Despite moves by Yahoo! Inc. and Best Buy to end policies that allowed employees to work from home, eight in 10 employers say they will maintain some form of telecommuting option, a recent survey shows.
Among 120 human resources executives surveyed by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., 80 percent said their companies allow employees some form of flexible working or telecommuting arrangement.
Nearly all of those whose companies allow telecommuting said there are no plans to eliminate that benefit, according to the survey.
“If a company is having success with its telecommuting program, it is unlikely to pull the plug on it simply because Yahoo did,” said John A. Challenger, CEO of the global outplacement and executive coaching firm. “No two companies are the same, so each must evaluate policies such as telecommuting based on how it will affect its customers, employees and the bottom line.”
David Lewis, president and CEO of Norwalk human resources firm OperationsInc L.L.C., called Yahoo”™s move “a really poor strategic decision for them and other companies that follow suit.”
Lewis cited longer commutes and worsening traffic as well as the high cost of living in Fairfield County as just some reasons for allowing employees to have flexible workplace arrangements.
“Traffic on I-95 and on the Merritt is a huge barrier” for companies based in Fairfield County, Lewis said. “And if you want to try and staff your organization in the Fairfield County market ”” especially for individuals who are of a certain salary level who can”™t afford to live in this area ”” then you have to go ahead and be creative.”
Slightly more than 8 percent of U.S. workers have commutes of an hour or longer, while just half that ”” 4.3 percent ”” work from home, according to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau for its annual American Community Survey.
The average one-way daily commute for U.S. workers is 25.5 minutes, and one in four commuters leaves their county to work, according to the Census data. Additionally, nearly 600,000 Americans have daily commutes of 90 minutes or more, the Census found.
Lewis said there are “huge, huge competitive advantages for businesses in the county to provide flexible work arrangements.”
But, he said, “It”™s a huge risk if employers don”™t do it right.”
When instituting a telecommuting policy, Lewis said companies need to be able to ensure their employees can work without distractions like children, the laundry or meal preparations.
“You start off with, ”˜What does the employee have as far as a home office setup is concerned? Do they have an environment that”™s conducive to them being productive and to doing work?”™” Lewis said. “You don”™t allow your employees to come to work with their children, in most cases, or to do their laundry in the workplace, or to start preparing dinner … so why would you allow them to be in that position at home?”
Lewis said companies must first structure work-from-home policies, after which they are responsible for training their managers to manage the remote workforce.
He accused Yahoo of failing to do the latter.
“The Yahoo decision is more of an indication of failed execution, not of a failed policy,” Lewis said. “This just reeks of them saying, ”˜We”™re going to end this practice for the wrong reasons, because people aren”™t being productive and it doesn”™t seem like people are as engaged remotely.”™”
According to those surveyed by Challenger, increased productivity is one of the leading reasons for allowing employees to work from home. Other reasons included offering workers a better work-life balance, building morale, keeping office costs down, helping offset long commutes and recruiting talent.
