The OLS Blog

A few days ago I received a call from someone interested in learning more about how we can help companies maximize telecommuting. Recently at his company, a general decree went out ‘from above’ that people were abusing the company’s willingness to allow people to work from home. Everyone was required to come into a corporate office, somewhere. This broad brush ‘reigning in’ of employees quickly led to bad feelings. 
 
What does abusing the policy mean? What were the criteria for deciding that this was not working, a bad idea, something to be reigned in?  
 
A key criterion must be productivity, and whether employees’ ability to perform effectively was negatively impacted by working from home. As was the case with the gentleman who called me, he found himself to be more productive working from home, away from distractions and the general buzz of the office atmosphere. Not every day, but some days. 
 
In addition, as a fairly significant player at his company, he felt very capable of determining when he could work from home, and when he really need to be at his office, or other employees’ offices. 
 
A second criterion is the commute. Circling back to productivity, is that time better spend working, completing tasks, communicating with others, doing work? Again, the gentleman who called had over 2 hours of commute time daily, time he used more wisely when he was home. 
 
And, the cost of gasoline rising to who knows what price per gallon? That’s got to be a factor in garnering good or bad feelings to the company. Satisfied employees are generally more productive. 
 
What are your metrics for assessing virtual workplace effectiveness? Be careful not to be applying old school thinking to new ways of working.