ANTenna Blog -- Business & E-Business

I was always taught that you can't have it both ways. Take telecommuting. You can't believe in the concept of telecommuting but not put it into practice. Can you?

It seems you can. A recently released study by Intranet DASHBOARD, an intranet software company, in which 390 U.S. executives were surveyed, indicates that while 70 percent of the respondents were restricted from teleworking, 66 percent said their organizations support the concept of telecommuting. Great. As my father would say, that, and a token, will get you on the subway. (Even that won't work anymore. Thank you, Metrocard.)

What's holding these companies back from freeing their worker bees from long commutes, wasted time, and wear and tear on their cars? "The major reason it was not more prevalent was due to management's lack of trust in employees and productivity concerns," writes P.G. Daly in Intranet Journal about the survey.

Although Daly's telecommuting experience was forestalled by a new manager, he writes of his time working out of his home office: "I could be more productive without all the interruptions of the office, and I could enjoy the perks and wild fantasies like actually being able to look out and open a window. I considered it a privilege and loved the times I was able to do so."

More productive? Who wants that?

The survey also indicated, according to SHRM, that "greater efficiency (53 percent), reduced absenteeism (46 percent), productivity gains (44 percent), reduced office overheads (36 percent), and improved recruitment and retention (32 percent) were cited as the biggest benefits of telecommuting." More of those mixed messages guys.

Oh, and guess what? According to a survey by the Information Technology Association of America "36 percent of respondents would choose telecommuting over a pay raise."

But what do those guys know anyway, right? They're just your valued employees. They can't be trusted with anything.