Workers who battle drive-time traffic, spend a significant portion of a paycheck at the gas station, and fight the distracting hubbub of the office may dream of working amid the comforts of home. There’s no frustrating commute, no office annoyances. But a good many telecommuters worry that they’re missing something because they’re isolated from colleagues. Despite high-tech solutions, they don’t get the benefits of in-the-flesh face time, and they can’t help but wonder if their careers—and maybe even their employers—suffer because of their work arrangement. 
Telecommuting with its various pros and cons continues to take center stage in discussions of work-life balance and productivity. Regardless of the debate, telework seems to be gaining in popularity. A 2011 report from George Washington University’s TechCast predicts that the number of U.S. private-sector workers working from home could reach 30 percent by 2019.
Telework stereotypes
Along with the growth of the practice, certain stereotypes have emerged. But a new survey from Flex+Strategy Group/Work+Life Fit Inc. suggests those ideas may be myths.
The workplace consulting organization conducted a national probability survey of 556 full-time employed adults and found that 31 percent of that group did most of their work away from the office. That percentage should be a wakeup call for employers, according to flexible workplace advocate Cali Williams Yost, CEO of Flex+Strategy Group.
“Failure to understand how and where work gets done and by whom, and failure to support these operational strategies with the attention and resources warranted—including training and guidance—can compromise the optimal performance and wellbeing of both organizations and employees,” Yost said.
The stereotype has been that most teleworkers are women, parents, or of the Millennial age group, but the survey found that 71 percent of the remote workers were men. Also, the survey found no significant difference between remote workers with or without children, and there was no significant difference in the age of remote workers.
Despite the increase in flexible work options, some companies are rejecting the work-at-home trend. Yahoo! Inc.’s President and CEO Marissa Mayer made headlines last year when she decided to discontinue allowing employees to work from home. Her lead was soon followed by retailer Best Buy, which instituted a similar policy. Workplace flexibility advocates countered with arguments about enhanced productivity and work satisfaction when people work outside the office.
With so much work being done at home and other remote locations, Yost says employers make a mistake treating telework as a “disposable option, as in the case of Yahoo.”
“Telework is not a perk and it’s certainly not just for moms and Gen Y,” Yost said. “Rather, it’s an operational strategy. Think of it as anything less and organizations ignore what has become a vital part of their business and the way their people actually work.”
But is Marissa Mayer on to something?
It’s been a year since word leaked that Mayer was calling in her home-based workers. The memo from Yahoo!’s HR chief explained that the decision was made in the interest of collaboration, quality, and speed.
“Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people and impromptu team meetings,” the memo stated. “Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.”
A couple of months after the memo was made public, Mayer defended her decision during a speech to a group of HR professionals gathered for the Great Place to Work conference in Los Angeles. She told the group that having home-based workers is “not what’s right for Yahoo right now” and “it was wrongly perceived as an industry narrative.”
Mayer also said that “people are more productive when they’re alone, but they’re more collaborative and innovative when they’re together.” She cited a collaboration success story by pointing out that the company’s new weather app came about because two software engineers were working in the same office.
Employer tips
As employers decide how or whether to allow telecommuting, they need to keep legal concerns in mind. The editors of Kansas Employment Law Letter covered telework policies shortly after the Yahoo! and Best Buy decisions came to light. Here are a few issues they suggest employers keep in mind:
- Employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) need to track their nonexempt employees’ work hours regardless of whether they work in the office, at home, or elsewhere. Telecommuting agreements should ensure that nonexempt employees report the number of hours they work on both a daily and weekly basis.
- The FLSA also requires employers to pay nonexempt employees overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 during a workweek. That means a telecommuting agreement should inform employees not to work overtime without first obtaining approval. Anyone who works unauthorized overtime must be paid, but the issue can be addressed through discipline.
- Employees with disabilities covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sometimes request to work at home as a reasonable accommodation. Employers considering such an accommodation need to determine whether the essential functions of the employee’s job can be accomplished through telecommuting. Those essential functions should be outlined in the telecommuting agreement. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has guidance available about ADA reasonable accommodations and telecommuting.
- Sometimes workers suffering serious health conditions can avoid taking leave by working from home. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) doesn’t prohibit employees who are taking FMLA leave from working at home, but time spent working can’t count against an employee’s allotment of 12 weeks of leave per year.
The Vermont Employment Law Letter also covered telecommuting policies in the wake of the Yahoo! announcement. Here are a few more issues to keep in mind:
- Make sure to consider tax- and employment-related state laws, including those of other states if employees live in a state other than where the employer is located. That includes determining whether withholding of out-of-state taxes is required.
- Employers should take steps to avoid discrimination claims by making sure they have business-related reasons for allowing or prohibiting work-at-home arrangements.
- Employers should understand how their workers’ compensation policies treat telecommuters’ work-related accidents.
- Employees working at home may put confidential information at risk. Getting the IT department involved in setting up telecommuting arrangements can help keep information secure. Also, employees should be trained on how to protect confidential information.