A Contemporary Renaissance: Changing the Way We Communicate

Telecommuting and Working From Home

Ed Clark
VTEL Corporation, Austin Texas
108 Wild Basin Road
Austin, 'TX 78746
ed-clark@vtel.com

Thispaper describes how technology, the work requirements, and the conditions of today s
economy have made telecommuting an alternative to working at the &ce. It explores the
conditionsfor telecommuting as well as the advantages and disadvantages of workingfrom
home. It also describes the author's personal experience in telecommuting, which has been very
positive, thanlcs to a supportive employer.

What is Telecommuting?

Telecommuting is working away from the ofice with the aid of computers and
telecommunications technology. It means using technology to bring the work to the workers
instead of the other way around. The telecommunications include telephone, fax, modems,
pagers, and cellular phones. It also includes senrices such as ISDN lines; Internet service
providers (ISPs) dialup accounts for remote senrer access, Email accounts, voice mail, etc. In an
economy that is shifting away from manufacturing and into information technology,
telecommuting has become very pervasive and a viable option for many employees in diverse
professions.

Who Can Telecommute

Telecommuting is for experienced, high-performing employees, especially those performing

work that does not require constant interaction with coworkers, close supervision, or frequent
task assignment. Telecommuting is not usually an option for new hires, which need training and
an induction period into the company's culture. In any case, the employer's criteria for allowing
telecommuting should be fair. Any employee meeting the requirements should qualifL and
telecommuting should always be voluntary, especially if the employee is supposed to provide
the telecommuting resources.

Work Suitable for Telecommuting

Work performed on a computer such as writing, editing, data entry, or software development is
ideal for telecommuting. Technical writing, is a good example of a profession that lends itself
nicely to telecommuting. It doesn't require constant supervision or frequent task assignment,
and the accuracy, completeness, and usability of'the resultant documentation measure the
performance. Most technical writers work for weeks or even months on a given project and they
require only periodic contact with subject matter experts for document review or information
exchange.

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Advantages

From the employee’s perspective, the main advantage of telecommuting is avoiding the waste
of time as well as the cost of getting to the office, usually by driving. This advantage becomes
more apparent as the commuting distance increases. For people in Japan, a two-hour commute
involving cars, trains, and bicycles is not unusual or unacceptable. However, for most people in
America, a commute of more than an hour is usually considered excessive. Removing the chore
of daily commuting, employees can take career opportunities that would otherwise require
relocation with the associated expense and the social and emotional consequencesof changing
environments.

Another advantage, is the balance of career and family life, especially for those with dependent
care needs. Many parents can care for their children and be gainfully employed thanks to
telecommuting.

From the employer’s perspective, the main advantage is that telecommuting allows the
company to hire qualified people without paying for relocation. Also, telecommuting is a more
affordable way to reward and retain valuable employees than frequent salary increases and
promotions. The flexibility involved in telecommuting makes the company more attractive in
the market place.

Disadvantages

A disadvantage in telecommuting, is the lack of actual face-to-face meetings. Even though

Email has afforded us inexpensive asynchronous access to people with whom we do business,
sometimes you just have to meet in person. Videoconferencing is rapidly becoming the next
best thing to being there. It is becoming a fantastic tool for distance learning and for attending
meetings without long distance travel or commute. As the state of the art in videoconferencing
evolves and it becomes more commonplace, the distance seems to matter less, although in a
global economy, the different time zones still present a problem. Another disadvantage,
especially from the employer’s perspective, is the potential security risks involved in removing
files and documents from the office. Allowing remote access to the company’s computer
resources can also be a concern. However, these risks are also present in the case of regular
employees, especially those who travel often on business. In my opinion, telecommuters are not
a higher security risk than other employees are.

Telecommuting Schedule

In most cases, the telecommuter needs to be at the office at least two or three days a week to
interact in person with coworkers. Being more detached from the office could be jeopardizing
career advancement for being out of sight and out of mind. Ideally, the telecommuting days
should not be contiguous to achieve a good balance with the days at the office. Friday is, in my
opinion; an especially good day to telecommute in spite of the fact that it gives the impression
that the telecommuter is trying to stretch his or her weekend. Unfortunately, there are
generalized perceptions that work at home is not as serious or as productive as that performed at
the office. And even though the reality is often the opposite, the perception is still prevalent. On
Fridays, many people are absent from the office on vacation, people try to leave early, and
avoid scheduling long meetings in the afternoon (which could require the telecommuter to be
present). Also, most employees tend to slow down the last working day of the week. Email
volume, meetings, phone calls, overtime, all seem to decline on Fridays, while the rush hour

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traffic starts earlier and gets worse than other days of the week. Friday has been, in my
experience, a good day to work at home by telecommuting.

Home Office Environment

Working at home requires not just the PC and the connectivitywith the main office. It also
requires a dedicated space at home where the telecommuter can work without interruptions and
distractions. Other family members should understand that the telecommuter is working and not
available during work hours. Conversely, the telecommuter needs to be able to detach from
work when it is family time. Having the work tools at home can be a temptation for
overachievers to work on their own time. This can intrude in the telecommuter’s personal time
and family life.

My Experience in Telecommuting

In April of 1997 I started a new job in Austin, Texas with VTEL Corporation, a leading
manufacturer of videoconferencing systems, as their Publications Coordinator. This required a
daily commute of 140 miles from my home in Temple, Texas of approximately an hour and 15
minutes each way. One day, as 1 was stuck in traffic and late for work, I came up with an
(original?) idea that would allow me to reduce my weekly commute to “only” 560 miles and
fewer than 10 hours a week: commuting four days and telecommuting one.

I asked my Manager if this could be arranged, I would work 9-hour days four times a week and
telecommute 4 hours one day. To my surprise, she agreed to my suggestion.

I spent a couple of weeks arranging my telecommute. First, I obtained remote access to the
company servers via modem and the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that I already had at home.
For this, I brought my notebook computer to the office, loaded the necessary protocols, installed
the Email software, and configured the network settings. The IS department set a remote access
account for me and configured the software. A pleasant surprise was to realize that once
connected to the Internet all I had to do to access my company’s Email system was to run the
Email software. I just had to specify VTEL’s DNS instead of my ISP’s DNS in my Windows
network settings.

Another arrangement for telecommuting was obtaining a company telephone card for long-
distance business calls from home. VTEL has toll-free numbers for dialup access and for voice
mail access, but it’s nice to have the telephone card when I need to call vendors and contractors.

Telecommuting worked very nicely until I was invited to a Wednesday afternoon meeting. By
the way, I had originally chosen Wednesday to telecommute so that nobody would think that I
was stretching my weekends (I had to switch to Fridays later to be able to attend my weekly
Department’s staff meetings on Wednesdays). VTEL uses scheduling sofhvare to plan
meetings and share people’s schedules. I had blocked the four morning hours (8-12) that 1 was
at home working, but didn’t realize that I could still be invited to meetings in the afternoon.
Because the meeting was important, I asked to attend the meeting via phone, which I did, with
reasonable success. The speakerphone didn’t work very well and 1 had to hold the phone in my
ear for a whole hour. However, I didn’t disappoint anybody.

The meeting gave me another idea; phase two of my telecommuting will be to videoconference
for meetings. I am currently working on this idea and I will share the results when I finish

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implementing it. I have a color camera that can be attached to the PC’s parallel port to capture
still or motion video. However, I’m still exploring the options for audio.

Telecommuting in Style

For serious telecommuting requiring quasi-real-time interaction with the office, the typical
home office may lack the bandwidth and facilities to access all the main ofice resources with
ease. I have discovered that, even though I can access the company network drives,
downloading files larger than a couple of megabytes can be a long chore. Luckily, ISDN lines
have become cheaper and are available in most urban areas, even in my hometown with a
population of 53000. I researched the subject by calling my telephone provider and learned that
the cost of the installation and a 128K modem could be under $500, depending on the length of
the contract, and on your ability to run the internal wiring fiom the interface box to your
computer. The monthly charge is approximately $50 for unlimited access.

Societal Impact

In our current economy, employees tend to have shorter tenures in their jobs than the previous
generations. It is not uncommon to switch jobs every few years, and even changing careers
several times. With our economy shifting away from manufacturing and into services and
software (in the broadest sense) products, employees have to be flexible and imaginative to
remain gainfully employed. Employers also have to be flexible and many companies now offer
flexible time schedules and telecommuting as options.

When my previous employer (Texas Instruments) decided to concentrate in their core

competencies, many plants were closed and many people had to find new jobs. In my case, TI
was one of few manufacturing employers in Temple. When TI closed doors, hundreds of high-
tech employees had to pack and leave town to find a new job elsewhere. Many, like me, found
jobs in Austin, a city which is now being called “Silicon Hills’ for its high tech industry growth.
Austin is home to many software development companies and many industry high-tech giants
have a presence in Austin to tap the local human resources. A colleague recently started a job
with a major software developer in Austin and he will telecommute two days a week from
Rockdale, Texas. He decided to take this job even though he had an offer from another
company in Houston that had offered him the chance to telecommute all week. The lack of
qualified technical writers and the high salaries that they command in a strong economy has
made employers much more flexible.

Conclusion

I have been able to remain in Temple and work in Austin thanks to telecommuting. After more
than a year working for VTEL, half of which I have telecommuted once a week, I feel fortunate
that telecommuting has reduced the time and cost I spend getting to work. Another writer has
joined VTEL and this will allow me to telecommute twice a week. My Manager is agreeable to
this new schedule and, of course, the new writer will have the same option. By just coordinating
our telecommute schedules, there can be a writer at the office everyday to handle the daily
publications issues that require being at the office. I believe that telecommuting is here to stay
and it will change the way many of us work.

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Ed Clark is an engineer by training and a professional communicator by choice. Has been

involved in technical publications since 1984 and is currently the Publications Coordinator for
VTEL Corporation in Austin, TX. VTEL is a leader in digital visual communications. His
recent projects have involved producing online videoconferencing documentation in HTML
format that has been translated into eight foreign languages. Previously he worked with Texas
Instnrments where he documented notebook computers, printers, and digital signal processing
hardware and software tools.

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