Previous Dilemma:
Do you sometimes let employees work from home?

My employees often request to work from home for various reasons, such as to be home for a delivery or to let a repair person in. Those employees slow to get over an illness will also ask to work at home. I understand that they don’t want to lose too many hours or use vacation time. How much time is reasonable? How do you manage flexible and work-from-home situations? Or do you not allow them?

— Manager

Someone Has to Let the Repair Person in

Back in the old days when I worked in a corporate office, coworkers knew I had a history of back trouble. Waking up at the usual early hour, I would sometimes feel a pull followed by sudden weakness in the lower back. On those days, I knew I’d never be able to get in the car and walk into the office.

Fortunately, I had a laptop that allowed me to work from the comfort of my bed with all the back-pain-fighting supplies I needed nearby. The laptop connected me to the company’s intranet, and I could do most of tasks right there in bed with the laptop.

You never know when back pain will subside enough to let you resume your daily activities. My mind worked fine, and I had deadlines to meet. Although the company didn’t allow telecommuting on a permanent basis, it let managers use discretion in handling telecommuting requests on a case-by-case basis. Readers recommend doing the following to manage work-from-home situations:

• Use your best judgment.
• Set ground rules.
• Let performance decide.

Share your experiences and tips for employee work-from-home requests by joining the conversation and leaving a comment. Or ask your own question.

Use your best judgment

Like my former company, most readers decide whether to allow telecommuting on a case-by-case basis. One manager has staff in the office and at home and allows office workers to telecommute as needed. The manager believes the flexibility benefits the employees by allowing them to be productive and maintain a work and life balance.

Small offices, like the one Brian G. Methner owns (Methner and Associates, P.C.), need employees to be present. Companies like these may offer some flexibility, request a doctor’s note in the case of a prolonged illness or require that employees use personal time — paid or unpaid — to make up time.

“Big picture, you may need to use your judgment and be firm. If you feel that someone is abusing the privilege, or this is affecting the business or clients, that person needs to be cut off and be at work,” Methner says.

Set ground rules

Before allowing employees to telecommute, state your expectations such as being available for calls and meeting deadlines. Although obvious, do remind employees that working from home doesn’t mean a day off. Good guidelines also make it clear that when performance suffers, employees may lose the privilege to work from home, or must meet with the manager for a review.

Planning and guidelines should also cover using technology for collaborating and online meetings such as LiveMeeting, GotoMeeting and WebEx. You may want to think about expenses that the company will pay for and include them in the guidelines. Those who are strict about telecommuting may still want to institute ground rules and have a plan in place in case a situation like bad weather calls for it.

Of course, if an employee spends too much of the day on a personal appointment or dealing with childcare or an illness that prevents working more than a few hours, then that person must use agreed-on time off.

In managing an organization of 250 people, Burhan Khan, operations manager with Teradata Global Consulting Center, doesn’t allow employees to work from home except in extreme cases. “We have experienced that associates are not as productive if they work from home,” he says. Khan also believes the organization’s culture plays a role in deciding whether to allow telecommuting.

Let performance decide

With ground rules in place, the manager can better determine whether employees can work from home. Obviously, you won’t know how productive an employee can be at home without giving it a shot. I recommend that you keep in mind what readers have already mentioned: You need to use your best judgment.

Steve Eberly manages by results. “As long as the employee gets results, I allow home working to proceed,” Eberly says.

Results and performance measures can help tell the story. But I recognize that working at home might not work if in-person meetings or other items require an employee on site.

What other rules or guidelines would you use for telecommuting?  Facing issues at work? Ask a question.

Meryl K. Evans is senior editor at InternetVIZ and the content maven behind the Connected Digest, B2B Social Media Digest and Professional Services Journal. Follow her on Twitter @merylkevans.