Telecommuting Pros and Cons: How Teleworking Employees Can Save You Money
Last update: 12 February 2024 at 04:52 pm
2.33/5When we talk about telecommuting, many of us imagine with some envy someone working from the hammock of an exotic beach, or sitting quietly at home in pajamas and slippers, oblivious to traffic jams and early mornings.
Unfortunately, it is not that simple.
We have decided to give the keyboard to essaywriter.nyc to explain telecommuting pros and cons in this post.
What Is Teleworking or Telecommuting?
Teleworking or telecommuting is defined as the work performed by a person in a location away from the central offices or production centers of a company (usually at home), through the use of ICTs (new information and communication technology) following clear guidelines.
In this post, we will talk about the pros and cons of telecommuting.
Types of Telecommuting
There are different types of telecommuting. The three main models are:
- Mixed remote-presential work. The worker alternates working from home with presence in the office occasionally on certain days of the week.
- Full-time telecommuting from a fixed location, usually the home or even a coffee shop.
- Mobile work. The person must travel regularly due to the characteristics of his/her job and does not have a workplace as such office employees alike (e.g. sales representatives).
Pros of Telecommuting
Faced with the question of telework yes or no, we are going to list the advantages of having to telework or, in other words, what positive effect telework offers, both for the worker and the employer.
For Employees
Flexibility and Autonomy
Working from home allows us to organize our time as we wish. In general, employers require the fulfillment of a certain number of hours or the achievement of certain kpis or objectives. How we organize our time to carry it out is up to us.
Saving Time
Not having to move to the place of work supposes for the teleworker an important saving of time, especially in the big cities.
In addition to freeing us from some of the daily stress (traffic jams, transport delays, etc.), these savings allow us to dedicate more time to personal and family life, which results in a better quality of life.
Besides, working from home also often translates into financial savings, especially for workers for whom the company does not cover the cost of commuting, meals, and other money spent.
Improves Motivation and Productivity
The convenience of telecommuting, where the employee knows that he can organize his time and attend to an unforeseen event (an urgent matter, a sick child, etc.) without it being a serious problem, makes the employee value the advantages of his work situation more highly.
This increases their motivation and commitment to meet expectations, achieve objectives, avoids burnouts, and become involved in the smooth running of the company that provides them with this flexibility in working conditions.
Greater Reconciliation of Work and Family Life
This is one of the most valuable advantages of teleworking for the employee. The saving of time, together with the freedom to organize the working day, allows a greater conciliation of the personal and family life with the professional obligations.
In addition, telecommuting also allows the development of the activity, not only at home but in any other place when necessary (family trip, stays at friends’ or relatives’ homes, etc.).
It Allows Integration and Universality
Teleworking is an important opportunity to access employment for people with disabilities who would otherwise find it very difficult to travel to a workplace.
Likewise, people living in rural areas or far from big cities can nowadays have access to a large number of jobs thanks to the emergence of teleworking.
In both cases, the employers can benefit from the contributions of highly talented and valuable people that they would otherwise not be able to have in their ranks.
For the Employer or Freelancer
Cost reduction
Infrastructure and facilities expenses, as well as fixed costs associated with on-site work and office supplies (electricity, heating, air conditioning, computer equipment, wireless devices, web applications, etc.), are considerably reduced when the workforce teleworks.
Lower Absenteeism
One of the biggest problems faced by employers is absenteeism.
Teleworking greatly reduces this problem and it is more cost-efficient for the employer. Most of these absences are related to family or bureaucratic problems that the teleworker can combine by organizing their schedules, without the need to lose the full working day.
Addressing absenteeism in the workplace can also be effectively managed through telecommuting, as it offers flexibility and reduces stress-related absences, contributing to a healthier work-life balance for employees.
Also, since there is no physical coexistence between employees, it minimizes labor conflicts.
Access to Better Professionals
Telecommuting offers the employer the possibility of recruiting professionals of a higher level and specialization to save money.
He no longer has to limit himself only to the supply of workers available in his geographical environment. This will always be beneficial to the success and good performance of the employees.
If you are looking for individuals specialized in a certain expertise such as web design, take a look at some of our web design agencies in the United States or in your area.
Promotes Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Provided that the type of activity allows it, the creation of companies using the telework modality reduces almost to the minimum the initial expenses of starting up.
This is an excellent opportunity for many entrepreneurs to put their projects into practice.
Nowadays there is a great amount of software that helps in the management of teleworking teams, allowing to maintain an organized and coordinated team remotely. There are even offices that can be rented by the hour in case a face-to-face meeting is needed.
Greater Compliance With Objectives
Rather than requiring the dedication of a certain number of hours, most of the companies that opt for teleworking implement a model of work by objectives.
This generally leads to a significant increase in performance.
Management by objectives is a more rational model of work, allowing more focus on core tasks and eliminating the ancillary.
It also promotes professionalism and specialization and encourages autonomous and independent work.
Cons of Telecommuting
It is obvious that, along with the advantages of telecommuting, there are also disadvantages of telecommuting. Not everyone is prepared to replace “obligation” with “responsibility”, nor to submit to the discipline it entails. The main disadvantages are:
Difficulty in Getting Organized
Sometimes, working from home can make it difficult to separate personal or family life from work obligations. Teleworking requires organization and discipline and you have to be willing to comply with them.
In this sense, it is very important to know how to make efficient use of time.
Less Identification of the Remote Workers With the Company
They do not share a physical space with their colleagues and there is no office environment. So there is less personal contact.
Telecommuting can lead to an emotional disengagement of the worker with the employers, resulting in a loss of engagement and identification with the company.
Isolation
The lack of that work environment and relationships with colleagues can cause isolation and lower participation of the workers with the company, even that he/she ends up being excluded from the corporate point of view.
It Hinders Teamwork
Although there are a large number of tools to be in contact virtually, holding collaborative meetings and maintaining a teamwork environment is much more complicated among teleworkers.
It Makes Promotions More Difficult
One of the characteristics of teleworking is that it practically makes hierarchies disappear in the companies so that the workers usually maintain direct contact with a single boss.
This organizational model makes it more difficult for the employees to be promoted within the companies.
It Makes It Difficult to Disconnect
When it comes to disconnecting, leaving the office and returning home is not the same as living and working in the same place. In this sense, telecommuting can cause many people problems of disconnection with the working world.
Reduced Ergonomics
On many occasions, the teleworker runs the risk of neglecting important aspects for his health as ergonomics and the prevention of labor risks.
Many times they work from improvised home offices that do not usually meet the ergonomic conditions of the workstations of an office.
