Telecommuting Increases Productivity

Telecommuting Increases Productivity
Telecommuting, also known as work-from-home, is a common practice among many business firms. In many articles, authors claim that telecommuting makes noticeable contribution to companies, increasing productivity by around 15%-50%. However, to some CEOs, telecommuting is not an attractive option. They think that most people exaggerate the significance of telecommuting because they worry about losing direct control over the employees. Actually, telecommuting can significantly increase productivity because it can not only boost employee morale but also strengthen internal connection. In this paper, we will discuss how telecommuting positively impacts productivity and to what extent telecommuting makes significant contribution.
First, telecommuting can effectively boost employee morale in the workplace. For one thing, telecommuting reduces employees stress by lowering work-family conflict. Companies always have a high percentage of employees with family. Studies reveal that quite a lot of employees complain about feeling stressed out because they do not have enough time to accompany their family. Working from home enables employees balance their life, and employees therefore can save time on the way to office and spend more time with family. For another thing, telecommuting gives employees higher autonomy which allows them to have more flexible working schedule. According to Nicholas Bloom (2014), a professor of economics at Stanford University, “office is actually a distracting place, and at home people don’t experience what we call the ‘cake in the break room’ effect. People at home worked more hours. They started earlier, took shorter breaks, and worked until the end of the day. They had no commute. They didn’t run errands at lunch”.
Second, telecommuting can strengthen a company’s internal connection. It is very easy to understand the influence. If a company is engaged in international business or has a high percentage of international employees, telecommuting will be an ideal choice to overcome communication difficulties. In a research conducted by Cardon and Stevens (2004), the authors argue that “firms with international workers must rely on a variety of nontraditional methods to manage employees”. They make a statement that “telecommuting and connecting through information technology is a management tool that can help manage employees across borders”. Since internalization results in geographical dispersion, telecommuting can make employees work anywhere and anytime regardless of time zone, which can enhance productivity as well as internal communication. Apart from that, telecommuting can also construct positive relationship between supervisors and employees. Telecommuters always have higher autonomy than non-telecommuters, and a certain level of autonomy means that employees with stronger sense of responsibility are likely to get involved in company’s issues. Hence, telecommuting seems like an incentive that attracts as well as retains talent and that fosters employees’ intrinsic motivation.
However, some people doubt the significance that telecommuting would make to productivity. As the authors stated in Weighing in on Telecommuting, “Some CEOs worry about slacking off and using company time for personal and household chores”(Tom & Suzanne, 2013, p. 163). A typical example is Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s current CEO, who banned employees at Yahoo working from home. It is true that telecommuting is not practical in any cases, but it is still an effective tool when given some certain restrictions. Successful cases indicate that the frequency of working from home is of vital importance. An appropriate rate is telecommuting one to two days a week, and within the limitation, telecommuters tend to behave well. A famous experiment was conducted to study how the frequency of working from home will influence productivity. Results showed that telecommuters created more outcomes when working from home one to two days a week. Additionally, the more creative work involved, the more benefits will be gained. In an experimental research, task complexity was controlled as a variable. High task complexity needed creativity which meant innovative working environment. Similarly, low task complexity was referred to dull working environment. And results of the study conclude that the telecommuting environmental effects may have positive impact on productivity of creative tasks but negative impact on productivity of dull tasks (Dutcher, 2012). Another restriction factor should be employees themselves. Telecommuters should be selected from a certain group of people who are highly graduated and self-motivated.
In conclusion, Telecommuting has significant impact on productivity. To raise productivity, firms should consider telecommuting policy, especially those engaged in innovation industry and international business. Reference
Butler, E. S., Aasheim, C., & Williams, S. (2007). Does telecommuting improve productivity?. Communication of the ACM, 50, 101-103.
Scott, B., (2014). To raise productivity, let more employees work from home. Harvard Business Review, 92, 28-29.
Margarita, M., Juan-Carlos, P., Luis, G. M., & Cristina, C. (2009). Why some firms adopt telecommuting while others do not: A contingency perspective. Human Resource Management, 48, 917-939.
Tom, G., & Suzanne, M. (2013). Weighing in on telecommuting. TIP: The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 51, 163-166.
Dutcher, E. G., (2012). The effects of telecommuting on productivity: An experimental examination. The role of dull and creative tasks. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 84, 355–363.
Cardon, M. S., & Stevens, C. E. (2004). Managing human resources in small organizations: What do we know? Human Resource Management Review, 14(3), 295-324.