Telecommuting and Human Resources
On September 20, 1994, some 32,000 AT&T employees stayed home. They weren't sick or on strike. They were telecommuting. Employees ranging from the CEO to phone operators were part of an experiment that involved 100,000 people. It's purpose? To explore how far a vast organization could go in transforming the workplace by moving the work to the worker instead of the worker to work. Today AT&T is just one of many organizations pioneering the alternative workplace (AW-also known as telecommuting) - the combination of nontraditional work practices, settings, and locations that is beginning to supplement traditional offices (Apgar, 121). According to IDC/Link Resources, New York, approximately 8 million Americans currently telecommute. A survey conducted by Olsten Corp., Melville, N.Y., reports that 62 percent of North American companies encourage telecommuting (Riggs, 46). In addition, research shows about 50% of all employees either have a job that lends itself to telecommuting or want to get involved in telecommuting. Most researchers agree that telecommuting growth is fastest in companies employing more than 1,000 and in those with under 10 employees (Harler, 26).
Ingrained behaviors and practical hurdles make telecommuting hard to implement (Apgar, 121). This may result in employees who will resist the effort to this new paradigm. A special concern for human resources should be old-line managers. Old-line managers are one of the biggest obstacles to the alternative workplace. The problem is they manage by observation, not by results (Harler, 27). Value that employees place on increased personal time and control (Apgar, 127). Manire, Ross W. (January 1997). "Remote access: The "drive to work" in the information age", Telecommunications, pp50-55. First, companies wishing to utilize telecommuting should uncover any potential obstacles that could deter or impact its effectiveness. During the planning process for telecommuting, it is important to brainstorm to uncover any possible problems or threats. In addition, access to the Internet, inappropriate transmission of potentially offensive materials and electronic mail are also concerns for companies wishing to deploy telecommuting should address (Courtenay, 67). Among the potential obstacles that must be overcome include ingrained behaviors, cultural and system improvements, and legal and tax ramifications.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Human Resources, Deploying Telecommuting, Telecommuting Successful, Act Harler, Obstacles Telecommuting, Managers AW, Kuzmits Santos, Introduction September, Externally Internet's, Levi Strauss, human resources, alternative workplace, human resource, berhard 22 , 22 , berhard 22, system improvements, harler 27, kuzmits santos, task force, apgar 121, legal tax ramifications, liability workers compensation, human resources issues, march 15 1998,
Approximate Word count = 1937
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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