Telecommuting is one of the fastest growing labor trends today. According to observers, many companies are planning to offer telecommuting as they see its many benefits, especially in terms of productivity. And since telecommuting refers to virtually commuting through the use of wired and wireless technologies, the benefits of telecommuting is not only confined between the company and the individual, but also for the environment as well (Cross, 2015, p.2). Just imagine the energy that can be saved from not using a car in going to work because one can do it in the comforts of his own home. And because there is one less car on the highway, telecommuting is apparently a greener option since it contributes to the reduction of carbon dioxide emission. Telecommuting also significantly reduces not only the energy consumption of the organization, but also its overhead operational costs. As observed by experts, “The home worker does not charge the employer for space used, for heating, air conditioning, or for janitorial service” (Cross, 2015, p.12). IT costs, however, may increase since the organization would have to upgrade its IT systems in order to accommodate telecommuting technologies. However, this investment in technology will pay off in the long run. Aside from its positive environmental and social implications, telecommuting offers significant personal benefits for an individual. One of which is the ability to take one’s job anytime, anywhere. Telecommuting is also one of the most flexible jobs there is. As observed by experts, telecommuting allows anyone, even the handicapped, to participate in the works and projects (Cross, 2015, p.15). Evidently, a telecommuter does not have to face long hours of highway traffic. And since a telecommuter can just work at home, he can accomplish other personal task while working simultaneously. A mother, for instance, can do household tasks such as cooking or doing the laundry while, every now and then, working on her laptop or computer. In the event of a disaster, a telecommuter is not heavily affected. In fact, he can still continue his work as long as there are working communication networks. And with the current state of technology, a telecommuter can bring his work with him just by bringing his mobile devices anywhere he goes and just access his company’s work sites wherever he is so long as there is an internet connection.
If there are advantages, there are also disadvantages of telecommuting, although it is quite few. One particular disadvantage, for instance, is that telecommuting will only work for those people who have a strong sense of self-discipline and focus. There are people, for instance, who only work best if his boss or supervisor is around. Once there are no capable guardians, these people tend to procrastinate and often end up being unproductive. Another drawback in telecommuting is that most jobs that have this kind of set up do not have a typical employer-employee relationship. Depending on the contract or arrangement, telecommuters are often freelancers, which mean they do not have a fixed income and most do not have company benefits (Di Martino, V., & Wirth, L., 1990, p.539). Another major drawback in the telecommuting profession is when there are communication and network issues or if there are unexpected hardware failures (Cross, 2015, p.27). In an IT manager’s perspective, among the many advantages of telecommuting are: 1) improved IT infrastructure, 2) easy communication, 3) more flexible workforce and 4) no issues of tardiness or absences. On the other hand, telecommuting can also pose major challenges to an IT manager such as: 1) System issues and downtime, 2) monitoring, 3) IT systems security and 4) corruption and loss of data.
One of the primary concerns of an IT manager with regards to telecommuting is the authorization of third party devices into the organization’s private network. This practice is quite inevitable since most telecommuters use their own devices in accessing an organization’s virtual private network. Such practice may create security risks such as the infiltration of malwares and viruses into the system. For the same reason, the IT infrastructure must have adequate security and backup systems in anticipation of such issues. Many organizations that hire telecommuters have their IT infrastructures set up in a cloud. Cloud computing allows authorized third party devices to access the network online while the mainframe is managed by a third party IT company who specializes in security and backup storage of important files and processes (Mell, & Grance, 2011, p.2). With adequate measures, the risk of using third party devices in telecommuting can be successfully managed.
References
Cross, T. (2015). The Future Technology of Working Green, Telecommuting 2015 . Retrieved February 2016, from http://techtionary.com/: http://techtionary.com/books/telecommuting/index.pdf
Di Martino, V., & Wirth, L. (1990). Telework: A new way of working and living. Retrieved February 2016, from http://www.ilo.int/: http://www.ilo.int/public/english/support/itcom/downloads/pdf/distance.pdf
Mell, P., & Grance, T. (2011, September). The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing. Retrieved February 2016, from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf
Tugend, A. (2014). It’s Unclearly Defined, but Telecommuting Is Fast on the Rise. Retrieved Febuary 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/your-money/when-working-in-your-pajamas-is-more-productive.html?_r=0
