TELEWORKING improves productivity but the number of Irish companies making formal use of the option is still low, writes Olive Keogh.

When teleworking began in the early 1970s, the aim was to keep the wheels of commerce turning through the energy crisis. Since then advances in technology, particularly e-mail, have made it possible for an increasing number of employees to work from remote locations.

Teleworking can deliver significant employee benefits, most notably savings on travel time. It can also benefit employers. Home workers are usually highly motivated, meaning productivity gains and potential savings on office costs for employers.

Elaine Hickey-Dwyer, marketing director of Scientific Systems, researched teleworking as part of an MSc in information technology at the Irish Management Institute.

She estimates that 2.5% of employees could be formally categorised as being full- or part-time teleworkers. Informal teleworking is significantly more pervasive, she says, but there are no accurate figures for how many people are involved.

Hickey-Dwyer believes that the low take-up is due in part to the fact that formal teleworking arrangements involve companies in issues such as insurance, health and safety regulations and new employment contracts. Another contributing factor may be employee resistance.

“People worry that if they choose to telework they are opting out of the career fast lane,” she says. “There is also the social aspect of being in the workplace and the fact that getting on in your career can sometimes be simply about being physically in the right place at the right time.”

Hickey-Dwyer also says employers resist teleworking because the measurement metrics they are used to don’t apply. “Older managers in particular are used to managing by attendance, not by results. They are not comfortable unless they can see people doing things. Managers need to learn how to manage by remote control,” she says.

There are a number of steps employers can take to ensure that introducing teleworking does not become an expensive mistake.

Ensure that teleworkers and their managers know how to make this approach work. As well as formal training, mentoring of employer and employee can stop teething troubles turning into more serious problems.

Regular communication is vital. Setting tasks, measuring performance and sharing information cannot be as informal as it often is in conventional working environments.