Certaincompanies,especiallysomesmall-scalebusinesses,starttoencouragetheirstafftoworkfromhomeorusehomeastheirworkingbaseforatleastpartoftheweeknowadays.Someoffersomeformsofremoteworkingsupporttotheirwork-forces,suchasequippingthemwithlaptopsandinstallingbroadband,andotherspayforthetelephonebillsfortheseworkers.
Thisworkpatternispopularbecauseit’sclearthatthereareanumberofbenefitsforthesecompanies.First,ithelpsretainemployees,especiallyhighly-qualifiedworkingparentswithchildcareresponsibilities.Second,itbringshigherproductivitybecausetheemployeeshavefewerinterruptionsandlesscommutingtime.Lastbutnotleastitofferssavingsonpremisesandotherfacilities.
However,therearesomepotentialdrawbacks.Foronething,thereisdifficultyofmanaginghomeworkersandmonitoringtheirperformanceanddifficultyofmaintainingstaffdevelopmentandupgradingskills.Foranother,itmaycreateasenseofisolationamonghomeworkersanditcanbehardertomaintainteamspirit.Therefore,enterprisesshouldweightheprosandconsbeforepermittingtheiremployeestoworkathome.
