HOME OFFICE OR CORNER OFFICE?: Telecommuting Best for Staff-Level Employees, Survey Shows

MENLO PARK, CA — Rising gas prices have many professionals considering telecommuting as an economical work option, but spending too much time working from home can mean saying goodbye to the corner office. In a recent survey, 43 percent of respondents said telecommuting is best suited for staff-level employees, compared with 18 percent who felt telecommuting is most beneficial for managers. In addition, more than two-thirds of respondents said senior executives at their firms rarely or never telecommute.

The survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a leading staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 150 senior executives at the nation’s 1,000 largest companies.

Executives were asked, “At which level do you think telecommuting programs are most beneficial?” Their responses:
Staff – 43%
Manager – 18%
Executive – 14%
Administrative support – 11%
Don’t know/no answer – 14%

Executives also were asked, “Overall, how frequently do senior executives at your firm telecommute?” Their responses:
Very frequently – 5%
Somewhat frequently – 23%
Rarely – 55%
Never – 12%
Don’t know/no answer – 5%

“Effective management requires plenty of ‘face time’ with employees,” said Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam. “Supervisors should have an open-door policy, and that means being available to staff who need guidance with projects.”

According to Domeyer, it’s often easier for staff-level employees to telecommute because their work often can be performed autonomously. However, she noted that even those people who work from home need to spend time in the office. “Employees who work from home must ensure that being out of sight doesn’t also mean being out of mind for promotions, team projects and plum assignments,” Domeyer said.

OfficeTeam has more than 300 locations worldwide and offers online job search services at www.officeteam.com.

TJ Editor’s Note: While OfficeTeam provides a nice Job Search feature, there are no telecommuting-specific jobs listed here. Searching with the keyword ‘telecommute’ didn’t produce any results at all. OfficeTeam provides staffing support throughout it’s locations and does not provide help finding telecommuting work.

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