With higher office rents, increased gas prices, and more responsibilities at home, some employers and employees are coming to a mutual conclusion – it may not be such a bad idea to work from home.
While it comes under different terms, working from home can probably best be described as telecommuting.
Workers typically require a steady Internet connection and computer, copier, fax machine and phone to pull this off. That being said, there are some issues to cover with your employees before signing off on the stay at home option.
Pluses and Minuses of the Home Working Environment
First, let’s take a look at some of the advantages to employees working from home:
- Employees cut down on expenses such as gasoline;
- Employees avoid potentially long commutes, which can impact actual work time;
- Employees are typically more relaxed in the home environment, thereby likely leading to better work results.
As far as potential disadvantages to employees working from home:
- Employees are not there in person when needed for meetings, quick question and answer moments. This can lead to having to phone, text or email them several times a day;
- Employees are not under your eye during the day as in an office setting, therefore you can only assume the necessary work is getting done;
- Employees could be submitting sensitive company information over an unsecure home computer and/or computer problems are not easily accessible from an in-house technician.
So, is it in your best interests as an employer to let some or all employees work from home at times or should they remain in an office setting?
Make Sure All Are on the Same Page
Before you make the decision to sign off on telecommuting, be sure to cover all the bases so that both the company and its workers know the rules regarding such a situation.
One such area that may not be covered but is highly critical is the potential for an at-home injury or loss of private company information on the job and its ramifications. If a worker is injured at home, can they turn around and sue you? What happens if they’re not using a secure company-issued laptop and vital company details are hacked into? One option for both scenarios is to have the employee sign a waiver acknowledging that they are responsible for their safety and the safety of company secrets while working from home.
One option for employers is monitoring their employees through their computers while working from home.
Something as simple as computer software to show when employees sign on and off, how many hours they spent online, what they were doing online, etc. are certainly viable options for employers. The one fear is coming across as too much of a micromanager, potentially alienating employees. Then again, they’re on your dime while working, so you have every right to expect them to be loyal to you during those hours.
At the end of the day, employers and employees have to be on the same page when it comes to telecommuting.
Working from home can be a great option for both workers and their bosses, but it needs to be done with the understanding that the same is expected of employees when not leaving their home as is when they enter the building.
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