The debate rages on. Imagine two employee scenarios. In the first, a guy
\n gets up at 6:30. Showered and shaved, he gets all up in his
\nprofessional outfit and faces rush hour. Forty-five minutes later, our
\nman pulls into a spot and rushes to get to his desk. Scenario number
\ntwo: Joe Q. Public isn’t so public in this version. He sits down to work
\n from home at 7:30 am. Did he shower, shave and get dressed? Probably
\nnot.<\/p>\n
With anytime\/anywhere computing, it’s easier than ever to get work done from home. But is there a productivity cost? It’s just been reported
\n that Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg “eBay” Whitman is quietly tightening up HP
\n work-from-home policies. Earlier this year, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer
\ncaught major heat when she enacted a ban on telecommuting. Yahoo stock
\nprices are up, but neither public opinion nor the stats are in Mayer’s
\nfavor.<\/p>\n
Working from home (or the local Starbucks) is trending up in America. A
\nstudy from Global Workplace Analytics found that the telecommuting
\nworkforce increased by a whopping 79.7% between 2005 and 2012.<\/p>\n
Scott Berkun, who wrote the book "The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and the Future of Work,"
\n says that given the veritable eons of time employees would gain if they
\n dropped the daily commute, why wouldn’t employers want workers to try
\ntelecommuting? It has the potential to improve quality of life and
\nperformance. Cutting out a daily 45-minute commute each way adds up to
\n375 extra hours per year. Sixty-three percent of employers now allow
\nworkers to telecommute, according to the Families and Work Institute.<\/p>\n
You’re probably thinking, are employees working or just “working” from
\nhome; meaning, are they actually doing chores around the house or
\ncatching up on other personal business? Employers can’t exactly install
\nNannyCams to find out what their workers are up to at any given moment.
\nBut they can take steps to ensure that work is getting done. Measure
\nsuccess not by hours on the job but by output. If an employee is
\nresponsible for generating a weekly spreadsheet, that’s a deliverable
\nthat can be measured. It’s on you as an employer to hire self-directed
\npeople who feel a sense of ownership for your business.<\/p>\n
Here’s the thing. Suppose your employee does take a break to greet the
\nkids when they get home from school. That is exactly the kind of thing
\nthat makes for a happier worker. And a happier worker is more productive
\n and loyal.<\/p>\n
If you are a taskmaster, you’re fighting a losing battle. If you
\nare keeping an eye on your staff’s online status every minute of the
\nday, your employees will quickly feel trapped, and you can accomplish
\nthat feat just as easily at the office. So don’t blame the guy in the
\nboxers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"