So the debate rages on.
Is it better to work from home or keep employees in the office?
It may be a little bit of both.
It's no secret that businesses can save money letting
employees work from home (up to $8000 a year!) and studies have shown that
there is an increase in productivity from employees that have the option.
However, let's not leave out that working from home is not for everyone and
there are some individuals that prefer having workplace interaction with fellow
co-workers.
Some feel giving employees the option to decide is a much
better solution than an "either/or" stance when it comes to working
from home. When an employee is given the opportunity to decide for him or
herself which choice suits their working style best, there is a sense of
empowerment that makes that employee feel more dedicated to their job and their employer.
There is no doubt that telecommuting is used in many forms
in the modern workplace already. It's just a matter of taking it further and
waiting for old styles of management to evolve and catch up with the lightning
fast technology of today. Those who feel that the problems everyone else sees with
working at home as conquerable are typically those who are already in the game—
and have been for decades. If they could find a way to make it work even in the days before Skype, IM and high-speed internet, shouldn't a company be able to devise a management strategy that allows employees to work from home?
There is a likelihood of telecommuting becoming more common,
even if the adaptation is slow in coming. Still, it kind of makes it fun to muse on what the
"modern" workplace will be like 50 years from now.
