Due to a combination of improving technologies and the Internet, with its increasing connectivity and bandwidth availability worldwide, a new paradigm for remote workers and students has become more readily available. Studies indicate that remote workers on the whole are more productive than office-based workers (Aspire 2007). These remote worker services enabled companies and education facilities to save millions of dollars in annual costs (ATAC 2005) for flights, room and board, lost productivity from workers spending hours in commuting each day, improved morale, performance oriented thinking and improved work ethic. Other less measurable but indicated benefits include addressing environmental impacts from pollution, energy consumption, traffic congestion, urban sprawl, transportation injuries, and more immediately available family and social time once “off the clock”.

    This methodology also makes possible getting access to a broader “talent pool” selection than may be available in many geographical areas. Without remote working options companies and educational organizations would have to either find local talent, or attempt to entice such talented individuals to move to their locale. With remote working they can have access to far more qualified individuals around the world than would be available in any one metropolitan or smaller urban areas.

    Unfortunately, people are resistant to change, especially when it happens too quickly. So many educational institutions and companies have been completely resistant to the remote worker approach, or making such inadequate investments in the approach so as to create a self-fulfilling prophecy for the nay sayers. Those who oppose remote working programs claim that it is too difficult to monitor employees to verify they are “keeping busy” at their jobs, or that there is too much social isolation (EEO 2005). Management and sales people especially complain about not enough in person contact that they seem to have a constant driving need for, and do not feel that audio and video conferencing meets the “touching skin” requirements they claim to be so important. At a general level, many believe in the "don't fix it if it ain't broke" mentality, and hold back technological innovation by decades, until the next generations incrementally accept moving a little further ahead.

    There was resistance to the telegraph, the telephone, and radio. There was resistance to the train, automobiles, and planes. One take on it is the old adage of "if you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always gotten". Change enables further changes to happen, and it is, more often than not, a good thing. One of the quasi-definitions of insanity is "always doing the same thing but expecting a different result" (Brown 68).

    People complain about commuting, sprawl, pollution, vehicles, accidents, too many activities in the car and time away from family because of work. That is because they are resisting adapting to new ways of interaction and sharing of ideas. Trying to cling to the old ways of doing things, when the world has so drastically changed in its requirements to compete for life.

    One of the major concerns expressed by those who oppose remote working is a concern about being able to monitor and keep employees at maximum productivity. With a simple adjustment in methodologies, and a modernization of thinking about what a worker is and what a workplace is, this can easily be addressed. Salaried employees of higher position and/or education can oft times be counted on to have a better work ethic. Additionally many jobs that can be tracked more on a performance basis rather just a "warm body" do not really need constant monitoring if the productivity requirements and measurements are being met.

    Managers just need to be more creative about figuring out performance measurements for every job out there. Whether it is a remote worker or in office, making use of the technologies and methodologies that make it possible to maximize worker efficiency as is appropriate to their business model, managers can even off the reward of some one the clock personal time for those who meet or exceed their goals, rather than penalizing hard work. Google for example is famous for it's 20% program that encourages workers to spend 20% of their “on the clock” time on their own projects. If the measurements are setup to accurately reflect the requirements of the position and the needs of the company, then the employer should not be upset if the employee does their job so effectively that they are able to get some free time between tasks to recharge.

    The overall trend in this global economy however, is that those who do not embrace the many benefits offered by remote working programs, will be left behind as other countries are rapidly adopting technologies and methodologies to optimize their worker and student needs.

Cited Works

Australia. Australian Telework Advisory Committee (ATAC). Telework – International Developments. March 2005.

Brown, Rita Mae. Sudden Death. New York: Bantam Books. 1983.

“Remote Control – The Benefits of Remote Working.” Aspire Magazine. Issue I 2007: 15-16.

“Teleworking – anywhere, anytime, anyplace.” EEO Trust Work & Life Bulletin March 2005: 2-7.