COVID-19 Brings The Telecommuting Challenge Into the Spotlight

The global pandemic surrounding the novel corona virus (COVID-19) has uncovered a major challenge for many businesses – remote work. In an effort to protect public safety and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by reducing human interaction much of the world has implemented some form of “shelter in place”. Although the particulars vary from country to country (and within the United States – from state to state), the basics are the same. In order to protect public health and continue operating businesses must enable their teams to work remotely. This crisis has revealed that many companies were woefully unprepared for this contingency. As a result, many companies are struggling to put measures in place to ensure their team can work safely and effectively without the consolidated resources provided by an office. 

A Brief History of Working from Home

In may ways the idea of telework has cycled in and out of focus as technologies changed. The term “telework”, coined in the 1970’s by Jack M. Nilles in his book The Telecommunications Transportation Tradeoff, may seem like a idea spawned in the internet age, but at its core “working from home” is as old as work itself. Creatives, farmers, crafts people, merchants, and more have been working from home in hybrid living/work spaces since the beginning of civilization. Indeed, it wasn’t until the industrial revolution that the modern 9-5 office model came to be. This is significant, because for many companies the idea of an office, factory, or centralized working space outside the home has become the default – the right way to work. History tells us that people can be productive working from home, and than even in times of limited communications technology businesses thrived without centralized offices. 

The Challenge Today

Obviously, the challenges of working from home are entirely different than they would have been in the localized markets and infrastructure of 1800’s. We exist in a fast-paced global economy that requires a different way of thinking. The internet provides an open and highly accessible repository of knowledge and resources, but many companies are still dependent on analog systems like paper filing and in-person meetings. Similarly, many business are structured to depend on direct, physical supervision by managers. Workers are often not trusted to complete work independently or systems are not implemented to track productivity and accountability digitally. These analog methodologies and technologies are holding businesses back from effective telework. For the first time, many companies are finding themselves unprepared for “business as usual” and are experiencing the negative impact of outdated systems. The following quote from Nilles’ book was written in 1973, but it rings just as true today.