ENG 122 Final Research Paper

Impacts of telecommuting on employee experience, organizational success and workplace culture.

Marshakie Applewhite

ENG122: English Composition II

Instructor: Dr. Paula Hayes

July 6, 2017

Impacts of telecommuting on employee experience, organizational success and workplace culture.

Telecommuting is the work arrangement by which the workers have a work arrangement where they can work from any other physical location other than the workplace. They can work from home or from any other location that is close to the workplace such as a library or a java shop. This arrangement allows the workers to travel to their workplaces through telecommunication devices such as internet connections or telephones to connect with their colleagues as they conduct their work in another geographical location. The employees can occasionally visit the offices to engage with the other employees in meetings; however, this may be rare because of the ability to carry out teleconferencing. Telecommuting is a common practice in the American workforce. It has allowed many employees to achieve the much coveted work-life balance. However, just with any other invention, the telecommuting has an effect on the employee experience, workplace culture and organizational success. The use of telecommuting in the workplace in America is increasingly becoming popular and beneficial, therefore, it is necessary that an organization will be able to look into the impact of telecommuting.

Telecommunication is based on three main principles. One principle is the manipulation, transformation, and processing of information. This is where the employees can be able to access information from any location that they are working from and can pass information to their colleagues easily (Pinsonneau, 1999). For telecommuting to be effective, then information transfer should be as efficient as it is while the employee is still in the workplace. Therefore, the information transfer should be fast and easy. The employee should be in contact with their colleagues so as ensure that the quality of work delivered is similar to what it would have been if they worked in the office. Another principle is that the employee should be committed to the organization that they are working for (Pinsonneau, 1999). The lack of supervision of the employee as they work outside the office may make the employees less motivated to work and may make them provide less quality of work. Therefore, the organization has to be sure that the employee is dedicated to the organization. This will ensure that their performance does not fall once they telecommute. Contract employees cannot be treated the same as organizational employees. This is because their commitment to the organization is less than that of the organizational employees. Strong limits should be imposed on how they conduct telecommuting to ensure that their performance remains constant. Apple computers has a substantial work force that telecommutes from home based offices located all over the world, as does Bank of America, McGraw Hill, Xerox, Chevron and many other Fortune 500 companies. The future is very obviously in the corner of telecommuting.

The last principle is the lack of limitation of space and time. The employees can work in whichever geographical location. Companies today try to save on space by delocalizing the space in which employees work. The company can have satellite offices that are close to the residences of the employees or even allow the workers to work from home (Pinsonneau, 1999). This reduces the expenses the company incurs in providing a conducive working environment for their employees while the same time provides the employee with a proper work environment. It allows them to achieve the work-life balance which will lead to better job satisfaction and ultimately better work performance.

Telecommuting has several impacts on the working experience of the employees. It tends to improve their efficiency and performance in the workplace. (Cross, & Raizman, 1986) present concepts for designing work environments via computer-assisted systems, and they present creative applications for assimilating telecommunications technology to increase productivity as well as develop new business opportunities. This is because the employees get to design their workplace. In telecommuting, the employee can work where and when they feel most comfortable. It will enable them to focus on their task and provide better performance. The employees also get to achieve a work-life balance. Telecommuting allows the employee to be close to their families and engage in family activities as their schedule is flexible. This causes increased job satisfaction which results in better performance and loyalty to the company (Mamaghani, 2012). It also reduces the workplace stress of the employee. This is because the employee can easily remove the stressors in the environment. This allows them to have more concentration in their work and consequently improved performance.

There are however some drawbacks to telecommuting on work experience of the employees. One is that the employee may end up being overburdened with work. This is because they do not work within the normal business hours and can, therefore, work at any time. If the employee lacks discipline, they will end up piling heaps of work and this will prevent them from engaging with their families. It also increases the risks of the company information getting into the wrong hands. This is because the employee is working in a different location where other people can easily access the company information without detection (Mamaghani, 2012). This puts the company security at serious risk. There is also inadequate feedback in telecommuting. This is because the employees are not in one geographical location and cannot communicate as efficiently as they would. Any failure in the telecommunication devices will cause significant delays in information transfer which slows down the company processes.

Telecommuting can also have an effect on the organizational culture of the organization. The organizational culture is the norms and behavior that the employees stick to while working in the organization. These norms are created after the interaction of the employees as a way to maintain order among them. Telecommuting brings about employee isolation, where the employees do not work in the same environment and therefore, do not get time to interact. This reduces the cohesion of the employees in the workplace which weakens the organizational culture (Gainey, 1999). The organization should be aware of this and create ways to ensure that the organizational culture of the company remains strong. One way is by creating an organizational culture that supports the individualistic working of the employees. This will encourage the practice of telecommuting while growing the organizational culture.

Telecommuting also has an impact on organizational success. One reason is that the employees will display increased performance. Telecommuting allows the employees to work whenever they want wherever they want. The employees will, therefore, tend to concentrate on their work as they are working from the remote locations. This will lead to increased performance. The employees will also have increased job satisfaction. This is because they can attain the work-life balance. This will drive them to better their performance which will lead to organizational success (Pinsonneau, 1999). It also allows the organization to retain employees. Many employees are resigning from their workplaces in search of a work-life balance. Telecommuting allows the employee to work from their location and achieve the work-life balance. This ensures that they can retain talent in the organization, leading to organizational success (Pinsonneau, 1999). The organization can also employ skilled individuals to the company easily as the option of working from their homes will be attractive if they do not want to relocate. This will lead to organizational success.

Telecommuting will also help the company cut down on expenses. With more employees working in other locations, the company can cut the amount of energy it uses in the offices as well as the maintenance cost for establishing a proper work environment (Pinsonneau, 1999). This saves on the operating cost of the company thus leading to a higher profit margin. It will also allow the company to be flexible and responsive to unexpected occurrences. Telecommuting can be used to decentralize the functions of the organization into different locations, all of which have their respective managers. This allows the companies to enjoy organizational success as management is easier and more efficient. Companies in earthquake areas decentralize their operations into different locations. This ensures that even when the earthquake affects the parent company, the other factions are still operational. This guarantees organizational success (Pinsonneau, 1999). The company will also have flexible working hours. This means that the customer can be attended to at all times, which leads to customer satisfaction and increased sales. Flexible working hours increases the responsiveness of the company and thereby leading to organizational success.

The pitfalls of telecommuting are that it will be hard to find a motivational technique that can be used for all the employees. The employees work in different locations, and they have different needs. It will be hard to assess the employees and find a way to motivate them, which may lead to poor performance from the employees (Pinsonneau, 1999).

Telecommuting is the process by which employees work in any other setting other than the workplace. It has allowed the transformation of the workplace to the traditional business hours office to a global office where employees work at whatever time they want. This has both advantages and disadvantages to the employee workplace experience, organizational culture, and organizational success. As organizations are adopting this method of working, they should be aware of the potential effects of adopting this method. This will ensure that the company remains afloat while keeping the employees satisfied. The use of telecommuting in the workplace in America is increasingly becoming popular, and therefore it is necessary that an organization will be able to look into the impact of telecommuting.

References

Cross, T. B., & Raizman, M. B. (1986). Telecommuting: The future technology of work. Homewood, Ill: Dow Jones-Irwin

Gainey, T. W. (1999, September 22). Telecommuting's Impact on Organization Culture and Individual Workers: Examining the Effect of Employee Isolation. Retrieved July 3, 2017, from FPO: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/SAM-Advanced-Management-Journal/57829884.html

Mamaghani, F. (2012, September 22). Impact of telecommuting on organization productivity. Retrieved July 3, 2017, from FPO: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/European-Journal-Management/312171947.html

Pinsonneau, A. (1999, November). The Impacts of Telecommuting on Individuals and Organizations. Retrieved July 3, 2017, from Expertise: http://expertise.hec.ca/gresi/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/cahier9909.pdf