Company officials say having employees
telecommute or work remotely saves money, makes employees more productive and
helps the environment. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer in February generated a lot of
attention when the company announced that employees could no longer work from
home and had to come into the office. Mayer and other Yahoo officials said it
was the right move for the company, arguing that Yahoo needed to improve
communication and collaboration among employees, and that it was difficult to
do without having the employees under the same roof.
The decision went against the trend
toward telecommuting—particularly in the tech sector—and was furiously debated,
with critics saying that telecommuting boosted worker productivity, made for
more satisfied employees, was a good recruiting tool, saved companies money and
helped the environment. It also reportedly has engendered some anger from
Silicon Valley residents, who say Yahoo's decision and similar ones by other
tech vendors like Hewlett-Packard are key contributors to a worsening traffic
situation in the area, according to Business Insider. However, Dell is laying
out a plan to get half of its workforce to work remotely at least part of the
time by 2020, which officials said will reduce the vendor's expenses while
helping out the environment. The effort around increased telecommuting is one
of more than two dozen goals outlined in a recent report by the newly-private
Dell—called the "2020 Legacy of Good" plan—that officials are aiming
for over the next six-plus years to reduce the company's impact on the
environment.
Other goals range from ensuring that 100
percent of Dell packaging is made from reusable or compostable materials,
phasing out "environmentally sensitive materials" (such as mercury
and berylium) as viable alternatives hit the market, getting 75 percent of
employees involved in community service, and diverting 90 percent of all waste
generated by Dell buildings away from landfills. Dell already offers flexible
work schedules through its Connected Workplace program, through which 20
percent of employees telecommute, work remotely or have variable work times.
Trisa Thompson, vice president of corporate responsibility at Dell, told
Houston television station KVUE that having 20 percent of the company's 14,000
employees at Round Rock, Texas, saved Dell $14 million in 2012 and reduced CO2
emissions by 6,735 metric tons. Increasing the number of telecommuters and
remote workers to 50 percent could result in more than 7,000 cars being taken
off area roads, Thompson said." Technology now allows people to connect
anytime, anywhere, to anyone in the world, from almost any device," the
Dell report reads. "This is dramatically changing the way people work,
facilitating 24x7 collaboration with colleagues who are dispersed across time
zones, countries and continents.
Dell is a global technology leader, so
our team members should be able to take advantage of the flexible work
opportunities that our own products and services create."The company also
has begun offering consulting services to customers looking to create similar
flexible work schedules using Dell technology and expertise.
According to the market research firm
Global Workplace Analytics, telecommuting and remote working is becoming
increasingly popular, with 3.3 million people in the United States—not
including the self-employed or unpaid volunteers—saying their home is their
primary place of work. Regular telecommuting grew by 79.7 percent between 2005
and 2012, and should grow to 3.9 million workers by 2016, according to the
firm.Sixty-four million U.S. employees—about half of all workers in the
country—are in a job that is compatible to telecommuting and remote working at
least part of the time, Global Workplace Analytics reported.According to a
March report by Staples Advantage, the B2B unit of retail chain Staples, 93
percent of employees surveyed said telecommuting programs are benefitting both
them and their companies, and 53 percent of business decision makers said
telecommuting leads to more productive employees.
In addition, 37 percent of employers
reported a drop in absenteeism, while 48 percent of remote workers surveyed
said they are less stressed.However, there also were concerns: 59 percent of
telecommuters don't use their company’s data backup system, putting sensitive
information at risk, and 33 percent of employees said dealing with IT issues is
one of the most difficult aspects of working from home
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