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Take heart, weary road warriors.
While much-ballyhooed telecommuting has not yet really taken off in Canada, it is only a matter of time before more employers finally climb on the green bandwagon and do their bit for the environment by allowing employees the option of working from home, says Bob Fortier, president of the Canadian Telework Association.
“There's definitely an awareness. In fact, many companies are operating on the assumption that – at some point in time – governments will offer emissions-trading credits to organizations that can quantify the number of kilometres avoided because of telework.”
Currently, just 10 per cent of Canadians telecommute electronically from their homes and, even then, their work arrangements generally allow for only one or two days away from the office each week, Mr. Fortier says.
However, with the federal government promoting the need for more environmentally responsible behaviour, this is a good time for employees to redouble their efforts to wear down some of that entrenched management resistance to telecommuting.
There is no technological reason in the way of many more Canadians working from their homes on occasion, says Mr. Fortier, who teleworks from his country home near Ottawa.
“The bottom line, still, is management resistance,” he says.
“Although we have made huge strides in that regard – more and more organizations are allowing telework – there are still resistant, old-school, Jurassic-style managers out there.
“They have trust issues, largely based on the old cliché that, if they can't see you, how do they know you're working?”
Employees can position themselves as potential teleworkers, and build that level of trust, by demonstrating that they are self-motivated, well organized and disciplined in their approach to their work, Mr. Fortier says.
If a manager agrees to let an employee work from home, it becomes essential that the employee deliver what he or she promised – and not be distracted by the laundry, the kids, the neighbours or the dog, Mr. Fortier says.
Company policies regarding conduct and security still have to be observed.
Telework is best suited to strong performers – and only those strong performers who do not require constant personal interaction with colleagues and clients to perform their jobs, he says.
“Telework is most successful when the right teleworker, the right manager, the right home office and the right technology exists,” Mr. Fortier says.
“You can't have a weak link.”
Flexibility, on both sides, is also key to effective telecommuting arrangements.
The average Canadian teleworker now spends one or two days a week at home, “and the rest of the time back at the ranch collaborating with colleagues.”
A certain degree of “face time” is often necessary for even the most productive telecommuters, if they want to stay on the corporate radar.
Out of sight, out of mind is a risk for those who spend too much time away from the office, recent studies indicate.
A global survey of 1,320 senior executives conducted earlier this year found that almost 80 per cent felt that telecommuters were as productive, or more productive, than their desk jockey colleagues.
However, more than 60 per cent of these same executives also said that telecommuters are less likely to advance in their careers than employees working in more traditional office settings.
“Smart employers know that flexible working conditions can be an effective means to creating a productive work force,” says Robert McNabb, chief executive officer of FutureStep, a subsidiary of executive recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International, which conducted the survey.
“Often, when employers offer the option of flexible hours and telecommuting, they help employees maintain balance in other parts of their lives, which, in turn, fosters loyalty, satisfaction and retention,” Mr. McNabb says.
However, executives still feel they need far more than an online relationship with a candidate in order to consider him or her for a promotion, he says.
Mr. Fortier says managers often worry about their ability to effectively supervise employees in remote locations.
He reminds them that it is still management's call as to whether an employee is suited to telework, and they should already know who their best performers are.
Besides, he adds, even when everyone is together in the same office building, far more communication is conducted by e-mail than by direct conversation these days.
“Managers with technology in the workplace are a lot more practised at remote management than they might think.”
And many more, he adds, are willing to overcome their reservations and give it a try.
“There's a huge resurgence of interest in this topic.”
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