FACTORS IN PREPARING TELEWORKERS

We have dealt with training of the Teleworkers in the earlier Step - TRAIN PERSONNEL , this stage refers to the psychological preparation for them and their families

Teleworking bestows certain benefits on those engaged in it ; less travel, more control over work times and schedules, convenience and so on. It can also bring problems. Organisations have a responsibility, possibly even of a statutory nature, to prepare staff for them and to assist in minimising them.

Social Isolation. Although most studies have shown that fears of social isolation of Teleworkers were initially overstated, it can still be a very real problem for the individual worker. Companionship of the workplace may be an unidentified motivator for some people, and they may miss that contact disproportionately. Organisations can reduce these problems by encouraging progressive networking, frequent personal contacts and in effective selection and induction procedures.

Organisational Isolation. The " out of sight, out of mind " syndrome, in which the delocated worker may fear, and actually be, sidelined in relation to their traditionally working analogs. Good management practice, especially concerning communications, vacancy notification and access to development and training, should minimise this issue. The Teleworker has opted to work differently within the organisation, not to opt out of it.
Work Management. Given the self organisation needed to work away from the workbase, and the distractions available at home, it would be surprising if Teleworkers did not sometimes have problems with managing their work flows and priorities. Once again selection and training processes should be designed to reduce these problems, by screening for self-directing personalities, and by developing the competencies. Targets, monitoring and feedback processes should be participative and responsive.
Domestic Interference. As part of the selection process, volunteers should be screened out if there are clear domestic reasons why Teleworking would not be suitable for that person at that time. Once into Teleworking arrangements, normal Personnel practice should evolve so that Teleworkers are treated no less sympathetically than their analogs. All successful schemes that I have studied have been based on an agreement that the Teleworker could suspend the activity and return to the workbase if they wished. The organisation, of course, has a similar right to terminate the arrangement.

The particular nature of Teleworking means that to an unusual extent, the domestic and social dimension of the worker becomes an issue. The balancing benefit to this is that the worker, as volunteer, has usually proved to be motivated to make the arrangements work despite some additional difficulties.

Last Updated on 11 December2002 by COLIN TIERNEY