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did you know?

Nearly 60 percent of workers believe that telecommuting at least part-time is the ideal work situation.

IBM saves $700 million in real estate costs by allowing 25% of its worldwide employees to work from home.

wise words we heard

Businesses that ignore the possibilities offered by emerging technologies risk becoming dinosaurs.

virtual work

Virtual workers are defined as people who work from home, from the road, from anywhere that isn't a traditional office. The common denominator for all virtual workers is that they communicate and perform work duties almost entirely through electronic technology. Going virtual makes sense for many workers, not just the people you see plugging in at coffee shops around the globe: Gen Yers just starting out, older workers phasing into retirement, people who need a custom-fit because they have restricted physical abilities or live in remote geographic locations, or two-job families where being close to both jobs is impossible. High- and low-wage employers have found moving to virtual work productive and profitable. Call centers, sales teams, individual consultants - even entire organizations - have all found this new way of working to be virtually perfect.

Virtual work can create a more robust business overall, as it has been shown to cut workplace costs and produce more satisfied, productive employees.

Advice for Employers

Adopt a performance-based management philosophy. Look more at results and less and whose car is in the parking lot.

Use technology in innovative ways to promote team building. Consider going beyond the basics of phone and email in order to help create a close group and help workers connect. Set up a community home space featuring pictures and profiles of team members, a discussion board, a team calendar, or a chat room.

Show respect. This might mean being sensitive to members who speak English as a second language, or paying attention to language and cultural differences, business protocols - even time zones.

Design fair and consistent guidelines for who can take advantage of virtual work.

Meet in person, too. Many companies that adopt virtual work also have regular retreats or in-person check-ins. This promotes team cohesion.

Remember that workers cannot be available 24/7 and will need boundaries to make virtual working successful for both themselves and the business.

Advice for Workers

When making a case for a flexible work arrangement, cite the business benefits of higher productivity, less time lost commuting, worker loyalty, decreased absenteeism, improved health and sometimes reduced real estate costs. (See Studies and Research)

Create an expectation of clear work/life boundaries. Just because you are now connected to work at home or on vacation doesn't mean you should be online 24/7. Clarify what will work well for you and your employer.

Be realistic but open-minded about virtual work's plusses and minuses. While it fits well with some jobs, virtual work isn't a good fit for others.

Consider stepping up the frequency of communication. This can mean checking the team's calendar or sending an email after every phone conference to document and confirm the action plan. Find out what will make this work well for everyone.

Telework: Help Solve Climate Change By Staying Home

Submitted by Joan Blades on Fri, 2011-10-28 04:00

Would you believe me if I told you that we could take a big step to combating climate change simply by staying home from work? Rather, I should say, staying home and working.

Call it “telecommuting.” Call it “virtual work.” Call it “working from home.” Call it “netWork.” I’m going to call it “telework,” and here’s how it could be both a key climate solution and also an incredible business boost.

Last year, I co-wrote a book called The Custom-Fit Workplace, which is about how everyone needs work that fits their life, and how employers are well-served to create a workplace that respects their workers lives. In doing so, they’re rewarded with more productive, resilient, and profitable businesses.

After the book was published, I was speaking with a small gathering of climate change leaders. During this chat I realized that one component of the “custom-fit work initiative” could well be the biggest short term opportunity we have to address climate change. This component is, of course, telework.

The environmental benefits are obvious: teleworkers don’t commute, meaning their cars don’t log the 32 miles per day roundtrip that is the American average (according to this 2005 poll by ABC News and the Washington Post), and thus don’t emit all that carbon.

And the benefits to workers are clear: consider how many people would prefer the flexibility and comfort of working from home.

But how exactly is it good for businesses? Study after study has shown that giving employees flexibility in where, when, and how they work is good for a business’s bottom line.

Look at IBM. The global computing giant has saved $700 million in real estate costs by allowing one quarter of its employees worldwide to work from home.

Their savings are far from unique. AT&T’s New Jersey operations have saved over $5 million by transitioning 600 employees to teleworker. In 1996, Bell Atlantic reported that telecommuting saved between $1,500 and $5,000 per teleworker per year. JetBlue’s customer service is now based in primarily in the workers’ homes. Same with 1-800-CONTACTS. The list of smart businesses saving big goes on and on.

There are other business benefits too. In this new networked era, why restrict your recruiting to a small radius around your central offices? The best, most highly motivated talent may not live 20 miles away. Employers can now hire a star employee or retain a key employee without being confined by geography.

The gains here — business, economic, environmental — are huge, and they are immediately accessible. Research recently released by the Telework Research Network suggests that 40% of American workers are in roles that could be managed part-time or more through telework, and that 79% of those workers would accept this opportunity if it were offered. Given these numbers,TRN projects the benefits to the economy and environment if all of these workers with telework-compatible jobs were allowed and enabled to work from home half-time:

U.S. businesses would save $436 billion dollars a year.
52.8 Million Metric Tons of greenhouse gasses would be cut.
288 million fewer barrels of oil a year would be consumed, reducing our foreign trade deficit.

As far as climate solutions go in this age of partisan deadlock, teleworking appeals equally across the ideological spectrum. (Need proof? Check out this Forbes op-ed I co-wrote with avowed conservative Ralph Benko.) Apolitical, great for business, and hugely popular? Teleworking might well be the best immediate opportunity we have, right now, to make serious headway reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and combating climate change.

Cross posted at OnEarth