Telecommuting is becoming more popular than ever before thanks to better bandwidth access and ease of communication that the internet provides today. It allows people to work for anywhere as long as they have a viable internet connection and perhaps the chance to login using a VPN. The pros and cons of telecommuting must be carefully weighed by the employer and employee, however, before a final decision is made.
What Are the Pros of Telecommuting?
1. It saves a lot of money for everyone.
Employers don’t have to pay for work supplies, supportive office equipment, or even the utilities that are required to have an employee work at home. Employees don’t have to pay for career apparel, commuting costs, and have timing flexibility so that they can partially set some of their own hours. This means everyone saves money while the same work gets done and that’s a good thing.
2. It doesn’t eliminate face-to-face contact.
In the early days of telecommuting, computers could login to terminals so that data input and some basic tasks could be completed, but that was about it. Modern telecommuting can include face-to-face meetings, conferences, and all of the other needs of a modern workplace all from the convenience of a PC, laptop, or mobile device. This means people can talk instead of chat so that miscommunication happens less frequently.
3. Most telecommuters are more productive.
Because telecommuting allows employees to have more time for themselves, they tend to be more productive overall compared to the average employee that works on-site. Instead of having a 30 minute conversation over a cup of coffee about what happened on TV last night, all an employee has to do is log into their computer, connect, and get to work without the normal stresses of getting to work.
4. Work can become more secure.
Instead of having resources in one general location, employers that have telecommuters have resources in several locations. This allows for natural work backups because many projects will be saved locally before they are transmitted over the internet. If something gets lost, then the local file can be sent once again. There are enhanced security issues that must also be addressed with the prolonged internet time and exposure that brings, but on the whole, there’s better overall security experienced through telecommuting.
What Are the Cons of Telecommuting?
1. Workers have limited social contact with others.
If an employee is working the 9-5 grind at home, then they don’t have the same social contacts that others have when working at an actual office. They just get up, get ready for work, and then sit behind their computer or mobile device while they complete their professional duties. This means workers must make it a priority to have social gatherings.
2. There can be many distractions that prohibit effective work.
Employees who are telecommuting might have a TV on in the background and be watching a baseball game or their favorite soap opera while trying to work. Many workers will have an internet browser up with multiple tabs that include favorite social networks. Employers may find distractions happen in trying to coordinate multiple telecommuters to finish a team project because technology always seems to work until it needs to work.
3. It can be difficult to remember certain daily living activities.
Regular telecommuters eventually discover that their days begin to blur together when there are several projects going on at once. Many stop changing their clothes every day because there isn’t a need to do so – they’re working alone at home, after all. Even personal hygiene can begin to drop. If employees are not careful, the world of telecommuting becomes an all-encompassing experience.
4. There’s no one to clean up.
Employees who work from home are responsible for cleaning up after themselves. This can be hard to remember to do if an employee is used to having a cleaning staff around. With enough build-up, health issues can begin to accrue and this could limit that employee’s productivity.
Many People Have a Dream That Involves Telecommuting for Their Job.
Whether it is for a freelance opportunity or it’s just work as a data entry specialist, working from home often helps employers and employees achieve more of their goals. Best of all, it saves money for everyone involved. By weighing all of the pros and cons of this practice, it becomes possible to decide if this type of opportunity should be pursued.
Although millions of people visit Brandon's blog each month, his path to success was not easy. Go here to read his incredible story, "From Disabled and $500k in Debt to a Pro Blogger with 5 Million Monthly Visitors." If you want to send Brandon a quick message, then visit his contact page here.