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| TELEWORKINGWhat is Teleworking?Teleworking is a way of conducting business across a telephone line. Many companies have already discovered the benefits of allowing staff to carry our their daily duties from the comfort of their own homes. Whilst it may be necessary for these employees to visit the office once or twice a week, on the whole most duties can be successfully performed from home.Why do companies find teleworking an attractive option?A Way of Reducing OverheadsThe rising cost of office space and all other overheads associated with it makes teleworking a desirable option. It is particularly desirable for businesses whose staff are largely working on the road and may only use the office once a week. By allowing these employees to work from home instead of the office it may mean you can actually reduce your office space.Keeping Key Members of StaffEmployers spend millions training staff only to lose them due to child rearing. Highly qualified or experienced staff may feel they cannot afford to return to work due to the high cost or lack of child care available.Additionally, the inflexibility that office bound work brings means that parents have extra burdens and pressures to ensure their children are cared for in their absence. Parents may also feel that they have to turn down overtime or a change in shift patterns due to the inflexibility that child care imposes. Child sickness or school holidays can also disturb an employees work pattern. This constant pressure and juggling act can finally force a key employee out of the work place. Teleworking can be the answer for the right employee. Whilst there still is an amount of juggling to be done with regards to work and child rearing, the pressures are lessened due to flexibility of working hours, as the office is always available. Overtime is also less of a threat. Traffic CongestionIncreasing traffic congestion and the stress associated with the traveling in such a stressful environment day in, day out, can take its toll on an employee. Teleworking in this situation can therefore have a distinct advantage. An employee can spend hours each year in a traffic jam and several hours are also lost through late arrivals due to traffic problems. It makes sense to say that the time spent stuck in traffic could be utilised in actual working time!!!SuitabilityTeleworking doesn’t suit everyone and it would be foolish to recommend teleworking to every employee. Some trades actually require the use of office space, and in-house staff is part and parcel of this arrangement. However, in other circumstances teleworking is ideal and should be considered only for the reasons outlined already.Mainly the smaller business or self-employed are finding teleworking an essential way to work and to cut major overheads. Many small businesses don’t have the capital to invest in property and so utilise their homes. Consultants or some office managers find working from home a part of their working week. With the use of the internet or other wide area network, these specialists find email and file transfer an essential form of communication. Again, the clerk can find data imputing or secretarial duties easy to perform from the comfort of their home environment. |
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