Teleworking or Home Based Work
What is telework or home-based work?
Telework in Australia
Toshiba 'Mobility and Mistrust' Survey
What are the benefits?
Implementing telework
Telework in the private sector
Case study: teleworking at Nortel
What is telework or home based work?
Telework or home based work (also known as telecommuting) can be defined as work taking place away from the traditional office facilitated by the use of information communication technology. It is about rethinking the way we work, providing potential benefit to both employers and employees. It can involve staff working away from the workplace on a full-time, part-time or temporary basis. Many organisations allow staff to telework for part of their working week, depending on the nature of the work. Telework can take different forms, such as:
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Full-time teleworkers who work at a remote location and do not have a traditional office to go to;
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Day extenders who take work home after working in the office during standard work hours;
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Occasional teleworkers who work at home or while their travel on an ad hoc basis; and
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Self-employed or owner operators based in their homes.
While telework is not widespread in Australia, there is evidence that it is gaining increasing acceptance.
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Telework in Australia
The number of teleworkers is sometimes difficult to determine, as definitions vary from survey to survey. Some surveys include work undertaken away from the office, or only focus on work undertaken in the home. Telework is sometimes defined with or without the use of information communications technology, and within or outside normal business hours. Some surveys only look at employees while others include employers and the self-employed, or mobile workers.
The latest survey from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that around 2.3 million employed persons (or 24 per cent) in Australia worked some hours from home. Of these, around 725,000 employed persons mainly or only worked from home.
The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) commissioned Sensis to undertake some more detailed research into telework. The Sensis Telework Insights Report for June 2005, defined teleworking as working away from your usual workplace during normal business hours, aided by some form of technology. It found that 30 per cent of individuals and 34 per cent of small to medium businesses reported using telework to some extent.
Toshiba 'Mobility and Mistrust' survey
Toshiba ISD commissioned a survey of 600 managers and employees across Australia and New Zealand about their attitudes towards flexible work. The report entitled 'Mobility and Mistrust' found that:
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More than 50 per cent of respondents think that managers are less trusting of flexible workers and nearly 75 per cent think employees disapprove of their colleagues who sometimes work away from the office;
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In non flexible workplaces 75 per cent of managers said they would be unlikely to let employees work flexibly, even though 50 per cent of employees would like to, if allowed;
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The main obstacle to the uptake of flexible working arrangements is the perceived difficulty in monitoring and supervising employees, with 65 per cent of managers and 59 per cent of employees citing this problem. This indicates scope for performance rather than attendance based evaluation techniques in order to increase trust;
- Managerial support of flexible work arrangements is important. Only 26 per cent of flexible workplaces had policies in place, and most of these applied to individuals rather than across the organisation;
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The report identifies the issues of organisational culture and the need for managerial and co-worker support, in the implementation of flexible work practices.
As a result of their research, Toshiba ISD has put together a practical guide called 'Flexible Working – A Guide to Creating and Managing a Flexible Workplace.' The guide is aimed at organisations and individuals interested in adopting new working practices to improve culture.
For more information, visit the Toshiba ISD Australia website.
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What are the benefits?
The increased flexibility and productivity outcomes available from home-based work are attractive to both employers and employees.
Employers benefit from substantial increases in productivity as shown by recent studies both in Australia and overseas.
Case studies have shown that teleworkers are 15 to 30 per cent more productive than their non-teleworker counterparts. The 2004 US Employment Policy Foundation survey found that on average teleworkers handle 26 per cent more calls and brought in 43 per cent more business than at-office workers.
Reasons for productivity increases include greater ability to concentrate due to less noise and fewer interruptions, reduced absenteeism and enhanced job satisfaction. Other benefits to employers include savings on office space and associated costs, e.g. through desk and equipment sharing, savings on recruitment and training, and the retention of valued staff members who may otherwise leave the organisation.
Telework can provide benefits to the broader community and economy. These include:
- improved business and employment opportunities for all Australians;
- better work-life balance for workers through enhanced workplace flexibility;
- reduced environmental impact through reduced traffic congestion and pollution; and
- business continuity in times of natural disaster or human made emergencies.
For employees, the main benefit of a telework arrangement is the flexibility it brings, enabling employees who have family commitments or other interests in combining these and work responsibilities. Other benefits include savings in travel costs and commuting time, and greater control over the scheduling of work hours.
Telework is seen as attractive for mature age workers seeking lifestyle changes. For people wanting to move away from cities to regional areas, telework can enable them to continue working. For regional and rural communities, telework provides the potential for greater employment opportunities, particularly in areas without a variety of employment options.
Telework can also facilitate opportunities for people with disabilities to undertake work. Teleworkers with disabilities benefit from the flexibility to work in their own home environments, especially if they require home-based care. Reduced travel and associated costs of working in the traditional office environment are also beneficial.
It is important to note that telework is not a substitute for care arrangements and home-based workers should avoid trying to undertake paid employment at home in conjunction with primary caring and domestic responsibilities.
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Implementing telework
Careful planning and consultation is needed to realise the full benefits of telework for employers and employees. Telework can be quite challenging for some employees. Some employees experience feelings of isolation or may feel they are not being considered for promotional opportunities if they are not 'visible' in the office. Teleworkers and managers ought to be mindful of the potential for longer working hours due to the ability to work from home or anywhere away from the workplace (e.g. airport lounges and hotels). Some workers prefer to separate their work and home lives and may have problems adjusting to working from their home.
Other issues to consider include the employee's occupational health and safety (OH&S) and workers' compensation. It is both the employer's and employee's reponsibility to ensure a safe working environment. For formal telework arrangements it is advised that a qualified OH&S inspector undertake a visit to check the home office. For informal or ad hoc arrangements, it may be sufficient to have an OH&S checklist to help employees to identify and mitigate OH&S risks.
A useful starting point in the implementation process is to establish a policy or guide. Consideration should be given to how employees and managers are informed about the terms of the policy.
Some managers may find it difficult to adapt to a different supervisory role - most managers rely on physically seeing employees in the office to check on their work and progress. Concerns such as these can be addressed by looking at measurable performance indicators and objectively assessing the tasks which can be teleworked successfully. Communication channels are very important to establish for a telework arrangement. These and other concerns should all be addressed before starting any arrangement, for example by drafting a mutual agreement. This agreement should outline the responsibilities of management and the employee.
The agreement may cover issues such as:
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purchase and installation of any special equipment, such as a computer or laptop, printer, office furniture, and internet connection;
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procedures for the reimbursement of work-related expenses such as electricity and phone;
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OH&S and workers' compensation — it may be necessary to conduct an OH&S check to identify any potential problems before starting the arrangement;
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employer access arrangements for auditing and other work-related purposes;
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how often the employee is to attend the work site;
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access to career development and training opportunities;
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terms and conditions of employment including pay and leave entitlements;
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managing interactions with clients;
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security of work-related equipment and materials;
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evaluation and review of the arrangement; and
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conditions and procedures for ending/renegotiating the agreement.
Open communication is an essential part of any telework program. Expectations and required outcomes need to be clearly understood. It is important for teleworkers and managers to discuss regularly how the telework arrangement is operating and allow for adequate feedback. Scheduling meetings on day(s) when the teleworker is in the office is one way of ensuring employees can keep in contact with changes and developments in the workplace.
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Telework in the private sector
There is a growing number of Australian organisations that provide home-based work/teleworking arrangements for employees. Organisations that offer telework include Alcoa Australia Limited, Aurora Energy, Australian Federal Police, ANZ, Greenslopes Private Hospital, Grampians Community Health Centre, Hydro Tasmania, IBM, Minter Ellison, Monash University, National Australia Bank, Nortel, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, NSW Road Traffic Authority, Queensland Rail, Sara Lee Household and Body Care, SC Johnson, Shell Australia, Sydney Water Corporation, Telstra, Toshiba, University of Western Australia and Westpac Banking Corporation.
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Case study - teleworking at Nortel
The teleworking program at Nortel Australia has been operating for over 10 years. Around 65 per cent of Nortel’s employees take regular advantage of the ability to securely access corporate systems — intranet, email, people directories, business applications — with their laptop PC from somewhere other than a traditional office desk. Approximately 8 per cent of Nortel employees work from home on a permanent, full-time basis.
The results of Nortel’s teleworking program, now called mobility program, are:
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an estimated 15 per cent increase in productivity reported by teleworkers;
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increased employee satisfaction, with teleworkers reporting that they are 11 per cent more satisfied than the overall employee population;
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teleworking saves approximately $22 million in annual real estate facility costs;
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approximately $18 million is saved annually on traditional telephony costs for mobile workers when they switched to Voice over IP solutions;
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over 900 wireless LAN access points for in-building roaming with laptop PCs;
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flexible working capabilities that enable business continuity during disruptive events; and
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proactive awareness of teleworking and mobile community with presence management.
For more information on Nortel, please visit the Nortel website.
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