Supporting Telework: Obstacles and Solutions

Recent advances in telecommunications technology and transportation have freed many workers from the traditional model of fixed place of work in two major ways. First, many Americans have become telecommuters–spending at least a part of their regular business hours either in home offices, satellite offices or neighborhood work centers close to their homes, at customer sites, or on the road. Second, it has become increasingly common for work to be performed by virtual teams–where the membership of the team is not limited by the physical location of an employee's primary workplace or a team member's functional unit within the organization. The author first describes common obstacles that organizations and employees face when implementing these types of telework arrangements, and then presents both technological and managerial solutions to alleviate them.