Teleworking and Alternative Workplaces, Essay Example

Introduction

With the technological advancements in telecommunications and computing we have increased the flexibility of the worker.  Rather than spend endless hours commuting into the inner city we can now virtually work anywhere that is connected to the internet.  This has meant that people can modify their working environment in order to fit with lifestyle choices. The concept of teleworking or remote working is extremely attractive; however it is not without certain drawbacks. This paper asserts that teleworking is here to stay and will continue to expand as a viable work concept for both the employer and employee. (Amigoni, M. 2010)

Teleworking

The Advantages

There are a number of distinct advantages of this concept:

There is no need to spend hours of time commuting to work. This is non-productive time and an unnecessary expense. Saving in both fuel and time costs; the concept is more environmentally friendly; you are likely to achieve greater productivity because of less interruptions and the need to spend long times in meetings; work can be conducted electronically and meetings conducted via online media like Skype or other conferencing software; the costs to the employee are less in terms of overhead reduction including expensive office accommodation, lighting and heating, automobile expenses and others;

The disadvantages

The disadvantages include:

Reduction in personal contact means less teambuilding and group dynamics; internal mentoring and training is not facilitated; there is less capacity to monitor and supervise the persons work. Hence this model may only be suitable for certain employees and certain work types; need to be computer literate to optimize performance levels; require appropriate level of home based technology i.e. Hardware, Software, Telecoms’ and the appropriate level of security; health and Safety issues – the need to conduct a self-assessment for insurance and occupational health and safety purposes; risk of loss of confidential information and privacy issues

Alternative Workplaces

Outsourcing is not a relatively new concept; it has been going on for a long time. The concept of outsourcing became popular in order for firms to gain competitive advantage and to reduce operational running costs.  By getting countries with cheaper labour costs they were able to save labour and overhead costs in the running of the technology infrastructure. The UK found India to being a cheaper alternative to running the IT function in the UK. Not only was it more cost effective it was also less disrupted by Union activity and involved less training costs as these were absorbed by the outsourcing firm.  Such savings go straight to the bottom line in terms of increasing profit and dividends available for distribution to shareholders. (Kakumanu, 2006)

Despite the reduction on capital investment in IT the move towards IT outsourcing has steadily continued and Gartner has indicated that global spending will increase from $268 billion in 2009 to that of $325 billion by 2013. The benefits to industry, as predicted by research, are said to be economical, strategic and financial. (Qu, W.P. 2011)

Conclusions

In poor economic climates and recessions most smart businesses will look towards different ways of reducing costs and making productivity improvements.  This enhances the need for taking the telecommuting models more seriously. We have the sophistication of the technology to make this work but it is not suitable for all employees.  Employers will need to determine the best flexible model for them including the possibility of hybrid models i.e. telecommuting plus office space sharing.  Equally the concept of outsourcing capital intensive operations like the IT function to external suppliers saves both capital and operating costs. (Kakumanu, P. 2006)

References

Amigoni, M. (2010). Managing the Telecommuting Employee: Set Goals, Monitor Progress, and Maximize Profit and Productivity. New York: Adams Media.

Kakumanu, P. (2006). Outsourcing: Its benefits, drawbacks and other related issues. American Academy of Business, 9(2), 1-10.

Qu, W. (2011). Influence of industry characteristics on Information Technology outsourcing. Management Information Systems, 27(4), 99-127.