Ethics in Computing by Joseph Migga Kizza

Author:Joseph Migga Kizza
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

6.4.4.3 Effects and Benefits of Telecommuting

Whenever there is a change in the environment of workers, there are always some social, psychological, and financial effects on both employee and employer. If the effects are financial, they become benefits. However, if they are psychological, they become health issues; if they are social, they become organizational issues. In this section we concentrate on social and financial issues.

An employer–employee-arranged home office is supposed to reap benefits for both parties. Let us start by qualifying our discussion to include only those telecommuters who are company employed, have traditional offices at the company premises, and through mutual arrangements with their companies have decided to work from their homes. This group truly exemplifies the benefits, if there are any, for both the employer and the employee. Because these workers have a choice of either staying at the office or working from home , they can only work only from their homes if they experience a benefit and the companies can only let them work from their homes if the companies expect a benefit from the arrangement. For those working at home with no choice except to work at home, such as those in the majority in the second category (see earlier), the benefits are already clear. Defining benefits for telecommuters is not easy because each participant in the arrangement perceives the benefits the way they would like them to be. For example, the company may see the benefit as savings on office space so that other workers can use the space, or as savings in office supplies, or a reduction in the likelihood of employee risks while on company premises. The employee may see benefits as spending more quality time with their loved ones at home, or spending less time in traffic commuting to and from work, or the flexibility and independence in decision making concerning the work the employee has to do. The value of benefits from this arrangement depends on individual circumstances as discussed by Kraut [23] and reported as follows:1. Gender: Women have traditionally given care to children and the elderly, the two groups most homebound; women would therefore draw maximum benefits from telecommuting arrangements with their employees, if their primary objective for telecommuting is to take care of their families.

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