Myth Busting: The truth about telework
Careful! What you will learn might surprise you 

One of the greatest barriers telework has faced in the past decade is not technology or the willingness of the average person to consider modifying their work habits (we already do this; logging in after-hours, plugging away at our Blackberry’s in client waiting rooms, reading a brief in our favourite coffee shop). 

Instead, the barrier is the common  mythology that has followed telework since its inception.   The WORKshift program will work to “de-bunk” these  myths, giving  telework the opportunity it needs and ultimately deserves to establish its rightful place in the way Calgarians live and work.

Employer

MYTH: Telework is an all or nothing proposition. It means working from home 5 days a week.
The typical teleworker works from home 1-2 days a week. This means employees are still in the office for face to face meetings and critical interaction for the majority of their work week.   Relatively few employees report a desire to work from home full-time and the data associated with successful telework arrangements don’t support a full-time model. Telework can take place from distributed work centres, or other locations such as client sites. Teleworking might even just mean your organization has embraced “peak shifting”. Telework means your employees are working when and where they are most effective.

MYTH: Teleworkers are not as productive as their office counterparts
The data demonstrates that in a formal telework arrangement, in an environment that manages employees success through objective setting and outcomes, rather then by line of sight,  teleworkers are 15-40% more productive than their office counterparts.

• In a 2007 national survey, 78% of managers reported that their telecommuters were more productive or as productive as their office bound colleagues  (FutureStop Trends@ Work, Korn/Ferry International, Jan 16, 2007. Survey polled 1320 global executives in 71 countries)

 MYTH: Telework programs are expensive to implement
The truth is that many of your staff are already teleworking on an ad-hoc basis. This might look like them working from their blackberry from the field or working from home after hours, but many are likely already doing it informally.  By implementing a formal telework program, organizations can start capturing, measuring and reporting the savings associated with these arrangements:  desk-sharing (reducing real-estate costs),  trip reporting (measuring green house gas emission reductions) and reduced energy costs.

MYTH: Telework programs mean I will never see my staff
Telework does not mean employees are out of the office all day, everyday.  Although most employees report a desire to participate in some kind of telework arrangement, almost none want to be full-time teleworkers.  Teleworking may simply mean that your staff are “peak shifting”, or coming into the office and leaving outside of rush hours. The specific arrangement that will be most effective for individual organization and staff will need to be examined on a case- by-case basis. But almost all organizations are able to find a model that is appropriate or works for them.

MYTH: Telework programs don’t actually help attract and retain staff
Consider the following: According to a huge compensation survey of 1,400 CFOs conducted by Robert Half International, 46% said telecommuting is second only to salary as the best way to attract top talent. Additionally, 33% said telecommuting was the top draw. 

Employee

MYTH: Telework programs can’t benefit me
If you are fortunate enough to be a teleworker, or have experienced teleworking, the benefits are obvious. However, what is not as obvious are the benefits that large telework programs have for commuters that don’t actually telework. For example, imagine if 10% of the commuters you share the roads and transit system with were suddenly working from their homes. Would this positively impact your day? Imagine the possible reduction in pollution with this program.  

MYTH: Employees prefer traditional work arrangements
In fact, a recent study by Mitel reported that employees will be more likely to stay at their current jobs if their employer lets them telework.  In addition, 88% of those polled feel that teleworking is a "good" or "great" idea. 26% of teleworkers said they would re-think their job if their employer did not have a teleworking program. Other studies have suggested that employees would be willing to accept a pay cut in exchange for more flexible work arrangements. 

MYTH: Working remotely will impede career advancements and opportunities, and will endanger  job security
Urban mythology would have us believe that employees that telework are the first to go in a round of layoffs; that it is “risky” to be out of sight and out of mind.  The reality is that the average teleworker is a highly skilled, highly educated, valued employee who was probably given the opportunity to telework because of their top-notch job performance.  Does this sound like the profile of an at-risk employee? 

Environment/Society 

MYTH: Telework programs don’t truly benefit the environment/impact pollution
According to Scott Flemming, CEO of Teletrips, if just 1000 of Calgarians telework once a week for a year, they would offset the average electricity consumption of 175 Canadians annually.
 

Other ways to look at it:

• In CBC’s One Million Act of Green challenge, 23,000 teleworking Canadians have  saved close to 1.5 million kgs of green house gasses! 
• Bell Canada’s 2007 Corporate Responsibility  report states that through their internal telework program, employees reduced their travel by approximately 110 million kms/year, saving a whopping 20,000 metric tonnes of green house gas emissions annually

MYTH: Telework programs can’t contribute to healthier communities

Telework has many other far reaching societal benefits including:

Employability for disabled & mobility restricted
Consider the implications of an established and well-run telework initiative for the disabled population. There are still far too many talented people who are un or underemployed because of physical barriers to work. Telework arrangements help mitigate many of these barriers, allowing employers better access to this pool of talent, allowing for a highly effective and diverse workforce.

Emergency preparedness
Modern economic sustainability depends on the connectivity of our workforce. When considering a regional and robust business continuity plan, telework becomes a must-have tool in the arsenal. Imagine if Calgary were suddenly burdened with a snow or ice storm, or an act of terrorism or even a pandemic- how would the vitality of downtown Calgary look? How would we run our businesses?  Do you need to be at your desk to complete your job today? Could you effectively continue to produce from home?  Teleworking can mitigate disruption and spread of causalities.

More time spent doing the things we love
Canadians can recoup about an hour of their day by eliminating their commute. Imagine if you telework just 2 days per week: that is over 4 days or 96 hours of additional time to do the things you love: spend more time with your kids, go to the gym, read a book or sleep! Clearly the return on investment of telework becomes obvious when one starts to think about adding days to their year –  time you would have otherwise spent in your car!