Thanks to tech, it's time to telecommute
With traffic on the rise in major city centers, not to mention all the nasty weather hitting many states last week, you might be tempted to ask to work from home – even if it’s just a day or two a week.
The good news is “telecommuting” – also referred to “remote working” or “teleworking” – is much easier in today’s day and age, thanks to technological tools like high-speed Internet (cellular and Wi-Fi), inexpensive mobile devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets), and secure cloud services that remotely host your files. Skyping into meetings for face-to-face communication is becoming commonplace for many businesses.
But those who want to work from home, and the companies that might consider it, both need to weigh the pros and cons before deciding if it’s not only feasible but beneficial.
The following is a look at some of the factors to consider, along with a list of 5 tech items that can make the move to a home office a smoother one.
PROS
For the employee: Staying at home paves the way for a better work-life balance. Many take their kids to and from school, spend less on professional attire and lunches (and eat healthier), and aren’t distracted with colleagues asking for something (or being dragged into meetings you’re not needed in). A Stanford University report, and a joint study by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Northwestern University, both found those who work from home are less stressed and more productive than those who work a 9-to-5 job out of the home. Surprised?
For the business: You can hire the best person for the job – even if they live across the country or around the world (barring any time zone challenges). Another advantage for employers: candidates who want to work from home may accept a lower salary than those who must commute to work; this isn’t always the case, but you can compare salaries for the same positions -- in-house versus at-home -- at FlexJobs.com. As a cost-saving consideration, you don’t have to pay for office space (and other related expenses) for an at-home worker. You might be able to close the deal over a video call instead of incurring the costs to fly cross-country. Those who work from home are often happier and more productive, which is good for company morale and efficiency.
For the environment, and other cubicle dwellers: Not only can telecommuting save time and money, but it has an eco-advantage, too: fewer cars on the road reduces the amount of gas emissions that contribute to pollution and global warming. The more companies allow for telecommuting, the lighter the roads might be for those who must drive -- or take public transit or taxis -- to get to the office. In other words, everyone wins.
CONS
For the employee: In the abovementioned surveys, telecommuters said interpersonal relationships were missed while working at home. This includes having coffee or lunches with colleagues, smoke breaks, watercooler gossip, collaborating on team projects, and perhaps after-work drinks. While it may sound appealing to work from home, many have trouble staying motivated without a supervisor or boss looking over their shoulder. Should you work on that sales report or take a break to watch Ellen or hang out on Facebook? Juggling kids and remaining focused could also be a challenge.
For the business: From a creativity standpoint, there might be a loss of on-site brainstorming, plus allowing some employees to work from home (and not others) could lead to lower office morale. Without physical proximity with your employees, there’s an increased security and privacy risk; not only could it be easier for a disgruntled at-home worker to wreak havoc, perhaps by stealing data, but even accidental breaches can happen (like giving your teen the wrong USB stick) or a breach in the network connection between the office and the home. (This is why a secured cloud solution for those with administrative privileges is a smart consideration.) Telecommuting might also complicate insurance policies and worker’s compensation.
Given the advantages and challenges, a business interested in telecommuting must first assess whether it’s practicable for employees to work from home – obviously, some positions aren’t conducive for this option – and companies should asses whether the person is self-motivated enough. Even still, it’s not a bad idea for a boss to draft specific expectation guidelines and have at-home workers sign the agreement before the work commences. Give it a three-month trial to see if it works, perhaps.
Finally, remember that it doesn’t have to be “all or none,” as some businesses restrict at-home working to a day or two a week.
Gear up
And now onto some suggestions for five types of tech products you’ll need to get going:
Laptop: A personal computer is the most important consideration for a teleworker. It’ll likely be your primary work tool for productivity, communication and information. First choose an operating system you’re most comfortable with – such as Windows 10, Mac OS X El Capitan, or Chromebook – and then choose a form factor, such as portable laptop, laptop-tablet hybrid (“2-in-1”), or stationary desktop computer. A comfortable keyboard and mouse is paramount, and you might consider picking up a large monitor (yes, even for laptops), as prices have dropped considerably and lets you easily multitask.
Multifunction printer: Invest in an inexpensive printer that can also scan, copy, and (if you need it), fax, as well. It’ll save you money and space in your home office. You can choose between an inkjet printer, which is an ideal all-purpose machine (color photos and documents), and a laser printer (primarily for speedy document printing). Also called an “all-in-one,” a multifunction printer these days should be wireless and also support printing from mobile devices (smartphones, tablets), and also accept print jobs from even outside of the home (usually via an email address).
Powerful router: Along with needing fast and reliable high-speed connectivity from your Internet Service Provider (ISP), be sure to have a decent router, as well, which distributes your Wi-Fi signal around your home. Newer routers operate on the “AC” protocol (802.11ac, opposed to the older 802.11n, 802.11g, or 802.11a/b), which are not only faster but offers broader range and support for more simultaneous devices. If your home office isn’t near your router, you might need an extender (a.k.a. “repeater”) which expands your Wi-Fi range throughout the home. Some routers have dual- or tri-band antennas for better performance.
External hard drive: You know the old adage -- you don't know what you got until it’s gone -- so be sure to back up your important files on a regular basis in case of theft, fire, flood, nasty virus or power surge. An external hard drive is a smart local back-up solution that offers ample storage (opposed to an online “cloud” backup), but be sure to make more than one copy of your backed-up files (to hedge your bets) and keep the drives in separate dry locations. Buy more storage than you think you need, such as a 3-terabyte (TB) drive when all you need is 1TB, because you’ll no doubt fill it up in due time. Some networked drives let you remotely access the files from anywhere and on multiple devices.
Wireless headset: Finally, if you’re in a job that requires a lot of talking, invest in a hands-free headset microphone for two main reasons: it’s a lot more comfortable than holding a landline phone up to your ear all day – or trying to hold the receiver between your ear and shoulder (you know the look) – plus it’s not recommended to hold a smartphone up to your ear for long periods of time because of the radiation that emits from a mobile device. Instead, go hands-free with a Bluetooth wireless headset for a mobile device or perhaps a DECT 6.0 model for a landline, and you’ll find it’ll be easier to multitask ask well as you walk around your place while chatting. A speaker phone is also ideal, but a headset will sound better to the people on the other end of the call.
Columnist Marc Saltzman writes on tech devices and trends for USA TODAY. Follow Marc on Twitter: @marc_saltzman. E-mail him at techcomments@usatoday.com.