Is working from home the best choice for you? A recent article published in MTI Management review reveals that working from home may not be the best career choice despite increasing trends in telecommuting. James wanted to know more. The publication written by two University Professor show that working remotely can be far from being the best professional choice. Indeed, Daniel Cable, teaching at London Business School and Kimberly Elsbach from the UCLA researched on the topic and it, seems that telework has not yet integrated corporate mentalities. While the numbers of telecommuters are continuously on the rise, employers are facing difficulties changing their management styles, whilst trying to give the same consideration to employees working remotely. in fact, they continued to give lower pay rises and less consideration to teleworkers because of the little visibility they have on their working time. Not seeing employees on a daily basis (what is called “passive face time” in the article) affects managers’ representation on teleworkers’ role within the company. Those who have received management training, however, may have acquired guidance as to how to manage off site employees.
Paradoxically, teleworkers usually work longer hours than their colleagues based in the office as the virtual frontier between personal space and work space tends to get blurry and time management becomes more challenging. Teleworkers tend to work on weekends or late in the evening however managers have limited visibility on what they do. However, one could argue that the variety of communication tools we are provided with should help improve transparency on telecommuting. The consequences of that dysfunctional relationship between employers and teleworkers are lower pay raises, fewer promotions and overall little consideration from Manager. This shows how physical presence can affect the course of a career and how important communication is when it comes to telework. The article ends with a few tips for telecommuters in order to increase awareness on their working hours and improve communication on a daily basis. Update colleagues and Manager on daily tasks and inform on any late working hours. This helps showing dedication to a project but so helps management understand which task/project requires extra time. Organise meetings when you are in the Office to meet up, catch – up and simply show your face ensure all emails and calls are answered promptly ensure your colleagues keep up updated on projects not to be left behind Nevertheless, the article does not mention tips for managers who struggle to include employees working remotely to the “physical” team. Management training can provide tips to managers on how to consolidate the relationship with teleworkers for more efficiency. Advisor Jonathan Beth, leadership training and management training