GIL GORDON ASSOCIATES Administration and General Info FAQ




1. What about the security or confidentiality concerns for telecommuting?

Certain organizations - such as banks and other financial-service firms, or government agencies or contractors - must be concerned about this even more than most employers are. There are four points to consider:
2. How does telecommuting fit in with other forms of workplace flexibility?
It's no accident that many employers who use telecommuting also make available options such as job-sharing, part-time work, compressed work weeks, flextime, and others. These all have in common the idea that appropriate flexibility makes good business sense for the employer and employees alike. In general, employers who are stuck on the old 9-to-5 model of everyone being a full-time, "regular" worker are really out of date - and missing a good opportunity to attract and retain top-quality workers who need more flexibility.
3. What's the difference between "telecommuting" and "telework"?
This has been the subject of numerous debates, articles, and academic papers - and in my opinion, the difference is minimal. The term "telework" tends to be used more in Europe and some other countries, while "telecommuting" is used more in the U.S. Some people prefer the word "telework" because it's a more accurate description of the concept - the "tele" prefix means "distance", so "telework" means "work at a distance." The telework advocates also believe that "telecommuting" has too strong a connotation about the commuting aspect, and that "telework" is a broader and more inclusive terms.

To be honest, I've tried to steer clear of this debate - and you can see that I took the middle-of-the-road position when I named this Web site using both terms. Whatever you choose to call it, the underlying concept is the same: decentralizing the office, and using different ways of bringing the work to the workers. It doesn't make much difference (to me, at least) what you call it - as long as you do it.

4. My organization really emphasizes teamwork - doesn't telecommuting interfere with a team's ability to work together?
Not necessarily. There are plenty of ways for team members to work together without being together. Also, most teams have some work that is collaborative in nature, but at least as much that's individual work. The key to using telecommuting in a team environment is to organize the work so that most of the individual work is reserved for telecommuting days, while the collaboration takes place when everyone is in the office. This might mean, for example, that the team decides to have everyone in the office on Tuesdays and Fridays to assure enough time together.

Even when some team members are telecommuting, it's still possible to collaborate at a distance - individual phone calls, conference calls, email, groupware, and fax are five of the tools that can be used.

Last, keep in mind that teamwork is good up to a point - when everything must be done as a team, there's a risk that tasks will take extra time, and what should be one person's responsibility becomes an interruption for all the other team members. When some of the team members telecommute, it can help the team focus its activities and decide which really are suited to discussion and teamwork - and which should really be done by individuals.

5. Isn't the Federal mandate about telecommuting and carpooling dead? Why do I still hear this being discussed as a reason for employers to start telecommuting?
On December 23, 1995, President Clinton signed a bill that dramatically changed the terms of the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act which were responsible for mandated employer trip-reduction programs. Contrary to what many people believe, there never was anything in that Act which required telecommuting - it was a recommended way to meet trip-reduction goals.

This new bill makes reductions in the number of car-commuter trips in severely polluted areas voluntary, instead of mandatory. Thus, most of the pressure from the Federal level is off, but regional or state rules may well still be in effect. No doubt, telecommuting still is a great way to get cars off the road and pollution out of our lungs - but the most compelling reasons for employers have little to do with mandates and everything to do with saving money, improving staff effectiveness, reducing office space needs, extending hours of customer service, and recruiting and retaining quality employees.

6. Should employees be required to purchase their own equipment?
Generally, employers have provided the equipment for telecommuters; it's viewed as providing the "tools" of the workplace wherever it happens to be. In some cases the employees have been asked - or required - to pay for their own PCs as a condition of telecommuting. This can cause a real hardship on some employees. If the equipment budget is tight, here are two solutions: some employees already have their own PCs at home and are willing to use them; employee purchase plans (with payroll deduction, perhaps) can be arranged to keep costs down. Keep in mind that in some cases it's best to take the PC that's on the employee's desk in the office and move it home; that's where it might be used best.
7. It seems like telecommuting is limited to big companies - is that true?
Actually, quite the opposite. While many of the news reports focus on the Fortune 500-type companies, most telecommuting happens in smaller companies. Most employment in the US and many other countries is spread across a large number of small companies, and isn't concentrated in the biggest ones. Small companies can adopt innovations more quickly, are often under pressure to cut costs or retain key people, and don't have to struggle with thick policy manuals and endless committee meetings before making changes like introducing telecommuting.
8. Is telecommuting still being used primarily to reduce traffic congestion?
Not at all. In fact, this has almost become a secondary benefit - though still a very important one. There's no doubt that telecommuting takes cars off the road and reduces air pollution, but that's not the main reason why employers use it. I've always maintained that smart employers who understand the real business benefits of telecommuting will use it because it makes good business sense - and in the process, will help remove cars from clogged highways.
9. What's the right number of days per week to telecommute?
There is no "right" number of days. Typically, it seems to work best when the range is from one to three days per week on average. In some cases it might be higher, but there are potential problems when you get to four or five days per week - it's harder to continue feeling that you're really part of the work group, it's more difficult to schedule meetings that you must attend, and the logistics of getting work to and from the office can get complicated.
10. But what if my work varies a lot from week to week?
In that case, you might be better off thinking about the number of telecommuting days per month, not per week. In any given week you might telecommute as few as one day - or not at all - or as much as four days. The trick is to work where you work best on any given day, depending on your workload and your personal preferences. A monthly average of eight to twelve days still works out to two or three days per week, but thinking in terms of the entire month gives you much more flexibility.
11. Aren't there big liability risks for the employer?
Not necessarily. There is an often-stated fear of increased worker's compensation liability, for example, but with the proper combination of training, prevention, and inspection these risks are greatly minimized and can easily be managed. Similarly, concerns about theft of equipment from the home are exaggerated, and with a few precautions this risk can also be minimized.
12. Don't telecommuters get dead-ended in their careers?
While many people believe this to be true, the evidence to date does not support this concern of being "out of mind" because you're "out of sight." Since telecommuters are still coming into the office regularly, they don't disappear. Also, the training for both telecommuters and managers should include tips on career management at a distance. If anything, most managers of telecommuters report that their telecommuters are often more promotable rather than less, because the experience of working at a distance helps demonstrate their capacity for more responsibility.
13. What are the trends in telecommuting growth?
It seems to be on a steady growth curve, with approximately 6-8 million telecommuters in the U.S. today. Telecommuting is also growing in many areas of Europe, Canada, and the Pacific Rim countries. We're not going to see the day when everyone works at home in blue jeans, but it's clear that the days of everyone going to the office five days a week are rapidly disappearing.
14. Our management seems dead-set against telecommuting; in fact, even having part-time employees is still really radical here. What I need is cold, hard facts. Where can I get this information?

While there are some sources for "cold hard facts," I believe many of them are really subject to fuzzy interpretation. Also, the quality of the surveys or other evaluation methods is sometimes very questionable.

More important, I would comment that when management wants those facts, it may not make any difference even if you get them. The fact that part-time work - which certainly isn't new, radical or unproven - isn't accepted means that telecommuting probably has about zero chance. Even if you came up with the facts they'd find some other obstacle.

The underlying problem is probably something to do with fear of loss of control, and mistrust of employees by managers. I hate to make such a blanket statement, but I've seen this picture too many times.

My advice is to do the following:

15. Is telecommuting feasible for hourly paid non-exempt employees? If not, why not? If so, how should it be implemented?

The term "non-exempt" refers to whether or not a given employee is exempt or not exempt from the terms of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). There's no overall reason under FLSA why non-exempt employees can't telecommute. However, you need to check if there is a particular provision in your state labor law that restricts work at home for non-exempt employees.

Non-exempt employees have to follow certain rules about length of the work day and work week, overtime payments, breaks during the day, and other items. These must be followed for non-exempt telecommuters as well as non-exempt office workers. This really isn't a new issue, however; many employees who work out of the office (such as truck drivers, repair technicians, etc.) are non-exempt and don't work under direct supervision all day long. If remote work is feasible for them, it's feasible for telecommuters.

Just to be safe, however, check with your organization's Human Resources department or a qualified accountant or attorney.

16.I'm a telecommuter living in a different state from where my employer is located. For tax purposes, which state do I work in?

With the usual disclaimer that you should check with a qualified tax professional or accountant for advice on this question, here are some general thoughts:

The issue of "nexus", or the focal point or location of a commercial activity, used to be simple. Today it is becoming more complex, as your question suggests. However, there's actually quite a lot of precedent for your situation, e.g., companies with the main office in one city and sales reps, tech service staff, etc. scattered around the country.

Also, there's precedent in a weird way in professional sports. For example, when the New York Mets (or any other team) play the Philadelphia Phillies, the city of Philadelphia collects a payroll tax on the Mets players for the portion of their annual income derived from games played while in Philadelphia. Whether this is fair or even logical or not is irrelevant; given the opportunity, any taxation agency will reach into your pocket - and the deeper the pocket, the better.

The consensus seems to be that you are an employee of the state where your employer is "domiciled", or based. That's considered to be the primary focal point of activity of the business. But if you ask the tax agency of the state where you live, they would probably claim you as one of their own for tax collections.

To make matters worse, the answer might be different for different purposes. These range from state income tax to local payroll tax to state unemployment insurance to state worker's compensation to .... and on and on.

One approach is to contact the agency in your state that administers these matters (probably the Dept. of Labor or Taxation) and call them - without giving your name and particulars - and ask them the question. If there's a state income tax in your state, get a copy of the current state tax filing booklet and see who is defined as a state taxpayer. Do the same two things for the labor and tax departments of the state where your employer is based. This should help you figure out who can rightfully claim you as a taxpayer.

The good news, if there is any, is that you probably can't be double-taxed. Even if you are, you can probably claim one state's tax payment as a credit on the other's.

17.I keep hearing about big productivity gains for telecommuters - is this true?

Yes and no. First of all, remember that the concept of "productivity" is an industrial-age term that compares output with input; when output goes up per unit of input, that's a productivity increase. But that concept is woefully inadequate when applied to most office work; there isn't the same simple kind of input-output relationship for knowledge workers.

That means that if we're honest with ourselves, we really don't have a clue about what "white-collar productivity" means, in most cases. That doesn't keep us from throwing that term around, however. It has often been used to describe what happens with telecommuting, and you'll see frequent references to productivity gains in the range of 15-25% for telecommuters.

While I firmly believe that well-run telecommuting programs DO lead to increased work output - for many reasons - I think it's important to discipline ourselves away from that "P" word. Instead, I prefer to use the term "effectiveness" - which is meant to include all the aspects of knowledge-worker's activity. To be sure, it includes quantity of work produced - but also includes quality, timeliness, and ability to handle multiple projects and priorities.

These four measures are the kinds of things we see improving under telecommuting. In fact, a well-run telecommuting program should be AT WORST a break-even; that is, the telecommuters should do the same amount of work, at least as well, as in the office. In almost all cases, though, their results are significantly better.

The bottom line: "Productivity" is a convenient and comfortable term that gets used often, but really doesn't describe what most office workers do no matter where they work. We have seen in case after case that telecommuters are doing more and better work, are meeting their deadlines better, and are better able to juggle multiple priorities and deadlines. Call it what you will - productivity, effectiveness, or something else: the results are there.



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