Cutting Back on Telecommuting

Recently, I discussed people who (gasp!) don't want to telecommute. But what about people who do want to, have been doing so successfully, and are about to lose the ability?

This nearly happened to me at my previous job. (My employment was terminated, along with that of 30 other people, while I was still resisting the mandate to come into the office every day). But I didn't work at HP.

Hewlett-Packard, the Silicon Valley company known for pioneering flexible work arrangements four decades ago, is canceling telecommuting for a key division of the company.

While other companies nationwide are pushing more employees to work from home to cut office costs, HP believes bringing its information- technology employees together in the office will make them swifter and smarter.

The decision shocked HP employees and surprised human resource management experts, who believe telecommuting is still a growing trend.

[ "HP cuts back on telecommuting Some Key Workers Will Have To Come To Office Or Find New Jobs", by Nicole C. Wong, San Jose Mercury News, Jun. 03, 2006 ]

Ouch.

The architect of the HP division's change, Randy Mott, is regarded by Wall Street as a mastermind of operational efficiency... Since joining HP as CIO in July, Mott's philosophy on building a strong IT workforce starkly contrasts with that of competitors, who encourage telecommuting to retain skilled workers who desire better work/life balance.

I note that it is always the managers, usually at the upper levels, who decide that employees need to be physically present to do their work. For some reason, they can't seem to figure out how to measure performance in any more suitable ways, such as by work accomplished.

Mott said by bringing IT employees together to work as teams in offices, the less-experienced employees who aren't performing well -- which there are ``a lot of'' -- can learn how to work more effectively.

If these "ess-experienced employees" have been telecommuting, something is wrong. Telecommuting isn't for everyone. You still have to be able to perform your job to the expected standards.

... a few employees abused the flexible work arrangements and could be heard washing dishes or admitted to driving a tractor during conference calls about project updates.

This is not a "telecommuting" issue. This is a management issue. It should be treated the same as any other management issue, e.g. checking and responding to email during a meeting, being late to meetings, taking a cell phone call during a meeting or class, failing to complete a project on time, or hanging out in the breakroom all day.

IT workers generally support their companies by keeping computers and databases running and building Web sites and applications. Some can do their jobs without talking to co-workers more than once a day.

I've been in plenty of positions over the past two decades, all in the field of "Information Technology", where I could do my job without talking to co-workers more than once a week! When we did talk, sometimes it was about work. I agree that it can be useful to bounce ideas off of a willing co-worker. But I can also do that over the phone, chat, or email as well.

Many of the workplace conversations that take place aren't about the job. I've overheard co-workers talking about sports, World of Warcraft, lunch, last night's party, your new blog, the book she's been reading, a band he likes, whether the video iPod is "worth" the extra cost, and how soon the bagels will get here.

Telecommuters aren't being "productive" for 8 hours a day? MOST workers aren't being productive for 8 hours a day, whether they are forced to show a physical presence at headquarters or not.

I've been stuck in cubicles next to break rooms and noisy conference rooms, had to put up with abysmal lighting (because my co-workers turned off the overhead lights), constant throat clearing or coughing, "leaking" headsets, humming and finger tapping, noisy typing (I'm guilty of that one), leaf blowers from outside, ringing cell phones (he left it on his desk; no voicemail) and personal conversations. I've had co-workers who talked about their medical problems (TMI!) or car repair problems as well as co-workers who were in the process of buying a house, getting married, planning a vacation, or securing a green card.

With many thousands of HP IT employees scattered across 100 sites around the world -- from Palo Alto to Dornach, Germany -- the new rules require many to move. Those who don't will be out of work without severance pay, according to several employees affected by the changes.
...
HP has offered to pay some relocation expenses for IT employees who live more than 50 miles from a designated office, according to an IT employee who qualifies for a relocation package.

That employee, who has worked at HP for about 20 years, said that's not enough to move her family from the East Coast to the office designated for her in California. And she cringes at uprooting her children and forcing her husband to find a new job -- especially as more layoffs loom at HP.

"Why is HP telling us we can't do this when everybody else is saying, 'Please do'? That's kind of bizarre," said the employee, who didn't want to be identified for fear of retribution. "I like my flexibility. The only reason I've stayed with HP this long is because I've been telecommuting."

I fought hard at my previous job for the right to telecommute, first half days and then full days. If I were in HP's IT division, I'd be polishing my resume. I hope a large fraction of those 1000 employees are willing to stand firm against this threat to their productivity and move to apply at a company that values their contribution over their mere physical presence. I expect quite a few will be contacting lawyers to determine their rights for unemployment benefits if the new CIO takes action against them for doing their jobs (outside the "office").

Mott's changes underscore HP's determination to free itself from what new executives view as cumbersome costs and an outdated corporate culture.

Flexible work arrangements began at HP in 1967 as a core part of the company's widely respected management philosophy. In the book The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company, HP co-founder David Packard wrote: "To my mind, flextime is the essence of respect for and trust in people. It says that we both appreciate that our people have busy personal lives and that we trust them to devise, with their supervisor and work group, a schedule that is personally convenient yet fair to others."

Gosh. "Respect for and trust in people" has been relegated to the rubbish heap of "outdated corporate culture". That's what is most frightening to me.