GenXmanager: Leadership for the Generation X Manager

In August the Desi Family went to Washington, D.C. to visit the museums, the zoo, and to enjoy our nation’s capital. On the Metro I saw the following advertisement from Intel:

 Perhaps it is the Gen X’er in me but I’m a huge fan of telecommuting. I think I can get more “heads down” work done at Panera Bread than anywhere else. My personal philosophy is, if the work gets done on-time, on-budget, and in good quality, then where the work gets done is inconsequential.

I remember in the mid-1990s when telecommuting was just getting started I predicted that one-third to one-half of the American workforce would be telecommuting in ten years time. I was wrong. I guess I’m not as good a futurist as Ray Kurzweil.

I know that some companies have telecommuting policies but if telecommuting were really taking hold, traffic on our nation’s highways would be on the decline and I’d personally know many more people who typically “work from home”. I consulted for 10+ years and a few of my clients had telecommuting policies but individual managers would not let their employees telecommute.

I love the quote from IT security guru Kevin Beaver commenting on telecommuting while traveling into Atlanta,

“…all the traffic and filth in the air reminded me of telecommuting. Where the heck are all the telecommuters? It seems like everyone who has a job is driving into work. Why!!?? It’s 2009 for crying out loud.”

I found an interesting blog post on The Oil Drum that does an excellent job of detailing the pros and cons of telework. I won’t go through benefits and challenges here because they are too vast to list but urge you to take a look. The benefits are compelling and I believe significantly outweigh the challenges.

Finally, a 2005 government report regarding telework concluded that:

“Numerous research studies tout the benefits of telework, and support the notion that telework serves to satisfy individual, organizational, and global objectives. The positive impact telework can have on an employee’s reduced commuting time, effort, and costs; increased productivity; and increased control over the delicate act of balancing work and personal responsibilities is tremendous. Benefits to the organization, including the increased ability to recruit and retain valuable employees, gain higher productivity, and experience boosted morale, are clearly documented. Reduced commuting serves to benefit the environment by fewer pollutants being dispersed into the air, and less wear and tear to roads and vehicles.”

“In summary, the prevalence of telework continues to grow and progress in the Federal Government with over 140,000 eligible Federal employees (19% of the total workforce) taking advantage of the opportunity to work from alternative worksites. Telework is an important human capital tool, presenting agencies with significant opportunities for increased organizational effectiveness. For those Federal agencies maximizing its application, telework can reap substantial benefits when integrated into the routine business practices of the organization.”

I’m 100% behind telecommuting but I wonder if it will truly become a universally acceptable way to work?