Telecommuting in the 21st Century: Benefits, Issues, and a Leadership Model Which Will Work

Abstract

Executive Summary This article looks at the evolution of telework in the United States as well as the benefits and potential problems associated with this growing phenomenon. One of these issues, effective leadership of teleworkers, is the focus of the article. The authors suggest that Situational Leadership™, a leadership model which has been in use since the late 1960s, is an appropriate tool for leaders to use in successfully influencing their off-site workers. Situational Leadership™ is explained and applied to a variety of telecommuting scenarios.

Managing Telework Programs Effectively

“…Not being physically present removes a significant component of employee/co-worker/supervisor interaction. Some employees have misgivings about the loss of such social interaction as well as an associated fear that career advancement may be stalled by the off-site employee being both "out of work" and "out of mind" (Baruch 2001;Gibson et al 2002). It has been noted that telework greatly alters the dynamics of office politics, for better or worse (Kennedy 2005) in addition to altering the social, physical and psychological contexts of work.…”

“…Managers may have reservations over whether employees are actually being as productive away from the office as they would be if physically present, may feel powerless in providing employees with more meaningful feedback (Manochehri and Pinkerton 2003) and also struggle with performance appraisals and assessments without a greater presence of the employee in the workplace (Crandall and Gao 2005). A second employer-issue related to telework is its impact on the development of a strong sense of teamwork within the work group that is increasingly important in organizations (Baruch 2001;Gibson et al 2002;Mills et al 2001). Much of this concern is anecdotal at this point as no published empirical research, as of yet, has focused on how virtual work might alter work relationships and affect important work outcomes (Golden 2006).…”

“…A fifth benefit of telework programs is that they have been shown to reduce employee absenteeism and turnover (Gibson et al 2002;Potter 2003;Solomon 2000). This is largely due to the fact that they offer employees the flexibility to attend to personal needs during the work day as need be and then complete work "on their own time."…”

A Conflict between Professional vs. Domestic Life? Understanding the Use of ICT in Teleworking for Balance in Work and Family Units

“…A positive work-life environment has a positive impact on the development of this country through enhancing individuals' participation in economic activities. For example, studies have shown that through teleworking organizations can structure their operations to cut costs, maximize resources and improve productivity, develop pools of professional candidates who were physically inaccessible in the past, and by hiring workers under various contractual arrangements, including overseas employees, can offer a better quality of work and many financial benefits (Butler et al, 2007;Crandal & Gao, 2005;Gibson et al, 2002;Harpaz, 2002).…”

The influence of motivational language in the technologically mediated realm of telecommuters

“…For the purpose of this study, telecommuting is defined as the ‘daily practice of working at one's home or another location where employees use computers and communication technology to communicate with the main office, supervisors, co‐workers, and customers’ (Gibson et al ., 2002: 76). Telecommuting has become increasingly popular because it gives employees increased flexibility in scheduling, less commuting time, and reduced work–family conflict (Raghuram and Wiesenfeld, 2004), and provides businesses with reduced real estate expenses and maintenance costs, increased productivity by employees, and access to global markets (Manochehri and Pinkerton, 2003).…”