Problem Statement
It seems that employers are afraid that they will not be able to effectively monitor employees output and have major security concerns when allowing employees to telework. The initial costs of setting up telework to employees may also be a concern for employers.
Background of Problem
Working in the ITS field, we have been asked to research the plausibility of allowing our 600+ employees the ability to telework. Currently half of our managers have the ability to work from home. With this ability we have security concerns, but we also have the expectation to be available to work no matter what the time of day is or how the weather is outside. When the credit union is closed for snow day’s managers with the ability to work from home are expected to log in and perform their normal job functions. Can this be expected of our employees if we give them the capability to work from home? Would the labor union allow this? Is it cost effective to set up employees to work from home? Can we trust employees with our members’ information in a personal environment? Personally, I have worked from home after my daughter’s surgery and when my children have been sick. If I did not have the capability to do so, I would have had to use sick time and my work would have sat for days until I was able to make it into work.
The challenges for ITS is securing a virtualization program for our employees. Virtualization is when there is a basic image on a home work desktop. The employee has very limited accessibility, but they will be allowed to perform their job functions. Limited accessibility includes not being able to change their desktop picture, not having a screen saver, not being able to print, etc. Virtualization (aka telework) can be initially expensive to set up, but cost savings in the future does exist. The challenge is selling upper management and board members on the upfront costs and selling the security that would exist. Another challenge would be selling the limited access employers would have to employees.
Employers will need to research the value of what telework has to offer not only to employees, but to them also. While initial costs may be high, the overall costs will be less than renting an office building, paying for office supply, the upkeep of the parking lot and building, utilities, etc.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this paper is to explain the benefits that telework has for employers and employees. It will also discuss concerns employers may have of telework – security, cost, and monitoring employees work. Telework (aka telecommuting, remote work) is when employees are able to perform their work from the convenience of their home instead of in a traditional office through the use of web based technology.
Significance of Study
Since September 11, 2001, you can open a newspaper and in the business section find employers implementing a business continuity plan (BCP). BCP is when employers put into writing a plan to make sure their business is able to work in the middle of a catastrophe. The catastrophe could be employees working from home, separate building where employees can travel to do their job, etc. Telework has been looked at as a viable option for most employers. There are concerns such as the initial set up costs, the ability to monitor employees, security of the information that the employees are working, who should have the capability to work from home (management or all employees or specific employees) are a few concerns that have been mentioned at my employer.
My hope is to look at each of the concerns I mentioned in the previous paragraph and find solutions for each concern. I believe telework is a great benefit for both employers and employees and should be offered to as many employees as possible. My hope is to touch on both the benefits and the negatives of telework and prove that there are more benefits than negatives.
Nature of Research
Mixed method will be used to research this topic.
Research Questions
What are the employers’ benefits of allowing employees to telework?
What are the employees’ benefits of being allowed to telework?
What are the community benefits of employers implementing telework?
What are the cost savings of telework?
Is there a way to effectively monitor remote employees?
Is there a way to implement security guidelines for remote employees?
Is there any more of a challenge to monitor remote employees versus in-house employees?
Are there software programs available to help secure remote work and to keep security concerns to a minimum?
When is telework an acceptable alternative?
Should all employees be offered telework? If no, how do employers decide who will be able to and who will not?
Theoretical Framework of the Study
When researching telework I will need to review the Organization – are the employees reliable and trustworthy, how can the employer intervene if problems arise, can the organization afford the upfront costs to support telework, is it practical to allow employees to work from home, and which employees should be allowed to work from home.
Employee preferences is also important to look at. Are employees young or older and ready to retire? Is there a desire to work from home. Do the employees have a personal sense of social responsibility? Does the employer have to have employees in a traditional office for customer support?
Assumptions
Employers have the money to support the upfront costs of telework.
There are no regulations against employees working from home.
Employees want to work from home.
There are viable software programs to ensure security measures employers will need to allow employees to work from home.
Employers want to look at the option for telework.
There are both benefits and negatives for employers and employees for telework.
Telework will help increase employee satisfaction and retention.
Scope and Delimitations of the Study
This research is limited to the concerns employers may have of telework. The concerns I will be researching are limited to the costs of telework, the security concerns of telework, and the ability to monitor remote employees.
The delimitation of the study is that it will be a generalization of organizations. I am unable to talk to organizations who have allowed telework or who have decided it against it.
Summary
Today, with the available technology, many employees can perform their work duties without leaving the comfort of their homes. Telework (aka telecommuting) is when an employer provides the necessary equipment to the employee(s) to allow them to work from home. Telework can provide the flexibility for employees to work more effectively and achieve a better work/life balance. Some benefits employers may receive from telework are less sick days used by the employee, less overhead costs, and satisfied productive employees which increases employee retention.
However, there are concerns for employers with telework. Some concerns are costs, security and productivity monitoring. Employers have the ability to make sure that the employees home work stations are secure with different software packages and hardware packages. The employers are also able to monitor the employees productivity by monitoring customer satisfaction and using software packages that would monitor work performed on a computer. The only concern that really cannot be addressed and nipped in the bud is the initial costs of telework. Employers must be able to determine if the initial costs are worth the risk of offering employees the ability to remote work.