Revise using APA format

Abstract:

Telecommuting is the process of working from a place that is not the part of the organization structure of the company that hires you. The people who telecommute could be working from any place that has the important and basic communication facilities like phone and internet. The way it works is that the employee and the employer decide on a way to communicate and then use it to talk about and assign work and they clear payments. This method of work is getting popular day by day but there are still some problems that are caused by it. Telecommuting can cause some serious management and personal issues to both the employers and the employees and this makes the telecommuting a bit more difficult as compared to the regular job.

What is telecommuting?

A person is said to be telecommuting when he is working from a place that is remote and is not exactly a conventional office. This place could either be a coffee house, or a room or suite in a hotel or even a bedroom at home. In short, it could be any place but not the traditional kind of office where the employee and the employer work to gather. Under the telecommuting work arrangement, all the employee has to do is to keep a close contact with the employer and any other possible members of the team and the coworkers with the help of a phone, messages or any other means of communication. Any form of communication can be used to talk. This may include computers, electronic mails, telephones or any communication application over the internet. The whole point is that the employee is assigned work over the phone or whatever the communication method is and the client pays the employee as soon as he gets the required work completed. The people working under these arrangements tend to work for almost 1 to 3 days a week at most times from their remote workplaces with the proper internet and phone connection.

The person who works under this arrangement is referred to as “teleworkers” and in some cases, they are also called “telecommuters”. At many other instances they are also called the employees who are “home sourced” or the people who “work at home”.

According to a poll taken by the Reuters, there is always one worker in a group of five, throughout the whole world, that works from home. This ratio increases in the areas such as Asia, Middle East and the Latin side of America.

According to another concept, the processing of telecommuting can be distributed among four different dimensions. These dimensions include

· Location: a place that is chosen to work, but it has to be within the organizational structure of the place that is assigning the work.

· Use of the information technology for the use of communication: it includes the type of communication methods that are used between the employee and the employer.

· The distribution of time: this means the time, which the teleworker spends working on the assigned project. It is totally different from that can be expected from the time distribution of the regular work places.

· The nature of the contract between the employer and the employee: whether it is a product based contract or a full time job.

Looking around you will notice that the popularity of the telecommuting is increasing day by day. This means that the in the near future the use of telecommuting will be several fold greater than it is now.

What makes telecommuting so great?

There are several things that make telecommuting such a great idea. The benefits that it presents to the people are great and that is why the number of people adopting this method of employment is increasing every day. The method of telecommuting not only affects the employers or the employees, it is also beneficial for communities.

It is perfect for the people who are required at home at most of the times. The stay at home parents and the general care takers can fulfil their duties and still make some money on the side. It is also perfect for the people who are not able to go out and work in proper offices and other work places. It is a perfect opportunity for the people who are retired or are somehow disabled to stay inside the comforts of their home and make money for themselves without any problem. People who live in the remote areas and are not comfortable with travelling to big cities to find the jobs can always sit back and enjoy the fruit they might reap from the telecommuting.

For companies that are looking for good and efficient employees, the telecommuting increases the size of the talent pool. They get a greater variety of people to choose from and thus get the chance to hire the best for their company.

For the employees it is also a very convenient method. Since they don’t have to go to office or any other work place, so they are spared from the commutes that can often be very time consuming and tiring. This way the employees can spend more time with the people they love doing thing that they love. A mother who has to take care of the house and children can always work to help the family financially.

Many companies complain that often have to say goodbye to some of their best employees because of the things that are going on in their personal lives. With the help of telecommuting the person who is having to move away due to personal reasons can still keep his job.

The telecommuting can definitely increase the productivity of an employee. The business studies and different analyses clearly prove this fact. It is so because the person who is working from home can save a lot of time by not having to worry about attending important meetings and other interruptions that are always present at a workplace. If a person is focused, good at managing time and is disciplined, he can get more work done at home than in the conventional workplace.

The telecommuting can also help in all sorts of cost cutting. The business that does not have to pay for the offices, electricity bills, parking spaces and several other work places expanses can definitely save a lot of money and can thus invest more money in something that would expand their business.

Why is telecommuting implemented in all places?

The main question is that is telecommuting is so good then how come it is not implemented at all the work places in the world. The answer is because even though it has several advantages, it also has some serious disadvantages.

The main problem that makes surfaces when you start a telecommuting business is the weak management. Sometimes keeping track of everything and managing the whole telecommuting process can be very difficult. The teleworkers do not get the direct supervision and as a result they can sometimes mess up the project. Other management issues include the security problems. Sometimes the home offices do not have the connectivity options that are required by the companies and that cause severe management issues.

Other issues occur when the company cannot get hold of the employee at the right time. Summoning the employee in the office is easy and efficient but when the employee is working remotely, connecting to the employee at the right time can be a bit of a problem sometimes. Apart from that the lack of face to face conversation can cause trouble in communicating several crucial ideas to the employee.

The telecommunicating can cause some personal problems for the employees too. Some of these problems include:

· Low productivity if the employee is not disciplined.

· Lots of distractions around because of family and other more attractive activities

· The projects often do not get enough security from prying eyes.

· Difficulty in managing the regular activities and the job related activities.

· Lack of guidance at the time when it is needed most.

References:

It’s Unclearly Defined, but Telecommuting Is Fast on the Rise, Your Money