Sometimes you’re running along and everything goes just fine, and sometimes you’re running along and you get a sprained ankle. At least, that’s what the emergency doctor told me last week. However, now it’s been updated from a sprain to tendinitis, but at least I’m allowed to walk again…a little :) So,what does all this have to do with Telecommuting? That’s what I’ve been doing all week, and besides those people in my office, I bet few people, if anyone even noticed.
Today’s telecommuting options are very powerful and with newer technologies, some of them make it nearly impossible to tell where we are even to those that sit right next to us.
I was able to log into my computer remotely using Remote Desktop. That let me take control of my work computer, manage my e-mail, communicate via IM, program and test new function of our website and do everything I would normally do while sitting in my desk…only I was 15 miles away and sitting in my recliner with my foot up and iced and/or wrapped and booted.
I feel a little bad that I didn’t get a chance to blog while telecommuting, but I was also very busy with my normal job duties and when put into perspective, I doubt I would have had the time to do any blogging had I been sitting at my desk, but the additional screen real estate I have while in the office does make multi-tasking easier.
Using some older technology, I had my phone forwarded to my cell phone. It made it appear to those that called me that I was at my desk, and I could tell the difference between personal and work calls based on the phone numbers. This would not be my optimal solution, but it’s the one provided right now. My prior experience with VOIP phones showed me what can really be done, where I was able to plug my headset into the computer and remotely take control of my phone in the office. To the end user, the results are basically the same, but with VOIP I’m not using minutes on my cell phone and I can still do all the things the phone requires, like checking voice mail, transferring calls and such.
Some of this makes you wonder why we still need offices :)
One of the basic answers to that is accountability, even though it’s becoming more of an outmoded thought process. Managers feel somehow accountable that their staff are putting in their requisite 40 hours per week, and the easiest way to see that is to see them sitting in their assigned chairs. This is changing though and newer companies are seeing the benefits of “goal oriented” work, where it doesn’t matter so much that you log your 40, but that you complete the tasks assigned in the time required which keeps the projects moving forward at the right speed.
This new ideal doesn’t work for every business, but especially for small to medium-sized companies, it can reduce a lot of brick-and-mortar space (reducing rents along with it) and even the costs of providing workers with the necessary Broadband access typically puts money back in the pocket from the overhead costs savings alone.
Speaking of overhead costs, what does it take to staff an employee? There’s a desk (usually) and a computer, a phone, internet access, network access, probably a printer and then an office fax, maybe an office printer, file cabinets, parking space, and the list goes on. Then, you still need to pay for the phone, pay for the power they’re using including the lights and mini-fridges and hot water heating.
When you look at these expenses from a telecommuter though, they drop to nearly nothing. You may still pay for their internet access, but computers are ubiquitous enough that it’s likely an employee will have one. They will pay for their own electricity, typically their own peripherals, their own refrigerator, their own parking and all those little things the business had to pay for beforehand.
These are just some things to think about while trying to save some money. If it becomes impossible to tell if someone is “in” the office or not, what’s the point of the office except as a meeting place and central hub for business purposes?
