remote work unDer the microscopeLinDa stuit

introDuction

2 | remote work unDer the microscope

two major Fortune 500 employers have

made headlines recently by announcing

that they are eliminating or significantly

reducing opportunities for their

employees to work remotely. Response

to the announcements came quickly from

business analysts and the mainstream media,

speculating about the effect these decisions

would have on the companies and their

employees and how those effects might

eventually impact the workforce in general.

Yahoo!® led the charge in February when

CEO Marissa Mayer instructed her HR

department to have all remote employees

return to working in company offices. The

reason given for the major policy change

was that the company believes face-to-face

employee interaction fosters a collaborative

culture that can’t be developed among

remote workers. A statement from the

company said that they are not offering any

broad industry view on working from home,

but rather making a decision based on what

is right for Yahoo!.

Just a few weeks later, electronics retailer

Best Buy® also announced changes to its

policies about telecommuting. The company

isn’t eliminating remote work across the

board, but instead of it being an option that

employees can decide for themselves, they

must consult with their managers to discuss

whether the arrangement is working.

These policy shifts in high-profile corporate

America have ignited a national debate

about workplace flexibility. Some employees

at both companies have hailed the changes

as positive, saying that more in-person

collaboration and innovation will boost

morale and nurture the company culture

that is essential to maintaining a strong

corporate brand. But many workers believe

working remotely allows them to be more

productive, because they can concentrate

on their work without the distractions of an

office. While Yahoo! and Best Buy wait to see

how their changes play out, the discussion

and examination of remote work continues

to heat up.

For years, there has been a growing trend

toward permitting and even encouraging

employees to work remotely. A recent report

by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that

since 1997, there has been a 35% increase

in the number of workers in the United

States who work at least one day a week

at home. More than half of those workers

are private company employees, and the

rest are self-employed and government

workers. According to data gathered by

TeleworkResearchNetwork.com, in 2012

there were more than three million

employees in the united states—2.5%

of the total workforce—who were

telecommuting at least part time. The

teleworker population has grown by an

estimated 73% since 2005. Clearly this is an

3 | remote work unDer the microscope

Looking at the oFFice in the rearview

increasingly popular option to the traditional

daily commute to an office.

technology and today’s bustling global

marketplace are two key drivers for the

popularity of remote work. Collaboration

has always been essential for fostering

creativity and innovation, but collaboration

no longer requires team members to sit in

cubicles and meet in conference rooms.

Complex systems that let employees

choose their own computers, smartphones,

tablets, and operating systems have brought

together a large, geographically distributed

workforce like never before. VoIP phones

and Skype enable communications around

the globe, meetings can be streamed live on

video, and shared PowerPoint presentations

on universal storage systems in the cloud

have taken the place of whiteboards and

dry erase markers. the team-oriented

corporate culture today’s businesses are

striving for no longer requires everyone

to be together in the same place at any

given time.

A few industry observers have suggested

that the decisions by Yahoo! and Best Buy

may signal the beginning of a reversal in the

telecommuting trend. But the concept of

working remotely or from home has become

deeply rooted in the workplace, with an

ever-growing body of research showing that

remote work benefits employees, employers,

and the bottom line.

the teLeworker popuLation has

grown by an estimateD

since 2005. 73%

4 | remote work unDer the microscope

In early 2013, more than 122,000 people

from 31 countries in the Americas, EMEA,

and the Asia Pacific regions responded

to a workplace survey developed by

Kelly Services® to assess employees’ views

of work and the workplace. The Kelly Global

Workforce Index (KGWI) asked respondents

for their opinions about career development,

employee engagement and retention, social

media and technology, global mobility, and

workplace changes.

results of the survey showed that the

workplace has undergone dramatic

changes that have spurred workers to

become more self-reliant and proactive in

controlling their professional development.

Workers are looking toward the future,

taking stock oF the workForce

both within and outside of their current

career paths. They are open to considering

changing jobs not only for better pay, but

also for better benefits, new opportunities,

and personal fulfillment, all of which help

workers to achieve balance between their

work and their personal lives.

one factor that contributes to a better

work/life balance for many employees is

the ability to work remotely. Among the

respondents to the KGWI study, 29% work

remotely for at least part of the work week.

Significantly more APAC workers (12%)

spend one work day at home than workers

in the Americas (5%) and EMEA (7%). More

younger workers telecommute than older

generations, and significantly more (11%)

Professional/Technical workers spend one

day working from home versus only 4% of

non-Professional/Technical workers. In IT

jobs, 15% of workers work remotely one day

per week.

Studies show that the number of employers

offering remote work options grows every

year, so the assumption is that employees

value this flexibility. these recent reversals

in telecommuting policies are surprising,

but may not be indicating an overall shift in

the general outlook. There are positives and

negatives associated with every company

policy, but remote work is firmly entrenched

in our global economy, and it’s here to stay.

29%work remoteLy For

at Least part oF the work week.

5 | remote work unDer the microscope

aDvantages anD DisaDvantages oF working remoteLy

The advantages of remote work are

indisputable for both sides of the issue. For

employers, numerous studies have found

that telecommuting can increase productivity

and lower costs for companies. a study

co-sponsored by stanford university and

beijing university found that remote

workers for a chinese call center worked

more efficiently and took fewer breaks.

IBM estimates it has cut real estate expenses

by $50 million by offering remote work

options, and Nortel estimates a savings of

$100,000 per employee in relocation costs.

For employees, the biggest advantage in

remote working (noted in the kgwi by

69% of us respondents, 69% of emea

workers, and 63% of apac respondents)

was the fact that not having to go to

an office every day minimizes the time

and money they spend commuting.

An advantage of fewer interruptions was

recognized by 49% of remote workers in the

Americas, 48% of EMEA remote workers, and

44% of APAC remote workers. An average of

45% of all remote workers globally said that

working at home gives them greater flexibility

to deal with unexpected personal incidents.

The challenges of managing a family,

particularly for parents of young children, can

be lessened by one or both parents being

able to work from home.

On the disadvantages side of the issue,

some employers believe that remote work

interferes with the flashes of insight and

innovation that happen spontaneously in

unplanned meetings in hallways and break

rooms. results from the kgwi indicate that

many workers share similar concerns, with

54% of respondents in the americas (55%

in the emea and 57% in the apac) saying

they lose opportunities for collaboration

and networking by not being in an

office with other employees. Difficulty

in establishing boundaries to separate

their work life from their personal life was

noted as a disadvantage by 32% of remote

workers in the Americas (39% of both EMEA

and APAC workers). Nearly as many (37%

Americas, 32% EMEA, and 40% APAC) said

that working remotely reduces their access

to company information and involvement in

team activities.

All parties involved in a remote work

arrangement will realize their own advantages

and disadvantages that result from it. these

recent policy changes by major companies

have surely stirred up a lot of discussion

and people are watching closely. But

cutting out remote work may have a negative

effect on morale, hiring, and retention.

It remains to be seen whether there will

be enough benefits in terms of increased

innovation and collaboration to outweigh

the costs in terms of employee loyalty and

job referrals.

6 | remote work unDer the microscope

the importance oF a strong empLoyer branD

with the proliferation of social networking

in recent years, employees have a global

forum for telling job candidates exactly

what they can expect by working for

a particular company. Social media has

become an important platform for job

seekers to receive referrals from friends about

open positions. These personal referrals are

often accompanied by opinions about the

company and its employer brand, including

how interesting or challenging the work is,

how flexible their work schedule is, and what

options are available for telecommuting.

According to the KGWI, 22% of workers

are likely to recommend their employer to

a friend or colleague as an employment

opportunity, and 65% of workers are

interested in receiving job referrals from

friends in their social media network. Nearly

one-fifth of full-time Professional/Technical

workers responding to the KGWI secured

a new job opportunity that originated via a

social media or networking site.

a positive company culture can present

an attractive employer brand to a world

of job seekers, but a negative company

culture can destroy a company from within.

In fact, that was one of the cited factors that

contributed to Yahoo! ending remote working

options. The company was struggling in the

face of online competition from nimble rivals,

and motivation and morale were decreasing.

This change to remote work policies is a

response designed to foster innovation,

reinvigorate morale, and revitalize the

company culture by bringing the workforce

back into the office. The CEO is expecting

the resulting positive energy to work its way

outward to the brand that Yahoo! portrays as

an employer.

The new remote work policy is the first

unpopular decision Mayer has made since

taking over. Workers have applauded other

changes, such as introducing free cafeteria

food and having Friday idea-swapping

meetings for all employees. The boost to

Yahoo!’s employer brand was evidenced

by the arrival of resumes from employees

at Google® and Facebook®, which rarely

happened in the past. A recent internal

survey of employees found that nearly all are

optimistic about Yahoo!’s future, an increase

of 32% from the previous survey. But it

remains to be seen whether this optimism will

translate to employees being happy in spite

of their remote work arrangements ending.

Employees who have the flexibility to work

at home at least part of the time are more

satisfied with their jobs and more fulfilled

in their personal lives, and in today’s fast-

paced business arena, work/life balance is

more important than ever. The KGWI survey

showed that work/life balance was the most

important factor for 38% of all workers in

deciding whether or not to accept a position.

Workers who are offered a job can afford

to consider information they have picked

up from social media about what type of

employer a company is and how the job will

affect their ability to balance their jobs with

the demands of their lives. And remote work

is a big part of that.

7 | remote work unDer the microscope

concLusion.

reFerences:

“Costs and Benefits: Advantages of Telecommuting for Companies.” Telework Research Network. http://www.teleworkresearchnetwork.com/resources/costs-benefits

Kim, Susanna. “Best Buy Follows Yahoo!’s Lead, Takes a Look at Employees Working from Home.” ABC News, March 6, 2013.

Laskowski, Amy. “Abolishing Work-at-Home Policies.” Boston University Today, March 12, 2013.

Miller, Claire Cain. “Yahoo! Says New Policy is Meant to Raise Morale.” The New York Times, March 5, 2013.

Companies across all industries are watching to see how the policy changes by yahoo! and best buy

will play out in the end for both employers and employees. None of us knows what kind of general impact this is going to have, if there even is one, and it may take many years to find out. Employers have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of remote work within their organization, and decide for themselves what the proper balance is for their own company. In the meantime companies should continue to get input from employees about what they want from an employer so they can develop an attractive employer brand. If offering remote work strengthens that brand, attracts top talent, satisfies workers, and increases productivity and efficiency as a result, then everyone wins.

eXit

This information may not be published, broadcast, sold, or otherwise distributed without prior written permission from the authorized party. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. An Equal Opportunity Employer. © 2013 Kelly Services, Inc.

about keLLy services®

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staffing on a temporary, temporary-to-hire, and direct-hire basis. Serving clients around the

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ABOuT ThE AuThOR

LINDA STuIT is Vice President, Global Solutions for Kelly Services, Inc. In her

current role, Ms. Stuit is responsible for leading the high Tech Vertical team

on identifying and creating workforce solutions for many of the world’s largest

organizations. With more than 20 years of experience working directly with

complex global accounts, Ms. Stuit specializes in assessing the talent and human

capital strategy of an organization and determining how their talent supply will

impact their overall objectives. She creates solutions and coordinates resources that drive the

bottom-line results by ensuring qualified, cost-effective talent supply chains. Ms. Stuit is certified

as a human Capital Strategist by the human Capital Institute (hCI) and holds a bachelor’s degree

from Michigan State university.