Teleworking:
The Hidden Costs For Employers
The extent of teleworking has growth rapidly over the last
five years. Today, it is estimated that a 5.5 million people
work from home. The attractions for workers are obvious such
as reduce stress, less commuting and fewer lost days for
children's illnesses. Employers cite benefits such as reduced
office space costs, improved staff liability and reduce stress
for staff. These benefits come in the form of improved
productivity and reductions in office accommodation costs.
However, there can also be unseen costs and obligations for
employers.
Health and Safety
Employers have to make sure that their employees work in a
safe environment. A recent survey discovered that around 50%
of companies were at risk of failing the Health and Safety
Executive's ("HSE") requirements to conduct risk
assessments and compliance audits. These assessments and
audits ensure that teleworkers' home work spaces are safe from
risks of fire, electrical faults, vision damage or repetitive
strain. HSE inspectors have statutory rights to carry out
safety inspections at the homes of teleworkers.
Employers need to ensure that the home workspace is
properly set up and risks assessed for each worker. The work
space should be equipped with a sturdy desk and stable chair
to protect the worker's posture. Anti-glare lighting should be
provided and the desk and computer equipment positioned to
prevent reflective glare that might damage the worker's
vision. Any desktop or laptop computer that might be required
should be configured with firewall and antivirus software.
Where children might trip over trailing cables, cable-tidies
such as ducts, cable-ties or anti-trip mats should be
provided.
The Implications and Costs
The government's drive towards flexible working and
child-friendly employment policies is a major incentive for
companies to investigate teleworking. However, a recent CBI
report states that 75% of its member firms spending increasing
amount of time administering flexible working arrangements
resulting in the loss of valuable management time in
compliance activities. In our experience, businesses are
increasingly concerned in balancing the flexibility needs of
workers with providing high levels and continuity of service
to customers. However, it is important that teleworkers are
treated in the same way as their office worker colleagues and
given equal access to support, technology and health and
safety information.
Most teleworkers will require some kind of computing
resources that will increase the per-capita cost of the IT
infrastructure. For example, laptops can cost twice as much as
an equivalent desktop computer and the running costs of
personal ink jet printers can be 30 - 40 times the cost of
networked office laser printers. Generally, the annual cost of
equipping and supporting teleworkers can be up to 15% higher
than their office-based colleagues. Companies may also have to
reinforce their IT infrastructures and networks in terms of
storage capacity, security and broadband Internet capacity. A
key issue for many employers is the provision of hardware
support for teleworkers. Where such engineering support is
provided to teleworkers' homes, the per capita costs can be
significantly higher than for office-based members of staff.
Information Security
The Data Protection and the Computer Misuse legislation
impose obligations on companies to protect information. When
companies introduce teleworking, the challenge to protect the
security of information becomes more complex. Irrespective of
where an employee might work, the company, not the teleworker,
has a legal responsibility for the security of information
held or processed on a teleworker's computer. It is quite
likely that the teleworker's computer will be used for
non-business purposes for example browsing the Internet,
self-study research or children's games. It is then that the
computer is at greatest risk from virus attack or remote
hijacking. The home computer should, therefore, be configured
with a corporate-strength firewall and a virus-protection
system that can be updated every time the computer is
connected to the Internet. The home computer should only be
connected to the employer's systems using secure connection
technology such as Virtual Private Network ("VPN")
or thin-client (e.g. Citrix, Terminal Server or secure web
server).
To avoid uncertainty, it is prudent to include guidance on
home-working and the appropriate mandatory policies in the
employee handbook. Many people may find it difficult to adapt
to the loss of companionship and the cut-and-thrust of office
politics and employers must not expect to achieve sweeping
reductions in office accommodation and administration costs.
Teleworking may be the future for service-based working but
there are costs to be faced and risks to be managed. Remember,
the employer's responsibility is not limited to the office's
front doorstep.
If
you are interested in finding out more about how teleworking
might benefit your organisation contact
Sandy.Pratt@4-consulting.com
Sandy is a co-founder of 4-consulting,
click here to view his
profile.
