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Common
Myths
About
Telework
The statements below are
Myths
commonly heard in any
organization where telework is being introduced. These myths are perpetuated by lack of experience or
information about telework and can become barriers
to the adoption of telework. Focus groups conducted
by Arizona State University (ASU) during this
evaluation, demonstrated that the exchange of
information based upon actual experience increased
positive attitudes about telework among front-line
supervisors and mid-level managers.
The ASU research team stated the following in
their evaluation of the focus groups:
"It seemed to be a
relatively easy process to change the
perceptions of managers and supervisors
regarding the barriers to telework where those
perceptions were based on unfamiliarity or
misinformation.
In each focus group, participants
described the focus group as a learning
situation about telework.
The least familiar members of each group
were the most likely to express this opinion.
The focus groups in general appeared to
move participants into a position of being more
supportive of telework."
Click
on a myth
below
to find out
What Experience Has To Say.
The statements indented below each myth were taken directly from
the Arizona State University evaluation of the State
of Arizona Telework Program, and reference what
experienced State employees say about
these common myths.
I won't know they're working at
home.
What Experience Has To Say:
Supervisors discover
they are better able to monitor the work by shifting
the focus from how much work the employee looks like
he or she is accomplishing to how much he or she
actually is accomplishing.
By focusing on the work product instead of
the work activity, many supervisors find they are
better able to communicate clear expectations to
their employees.
When supervisors and teleworkers agree on job
expectations, it often leads to increases in
employee productivity and job satisfaction.
Many supervisors already use this method of
management by results.
Mid-level managers and
front-line supervisors reported that they felt
supervising a telework employee involved a change in
management style from management by observation of
the job being done to management of the results. The
participants routinely reported as positive any
changes they made to their management style in order
to more effectively supervise a telework employee.
As reported by senior
managers, logs and time sheets and daily or frequent
contact with teleworkers were the most typically
used monitoring strategies.
Seventy-seven percent of
State non-teleworker and 86% of State teleworkers
disagreed with the statement that, "It is difficult
to track the work products of teleworkers."
State telework pilots
consistently show that, after telework for six
months, both teleworkers and their supervisors
believe that telework has increased the teleworker's
productivity.
Productivity increases because employees have
fewer distractions and interruptions, work at their
personal peak times, and are less stressed due to
the absence of the commute.
The most commonly
mentioned benefits of telework by senior managers
were increased work efficiency and productivity, and
increased employee morale.
Ninety-two percent of
the teleworkers and seventy-two percent of the
non-teleworker disagreed with the statement that
they would get less work done if they worked from
home part of the time.
Teleworkers must have a computer to work from home.
What Experience Has To Say:
Telework
is not synonymous with tele-computing.
You may only require a telephone to work from
home on a part-time basis. Many employees collect tasks to do at home during the week
that do not require special equipment.
Many employees find the opportunity to
telework is so worthwhile they choose to use their
personal equipment when equipment is not available
from their offices.
Many agencies provide laptops for employees
to sign out and take home.
A computer is not required to telework.
Familiarity with
telework was related to one's perception as to the
suitability of job tasks for working from home.
Familiarity also appeared to have some
relationship to the perception that computers were
necessary in order to telework; i.e., those who were
more familiar with telework were more likely to
disagree with the statement that computers are
necessary to telework.
Job requirements such as
computers, short notice meetings, and access to
reference material at the job location may be
important factors influencing the decision to
telework but were not perceived as significant
barriers to telework by State employees.
A strong majority of
State employees (83%) indicated that their job tasks
were suitable for telework.
Sixty-seven percent of State employees have
or would be willing to purchase the equipment
necessary to allow them to telework.
I won't get promoted if I
telework.
What Experience Has To Say:
Actually, current
research suggests teleworkers are more likely to be
promoted than their non-teleworking coworkers
according to a study mentioned in the Advanced Management Journal, Summer '92.
The reason for this may be that teleworkers
tend to be selected by management because they work
well independently and can be trusted to perform
well remote from the office environment.
Eighty-nine percent of
State teleworkers disagreed that they felt out of
the loop when teleworking.
The employee survey
found no significant difference in promotion rates
between teleworkers and non-teleworkers.
Teleworkers must work at home
five days a week.
What Experience Has To Say:
Telework allows selected
employees to work at home, or a state office
location closer to home, one or more days a week.
Jobs are really just a collection of tasks.
Some tasks must be done at the office.
Tasks which may be done away from the office
are called teleworkable tasks. The amount of telework an employee may do, depends on how
many teleworkable tasks they have each week and
whether the equipment required to accomplish those
tasks is available. Keep in mind, it is not necessary to have a computer to
telework. Many tasks, such as reading, thinking,
planning or making phone calls, do not require
computers and may be saved for a telework day.
Most current teleworkers work from home on an ad
hoc, rather than a regularly scheduled basis and an
even greater percentage of former teleworkers worked
from home on an ad hoc basis.
Teleworkers are not available when you need them.
What Experience Has To Say:
Teleworkers work with
their supervisors during training to create an
individual agreement where responsibilities are
restructured to maintain work group integrity and
plan how they will maintain communication with the
office and what will be done to meet contingencies.
If the teleworker is needed, he or she may be
asked to come in to the office or join an emergency
staff meeting by conference call.
Ninety-two percent of
teleworkers and 80% of non-teleworkers disagreed with
the statement, "Teleworkers are never around when
you need them."
State managers disagreed in the same
proportion as employees.
Telework is not for everyone, so it's not fair.
What Experience Has To Say:
Offering the opportunity
to work at home is a management option; telework is
not a universal employee benefit.
Supervisors may select employees who have
right tasks, abilities and circumstances at home
necessary to telework.
But an employee's participation in the
State's telework program is entirely voluntary.
Not having the opportunity to telework is not
a grieveable offense.
Telework is not for everyone and not everyone
wants it.
The focus on fairness can be deceiving.
We all have different needs.
Rather, look at fairness as offering several
flexible work options like flextime or compressed
work weeks so most everyone will have the
opportunity to get the flexibility they need when
they need it.
Everyone will want to telework.
What Experience Has To Say:
Most people prefer the
normal work week.
Everyone does not want or need the same
flexibility in the work place.
Flexibility in the workplace is not usually
offered as a universal employee benefit, but at the
option of management. A State employee with information handling tasks at
least part of the time may be a candidate for
telework. Successful teleworkers are self-motivated and
results-oriented employees who work well
independently.
They need minimal supervision, are currently
successful in setting priorities, meet deadlines and
take the initiative to communicate with team
members.
Beyond this, they need the right atmosphere
and equipment to work from home.
A strong majority of
non-teleworking respondents answered that they
perform at least one teleworkable job task on a
regular basis. Of non-teleworking participants 83 percent indicated that
their jobs task were suitable for telework, but 33%
were not willing or didn't have resources at home to
enable them to telework.
Equipment will be expensive.
What Experience Has To Say:
Many employees find the
opportunity to telework is so worthwhile they choose
to use their personal equipment when equipment is
not available from their offices.
Many agencies have computers that people can
take home.
Again, we are not saying a computer is
required to telework.
You may only require a telephone.
The costs associated
with implementing telework are small when compared
to the costs of not implementing such options;
consider the costs of continued loss of employee
productivity due to stress, low morale, burnout and
turnover.
LA County, one of the largest telework
programs in the country, found a 20:1 benefit to
cost ratio in the fourth year of their telework
program.
A strong majority of
State employees (83%) indicated that their job tasks
were suitable for telework.
Sixty-seven percent of State employees have
or would be willing to purchase the equipment
necessary to allow them to telework.
Teleworkers cause more work for supervisors.
What Experience Has To Say:
Managing employees on a
flexible schedule will require more communication of
the work product and expectations.
One of the extra benefits of flexible work
options is that it forces management by task and
objective.
Many managers have found that the increase in
quality communication with employees has reduced
their overall workload over time.
Reduced interaction with coworkers also
forces communications to be more direct and
business-like.
Managers and supervisors
felt that there was no difference supervising a
teleworker or a non-teleworker, this was a
non-issue.
In all six groups supervisors and managers
reported selecting teleworkers based upon their
previous good performance.
In the majority of cases, the telework
employee had to agree upon tasks to perform while
telework and this performance was monitored closely.
Seventy-six percent of
State non-teleworkers and 85% of State teleworkers
disagreed with the statement that, "It takes more
time to supervise a teleworker."
Teleworkers cause more work for
coworkers.
What Experience Has To Say:
Before telework,
supervisors and teleworkers go through several
training exercises to help them determine how they
will manage their normal office duties without
burdening coworkers.
When surveyed, coworkers
repeatedly respond that telework does not impede the
office routine and that the program should be
expanded.
Seventy-five percent of
State non-teleworker and 87% of State teleworkers
disagreed with the statement that, "Having employees
work at home makes my job more difficult."
Sixty-six percent of
State non-teleworker and 72% of State teleworkers
disagreed with the statement that, "Scheduling
meetings around teleworkers causes difficulties in
my work unit."
Our type of jobs aren't compatible to telework.
What Experience Has To Say:
Research does not verify
that complete businesses or categories of jobs are
incompatible with telework.
Jobs are really just a collection of tasks.
Some tasks must be done at the office. Tasks
which may be done away from the office are called
teleworkable tasks.
The amount of telework an employee may do,
depends on how many teleworkable tasks they have
each week and whether the equipment required to
accomplish those tasks is available. Telework is an
individual arrangement where responsibilities are
restructured to maintain work group integrity.
Those arrangements are created by confronting
the concerns and working out solutions.
A strong majority of
non-teleworking respondents answered that they
perform at least one teleworkable job task on a
regular basis. Of non-teleworking participants 83 percent indicated that
their jobs task were suitable for telework.
The researcher noted
that the major difference within groups occurred
between those who were currently involved and those
who had never been involved.
This typically occurred when a barrier was
raised by a non-teleworking participant and a
solution was suggested by a telework participant.
For example, to the stated objection by a
focus group participant that his employees did not
have job tasks that were suitable for telework,
another supervisor currently supervising teleworkers
responded that it was possible to reorganize job
tasks so that telework was an option.
The public would not support
State employees working from home.
What Experience Has To Say:
Contrary to popular
belief, the public understands the need for
flexibility in the workplace and is in favor of
offering the opportunity to qualified State
employees.
Almost seven out of ten
of those surveyed responded favorably to a plan that
would allow qualified State employees to work at
home one or two days a week instead of driving to
work.
The main reason people are favorable to a
telework plan is that it would cut down on pollution
and reduce traffic. Another frequently cited reason
is that telework provides the ability to spend more
time with family.
Our employees deal with confidential information so
they can't telework.
What Experience Has To Say:
Information security is
a legitimate concern but telework should not create
a significantly greater concern than is currently
the case in the office.
State telework policies stipulate that
restricted access materials not leave the office
without supervisory approval. Again, teleworker/supervisor training and Telework Agreements
are used to answer the individual concerns and needs
of each teleworker, supervisor and their
non-teleworking coworkers.
During the training, supervisors and
teleworkers will go through several exercises to
help them take a closer look at what it will be like
to work apart from the office one or more days a
week.
Worksheets help them identify and resolve potential
complications before they become problems.
While State employees
considered immediate access information and
reference materials to be important to their jobs,
teleworkers were less likely to find this a barrier
to telework.
Seventy-six percent of
State non-teleworkers and 82% of State teleworkers
disagreed with the statement that, "People who
handle confidential information should not
telework."
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