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Telecommuting will get a boost in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Employers that have already embraced telecommuting are likely to find increased demand for work-at-home arrangements, while other companies that have resisted it will be forced to accept some telecommuting, at least in emergencies.
Many companies, particularly those in New York City whose workplaces were destroyed or made inaccessible by the attacks, will find that some workers who were forced to take up telecommuting will resist coming back to a central office. And some CEOs, worried about having all their employees at one work site, will consider establishing satellite operations and alternative work centers.
Meanwhile, other firms reluctant to use telework arrangements may be dragged into the practice. Sept. 11 won't be the last time companies across the country are forced to fold up shop at one location. The prospect of more terrorist actions, bomb threats—even bad weather—will force companies to include alternative work sites in emergency plans. Employers will have to ensure that teleworkers have access to computers and office network connections they'll need to get back on the job, and it won't take long for resources put in place for emergency telework to become used routinely.
Companies that embraced telecommuting before the terrorist attacks are no doubt patting themselves on the back, says John Niles, president of Global Telematics, a policy research and consulting firm in Seattle. Their employees were able to continue on the job while other firms scrambled to keep operating. But don't expect that their experience will lead to a sudden skyrocketing of telework beyond the estimated 16.5 million people who telecommute at least once a month now.
Only 14% of some 5700 human resources professionals polled shortly after Sept. 11 by the Society for Human Resource Management, a trade group in Alexandria, Va., and eePulse of Ann Arbor, Mich., said that they expect a surge in telecommuting after the terrorist attacks. Although most workers and some top managers like the idea, telecommuting is still a hard sell for many of the middle managers responsible for overseeing such arrangements. Some still cling to the adage, "Out of sight, out of mind" and clock a worker's productivity by the amount of time the individual spends in the office. Other managers fear that teleworking will put them out of a job—if workers are at home or at a satellite work center, who needs the manager? Human resources experts say that both premises are wrong.
Researcher-Reporter: Nicole Bonnell
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