Telecommuting

Telecommuting impact on performance

Abstract

With the recent economy change, a lot of companies have been looking for ways to improve their organizations’ overall performance while continuing to stimulate interest and drive in the employees, and trying to reduce their expenses. Since many organizations have had to cut back on perks they previously offered employees, there is a great need to provide new forms of incentives to attract and retain individuals who possess highest level of competency. Some efforts that have been adopted in the last decade are offering employees more flexible work arrangements. This paper focuses on Telecommuting, the most popular form of work arrangements. Researchers have indicated that Telecommuting is one of the best forms of motivation today. With the aid of technology, it has become a lot easier to perform most work at remote locations. This paper evaluates the impact Telecommuting has on both the employees and the organizations they work for.

Telecommuting impact on performance

Dransfield (2000) described Motivation as a drive that comes from within an individual, and is a function of individual will. People do things because the outcome is appealing to them. Motivation is goal-directed behavior (p.17). He went on to describe Performance Management as an HRM process (which has become increasingly popular since 1980s) concerned with getting the best performance from individuals in an organization, as well as getting the best performance from teams, and the organization as whole (p.69). By understanding each individuals drive, managers can assess how best utilize them to maximize their performance potential within the organization.

To fully invest themselves in an organization, the employees have to understand the purpose and meaning of their contribution to the organization. Nelson (2007) argued that “employees need to feel that the jobs they are doing are important and have purpose and meaning. They need to know the...