The drawbacks of working from home

Last week, we discussed studies that show the benefits of working from home, at least some of the time, during the workweek: An increased sense of independence, more work-life balance, less stress, more job satisfaction, less employee turnover, more company savings.

However, employees who choose to work from home also face several difficulties. Slackers while away time playing games online or indulging in social media (of course, these same people most likely behave the same in the office, albeit more furtively—company firewalls notwithstanding).

Some employees use family distractions as an excuse for mediocre work: Crying babies, parent-teacher conferences, relatives who drop by.

In a 2006 study of around 450 telecommuters, business professor Timothy Golden of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute discovered these workers had fewer work-related issues that impact negatively on family life, but at the same time, they also had more family-related issues that interfere with work. (Solutions range from finding good caretakers to donning good quality headphones.)

Even employees who continue to deliver good work while telecommuting are often discriminated against, particularly by their office-bound counterparts who resent what is perceived as special treatment.

Employees working from home may also not be as quickly promoted as their colleagues who are always in the office, because they may be perceived as not interested in leadership roles that require their constant office presence.

Personality

The best solution would appear to be an appropriate mix of work done from home and at the office. In 2005, Golden and his team studied also more than 300 telecommuters in professional-level jobs and found what might be the magic number: 15 hours a week outside the office.

“Job satisfaction increases alongside more remote work—but only to a point,” reports Rachel Nuwer in Scientific American. “After about 15 hours out of the office a week, employee satisfaction tends to plateau and then to dip (although it still remains higher than those who telecommute infrequently).”

For businesses that are thinking to save costs and at the same time motivate good employees, telecommuting may be a good idea. But working from home is not for all, so businesses need to know their people’s work habits and styles before offering this work option.

People who succeed in working from home also possess certain personality traits.

“Those who succeed at teleworking often have a strong need for autonomy, believe they are in control of their own destiny and feel confident in their work,” says Nuwer.

“Diligence is another important factor: People who feel a sense of duty and loyalty to their employer and who take pride in being trusted excel offsite. Introverts, who find social situations to be draining and do not mind long periods of solitude, also perform well remotely.”

The opposite holds for those who would likely work better in the office. Psychologist Thomas O’ Neill of the University of Calgary in Alberta says, “Those who get their energy from being around others—the social butterflies of the office—tend to struggle in terms of satisfaction and engagement when working from a distance.”

With careful preparation and selection, telecommuting for certain employees is a reasonable option. Businesses that do not provide flexi-time would lose promising employees, for whatever they say, many managers require everyone to stay in the office mainly for ego’s sake.

As University of Illinois business professor Ravi Gajendran puts it, “It gives them a sense of empire and status.”