As someone who has joined the millions of remote workers who do what they do in a virtual environment, I always perk up when I see data about telework trends.
Here’s one I was not expecting: for the first time since WorldatWork (the not-for-profit organization that is focused on global HR issues including compensation, benefits, work-life and integrated total rewards) began measuring telework in 2003, the total number of people who worked from home or another remote location for an entire day at least once a month has declined.
According to Telework 2011: A Special Report From WorldatWork, the teleworking (read, remotely working) population in 2010 was 26.2 million, down from 33.7 million in 2008. This number, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, represents nearly 20 percent of the U.S. adult working population in 2010.
“The decline in the number of people teleworking is likely due to a combination of things,” said Rose Stanley, work-life practice leader for WorldatWork, in a press release about the survey. “The decline in the overall number of workers due to high unemployment appears to be a factor, along with heightened employee anxiety over job security and a lack of awareness of telework.”
I’m not in love with the term “telework” because it’s somewhat vague and hard to understand. What WorldatWork is talking about, of course, are remote workers – like me – who do their job from home or some other location that is not a traditional office or workplace environment.
And Telework 2011 gave a demographic profile of what the “typical” remote workers looks like: it’s a 40-year-old, male college graduate who works from home. But, although “home” maintained its position at the top of the list of common locations for teleworking in 2010, WorldatWork says that “home” experienced one of the biggest declines as a remote work location from 2008 to 2010, with “satellite center” and “hotel” trending upward, as well as “working while on vacation.”
One more thing about this survey: although it found that the overall number of remote workers had dropped, the frequency of those who telework more than once per month is increasing. In 2010, 84 percent of teleworkers did so one day per week or more, the survey says, up from 72 percent in 2008.
I can’t say I’m surprised that the number of remote workers has decreased somewhat, especially since so many managers and executives view it as a luxury or a perk instead of an option to increase employee productivity.
The WorldatWork survey found this to be the case when they asked survey respondents, “In your organization, is being allowed to work remotely considered more of a right or a reward?” Nearly one in three viewed it as a reward or employee benefit – a telling indicator that remote work is still viewed as something outside the mainstream of the normal work process
“Telework is none of the above – right, reward or benefit,” said Kathie Lingle, executive director of WorldatWork’s Alliance for Work-Life Progress. “Rather, it is a business power tool, which, if skillfully applied by properly trained experts within a culture of trust, has been associated with impressive increases in employee engagement, productivity, and profitability.”
Amen to that, and I say that not because I work remotely but because so many organizations – like IBM, to use one example – have found it a great tool to not only increase productivity and employee satisfaction, but a way to cut a huge amount of corporate overhead as well.
Of course, there’s more than remote workers n the news this week. Here are some other HR and workplace-related items you may have missed. This is TLNT’s weekly round-up of news, trends, and insights from the world of HR and talent management. Yes, I do it so you don’t have to.