as reduced absenteeism and sick leave, ability to attract skilled professionals, and increased morale and productivity offset the costs of hardware and software, training, and telephone calls. For most telecommuters, being able to block out time for concentrating is the greatest benefit, and better productivity is the most important result. Telecommuters go into the office at least one day per week, and the quality of the time spent with colleagues has improved. The lesson of telecommuting is that a person is managed by results rather than by surveillance.
ISSN:0192-5490