ABSTRACT
In setting a style for yourself and others to effectively, fairly and productively manage teleworkers use this US Department of Transportation — Orientation to Telecommuting. Think about and answer the following questions honestly to yourself:
Are you or are you willing to focus on facilitating the accomplishment of work by managing the flow of work as opposed to the worker? Can you act as a facilitator and not as a ‘boss’ or ‘supervisor’? Do you need to feel that you are ‘the boss’, that you are ‘in charge’, that you control what people do, or that you have power over people?
Do you feel a certain status in being the boss and that you would lose that status with facilitative management?
Do you think that your subordinates would not respect you as a facilitative manager?
Are you willing to delegate responsibility for work to the person who is assigned to do it? Do you believe that you have to monitor and control the work or it won't be done? Do you believe that your value, usefulness, status, etc. would be jeopardized by pushing responsibility to the level of the worker? For example, if there is a request from top management for an oral report on a specific task accomplished by one of your subordinates, do you feel that you, not the person who actually performed the work, should make the report?
Are you willing to allow workers to do the work in their own ways as long as they complete the work in an acceptable (quantity, quality, timeliness) fashion? Do you need to see the worker or can you evaluate job performance on the basis of work output? Some telecommuters report that they miss out on promotions and choice assignments, that these are given to those who provide ‘face time’ to the manager; does that apply to you?
Do you believe the organization and its management should focus on the bottom line and not on workers' quality of life? Do you believe that work is more important than the people who perform it? Are the personal needs of your organization's employees important to you? Do you believe that you should do everything in your power to assist your employee's balance their work and personal life requirements?
Do you like, personally, the role of facilitative manager? Do you like people? Some managers feel coerced into different roles or into accepting telecommuting programs; how do you feel? Some managers who feel coerced end up taking it out on the telecommuters by creating unnecessary hurdles and discomforts, excessive controls, rigid procedures, or by otherwise sabotaging the program; do you feel such an inclination? The same questions apply to managers who are nervous or fearful of the program.
