Avoiding and Managing Stress

Figure 7.8 Telecommuting helps employees avoid traffic jams like this one.

Telecommuting refers to working remotely. For example, some employees work from home, a remote satellite office, or from a coffee shop for some portion of the workweek. Being able to work away from the office is one option that can decrease stress for some employees.

Of course, while an estimated 45 million individuals telecommute each year, telecommuting is not for everyone. At Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., those who are interested in telecommuting are put through a rigorous training program that includes two weeks in one of their three home office simulation labs in Florida, New Jersey, or Manhattan to see if telecommuting is a good fit for the employee. Employees must also submit photos of their home office and a work plan.

AT&T Inc. estimates that nearly 55 percent of its U.S.-based managers telecommute at some point in the week, and this method is also popular with managers around the world. A recent survey found that 43 percent of government workers now telecommute at least part time. This trend has been growing in reaction to a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000 requiring federal agencies to offer working from home as an option.

Merrill Lynch has seen higher productivity, less stress, lower turnover, and higher job satisfaction for those who telecommute. A recent meta-analysis of all the studies of telecommuting (12,883 employees) confirmed researcher findings that the higher autonomy of working from home resulted in lower work–family conflict for these employees.

Even more encouraging were the findings of higher job satisfaction, better performance, and lower stress as well. Of course, telecommuting can also cause potential stress. The keys to successful telecommuting arrangements are to match the right employees with the right jobs to the right environments. If any variable is not within a reasonable range, such as having a dog that barks all day when the employee is at home, productivity will suffer.