NAA H05

TELECOMMUTING

Makingitworkathome� In Britain, all employees with childrenunder six, or under 18 with disabilities,have a legal right to work flexible hours.Employers who do not agree must setout in writing the reasons for therefusal.� There is no official work-from-homepolicy in Australia, but arrangementscan be made by mutual agreementbased on particular circumstances.Policies have, however, been establishedto enable employees to work from hometo benefit a few select areas such aschild care or carer.� If you are going to work from home,occupational health and safety issuesneed to be considered as the employermaintains workplace responsibility.� Maintaining regular interactionbetween management and employee iscrucial. As increasing numbers oforganisations start to offer flexibleworking practices, more focus will needto be directed towards ensuring amotivated workforce, in and out of theoffice. This needs HR, facilities manage-ment and IT departments workingtogether to build a strategy aroundflexible working that can be used acrossan organisation.

Some suggestions for work-from-homesuccess include:� Consult with workers and establishwhich employees wish to work flexiblyand determine needs.� Determine the IT infrastructurerequired to support the company’swork-from-home plan.� Introduce remote working policies andprocedures.� Arrange regular face-to-face meetingsand appraisals to keep employeesupdated and motivated — particularlyon key decisions — and include them ingeneral decisions. .� Set up a day that makes it easier forthe office employees to know when andhow to contact home employees.� Establish ways to ensure workcolleagues maintain social contact.� Check employment contracts that mayneed updating.

ThenewhouseworkIfmanagedwell,awork-from-homeplancanofferbenefitsallround,writesYvonneNicolas.

Left:Somebosseshavetheideaworkersathomeareslackingoffanddrinkingpinacoladas.Below:DavidSmithsaysresistancetoworkingfromhomeiscommonwitholdermanagers.PICTURE:AFP

HAVING employees work fromhome may be one of thesolutions businesses can adopt

to save money in place of staff cuts,while improving profits.

As road travel and publictransport in Australia become moredifficult, unreliable and expensive,there will be pressure on businessesto change their work practices.

Work mixed with family andcaring responsibilities also isbecoming increasingly difficult andconsequently workers are seekingmore flexibility in traditional workhours.

HR coach David Smith, directorof Threshold HR, says for employers,working remotely offers a range ofadvantages from cheaper operatingcosts, with a decreased need foroffice space, to less time wastedcommuting.

‘‘Motoring organisationsrecognise that current trends areunsustainable. There is also anopportunity to improve customerservice by making personnelaccessible outside the normal officehours and the ability to make use ofspecialist staff, normally unavailablefor work,’’ Mr Smith says.

Until recently, working fromhome has been the preserve ofsenior managers, but now almost allinformation workers (those whowork mostly with data, usuallyelectronic) can benefit.

But while working from homecan improve productivity andenhance work-life quality, it does notsuit everyone.

David Gregory, head of workplacerelations for the Victorian Employers’Chamber of Commerce and Industrysays: ‘‘Suitable roles where this canbe made practically possible includeareas such as administration andproject work.

‘‘All you need is a PC, mobilephone and suitable space in which towork,’’ he says. ‘‘A distributedworkforce operating from home caneven undertake call-centreoperations.’’

According to Mr Smith, about80 per cent of the workforce inBritain are information workers.

He says working from home is a

generational thing. Generation X andY are comfortable with the conceptas they are better with technologyand comfortable workingindividually.

‘‘It just depends on how open-minded direct-line managers are,’’ hesays. ‘‘Often they are veterans whohave been brought up in the worldwhere going to work means going toan office. These managers arereluctant to let their staff work fromhome as they never had that sameopportunity. It comes down toempowerment, trust and the abilityto prove production effectiveness in aremote setting.’’

Mr Smith cites one situationwhen performance dipped, so remoteworking was banned. It wasperceived that those who exercisedthis flexibility were probably justwatching cricket and drinking pinacoladas.

Effectively, this was about

exercising power and control in theworkplace.

‘‘Working from home is also away to keep good people,’’ saysMr Gregory. ‘‘A combination ofworking two days in the office andthree from home may well be asuitable option that keeps individualsin touch with essential in-houseneeds, and all those socialnetworking aspects.’’

Warren Frehse, career transitionconsultant, and author of: ManageYour Own Career: Reinvent Your Job;Reinvent Yourself, says employers stillhave the mindset of a ‘‘visibleemployee being a productiveemployee’’.

‘‘Human nature plays animportant part here,’’ he says. ‘‘Somebosses are reluctant to let go of theirassigned power and, as such, like tohave their employees within view.

‘‘If employers were to set cleargoals and agree on results-based

outcomes, being visible or notwouldn’t make any difference.’’

Mr Frehse says this is particularlythe case in knowledge-based jobs thatrely more on outcomes and resultsthan how they were achieved.

‘‘Many employers are stilloperating under 19th centuryworkplace rules where rewards arebased on time spent at the desk,’’he says.

‘‘This means political agendasand ‘playing the game’ often takeprecedence over results achieved.’’

He highlights the valueof ‘‘team’’, by remindingemployers thateverybody needs to betreated fairly in acollaborativeworkingenvironment — soif one gets to do it,the entire teamshould have thatprivilege.

But he warns,‘‘not being visiblein a workplace maymean promotions areharder to come bybecause less time isspent mixing withmanagers and decisionmakers’’.

He also predictsthere will continueto be more employees

working from home as technologyredefines ‘‘work’’ to mean moreabout the activity rather thanlocation.

‘‘Already, it is common to seepeople working in cafes, coffeeshops and outdoors, as wirelesstechnology continues to advance,’’says Mr Frehse.

LINKS� www.mobileoffice.about.com/od/getmobilized/a/remotepolicy.htm� www.mobileoffice.about.com/od/getmobilized/a/obstacles.htm

Saturday, February 7, 2009 THEAGE mycareer.com.au 5

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