h a l f b a k e r y"It would work, if you can find alternatives to each of the steps involved in this process."
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It is already widely recognised, as far as I can tell, that teleworking offers a solution to problems such as (i) time wasted commuting (ii) traffic congestion (iii) under-investment in public transport (iv) transport-related pollution (v) inflated city house prices (vi) working parents finding daytime
care for their children (viii) office overhead costs.
However, many people seem to believe that it will never become widespread due to two main objections (with which I completely agree):
(i) People would skive. Enough people play cards at work as it is but if people are at home with no-one knowing what they are doing, many people would do very little. Even those with good intentions would have difficulty motivating themselves. Also, employees would tend to assume that their colleagues are skiving, thus reducing their morale and motivation.
(ii) No face-to-face communication. Talking by phone or email just isn't a satisfactory replacement, and good communication is vital for a successful business.
I think the solution is to have 2 screens (and 2 computers if necessary). 1 for working on as normal, and the other dedicated entirely to communication. Like a permanent video conference but with the option to have the screen split up into boxes of, for example, the 6 people you most often talk to, and the option to call up anyone else onto the screen. Each employee would have a web camera and microphone.
It would actually make face-to-face communication easier - if you wanted to talk to someone who previously sat on a different floor, a different building or a in a different country, you could just call them up onto the screen.
Managers and colleagues would know who is doing what, or at least as much as they do now.
The cost of the extra PC would be tiny compared to the cost savings of teleworking.
It seems like an obvious solution to me but teleworking websites don't seem to mention it and the two objections listed above appear to be taken as seriously as ever by those who are not pro-teleworking.
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I've teleworked up to 50% to not (iii) lose contact with co-workers or miss the social side. |
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I thought videoconferencing, "always on", multiplexed, or otherwise, had in fact been explored as part of a solution for telecommuting or teleworking or the management of distributed teams or whatever you want to call it... |
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