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Teleworking
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arrow.gif (108 Byte)A seminar: using the Internet winter term 97/98

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FIM - Homepage

 

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Wolfgang Höfler

Mario Pichler

Christoph Panwinkler

 

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Teleworking - Links

Bibliography

Advantages for the employees, the employer, the society and the environment

There are several advantages and disadvantages for the employee, employer, society and the environment.

Employer:
  • Since employers place confidence in their workers, telecommuters get more motivated and therefore work more effectively, leading to an increased corporations productivity. State of California pilot program found that telecommuters accomplished 10-30% more the office workers.

  • Corporations reduce costs in cause of cutting physical plant and maintenance costs. Up to five employees share the same desk at the companies office. A workspace at home is also about 30 to 50 percent cheaper than a conventional workspace.

  • Corporations are more flexible in many ways. Spatial and time flexibility is improved since employees render services at any time without regard to their locations. There is also a strategic flexibility in the way to move quickly to seize market opportunities.

  • Since telework is not based on short distances between the corporations and the employees home, corporations achieve higher potential of employees. Companies pick out cheap workers for desk-work from one part of the country and workers for scientific work with high know-how from another part of the country or even other countries.

Employee:
  • Employees have a higher quality of life. They eliminate commuting stress, work at an efficient, relaxed place in a calmer environment, and least they spend more time with their families.

  • Time savings are achieved, since commmuting is reduced or even eliminated. As a consequence more work is accomplished in less time.

  • Employees will also save money because of reduced commuting costs as well as eating costs and costs for clothes.

  • Work and family obligations are better balanced. One can choose flexible work hours and more easily accommodate child sick days and vacations.

  • Sozial isolation is a problem caused by permanent teleworking at home. That is why many companies prefer alternating teleworking with the worker staying for at least one day per week in the companies office.

  • Another problem may be room problems, meaning that in most cases there is no peculiar room for teleworking available. The home office room has to be entirely divided from the remaining space in order to avoid interruption by noisy children or neighbours.

Society:
  • It is a great convenience for customers to do their business at local branches.

  • Better service is also granted cause of interaction with company personnel who understand the community and are tuned into local customer needs.

  • There will be multifarious opportunities for handicapped people or people living in regions with high unemployment.

Environment:
  • Air pollution and pollution in general will be reduced as a consequence of the reduced traffic.

Telework is only suitable for specific tasks and although only a few companies are able to offer telework, advantages of telework overweigh disadvantages.

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written by Wolfgang Höfler, Mario Pichler and Christoph Panwinkler

last modified: 14.06.02