5 March 2008
AT&T, Intel and HP abandon some telecommuting perks
Changes to working practices partly due to teamwork improvement aim.
Intel, HP, AT&T and parts of the US government have all recently summoned some of their home workers for regular face time with their colleagues, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) last week.
Sing-a-long team-bonding methods
In the WSJ article,
Elliott Masie, head of the Masie Center, a research organization, suggests that while many younger managers are comfortable collaborating online, as pressures mount, older managers may revert to the notion that to build teamwork, "it's important for everybody to sit around and sing 'Kumbaya' together."
If that thought scares you, what about the fall-out effects on team engagement within a team that includes workers who have been called back to the office against their will?
It's important for everybody to sit around and sing 'Kumbaya' together.
The Hub spoke with corporate communication representatives from Intel, AT&T and HP this week, but all companies were unable at this stage to comment about the WSJ article's claims.
Check back on the Hub soon for further information on how the moves were communicated to affected employees at these organizations.
"Keep team-spirit strong"
Although the working from home trend is still going strong at many organizations, these developments from companies that have traditionally supported home working suggest that it's a strong possibility that other employers might follow suit in light of mooted economic downturn, and the performance benefits derived from face-to-face teamwork and communication.
According to the WSJ article, many of Intel's telecommuters in its information-technology group now report to the office at least 4 days a week. Full-time home-office workers now make up 1%-2% of Intel's 5,500 information-technology workers, down from less than 4%, a spokeswoman says.
Managers apparently wanted "to keep the team spirit strong, which requires face-to-face interaction, impromptu dialogues, collaboration and mentoring," the Intel representative explains.
Security threats affect callback trend
Other reasons suggested for callbacks of telecommuters? Paul Hoffman, a deputy assistant secretary for the US federal government department, cites in the WSJ article some managers' security worries about the potential theft of laptops with sensitive data, or hackers intruding on remote users' wireless networks.
US employees working full time from home are still rising, gaining 30% since 2005 to 2.44 million in 2007.
The US federal government posted a 7.3% drop in telecommuters from 2005 to 2006.
Despite these developments, US employees working full time from home are still rising, gaining 30% since 2005 to 2.44 million in 2007, says Ray Boggs, a research vice president with market-research organization, IDC.
If you're one of these workers, see the Melcrum blog for 3 tips keeping a work-at-home gig.
Have your say
What's the best way to communicate to those potentially disgruntled employees who've been dragged back to an office environment from their homes and former working practices? Is there any evidence to suggest these workers won't rebel against their newly enforced working environment?
Surely engagement could drop as a result, and therefore affect company performance anyway during economic downturn? Do you have any statistics to suggest the contrary?
Discuss this issue with your communication peers by joining the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.
How to communicate with virtual teams
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hard-to-reach employees – a new report from Melcrum which looks at how the world's leading organizations engage
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