The 'No Commute' Option

Pooto: Lukas Bieri from Pixabay

A growing number of companies in Legacy and afar are offering their employees the option to “telecommute” to work — that is, giving them the option to work from the comfort of their own homes or another location through a variety of apps and devices, Forbes recently reported.

According to the report: “A decade ago, working from home may have seemed like a distant dream. Today, it's the future of work.”

Telecommuting — or, as we call, it the “no commute” option — has become more popular with both employers and employees over the past decade as technology has made remote work more accessible. Telecommuting allows employees to work remotely but still be an active part of their team. Additionally, as Forbes states, employers have reaped the benefits of making employees happy by offering telecommuting as an option.

If you don’t yet allow telecommuting, consider the Benefits Of Telecommuting. If you do allow teleworking, here are a few warning signs to consider.

Global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas conducted a survey of 120 human resource executives, 80 percent said their companies offer some form of telecommuting to employees, with 97 percent of them saying there are no plans to eliminate that benefit.

“But telework is clearly not for everyone,” reports the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). “Not every worker has the discipline and self-motivation to work from home on a regular basis, which makes it nearly impossible to have a blanket policy,” Challenger added. “Every manager must determine whether telecommuting will be permitted on a case-by-case basis. And, if allowed, it must be continually monitored to ensure that the quantity and quality of the employee’s output do not drop off.

Most companies that Challenger surveyed did not have a blanket telecommuting policy. Less than 10 percent of employers who responded offer telecommuting to all workers; about 40 percent provide telecommuting opportunities to some employees; another 30 percent do not have a formal telecommuting program but permit some employees to work from home some days.

Increased productivity was one of the leading reasons for allowing employees to work from home, according to the Challenger survey. Respondents also cited the desire to help employees achieve a better work-life balance. Other top reasons for permitting telecommuting included higher staff morale and lower office costs.

Among the respondents who indicated that they may or already have eliminated telecommuting, the driving factors were decreased collaboration and increased animosity among those who were not permitted to telecommute.

Here are 10 Signs you aren’t cut out for Teleworking.

A Case Study: Liberty Mutual Insurance on their telework approach

Liberty Mutual Insurance deliberately takes a holistic approach to benefits in order to offer support for the evolving needs of all of its employees and to provide an environment where everyone can be their best — professionally and personally.

As technology blurs the lines between professional and personal lives, flexibility is becoming increasingly important — both to employees and to employers looking to attract and retain the best talent. Today, a work environment that reflects and supports an expanded view of how work can be done is as much a key component of the employee value proposition as a competitive salary and benefits.

That is why Liberty Mutual offers a wide variety of flexible work arrangements including part-time, job sharing, flexible schedules, work from home, and alternative worksite arrangements to help employees balance their work and personal lives.

Liberty Mutual’s Plano campus was constructed in 2017 in a growing business community. Around the Plano area, driving alone is the dominant behavior and makes up 81.7% of an average commute. This is 5.3% higher than the national average. However, largely due to Liberty’s implementation of telecommuting, we are below average with only 77% of our employees indicating that they drive to work alone on average (39.6% survey completion rate).

Despite our better than average results, traffic congestion and ecological elements continue to be important topics to the community and to our employees. Liberty Mutual is working to create a commuting culture among our employee population that aligns with the company and community aspirations and values.