Telecommuting: Will it work in the Philippines?
One of the interesting legislations recently passed by Congress is Republic Act No. 11165, also known as the “Telecommuting Act”. While it has been practiced by businesses in the Philippines, it is mostly adopted by multinational companies and, thus, employees are hopeful that local businesses will follow suit.
“Telecommuting” refers to working from an alternative workplace with the use of telecommunications and/ or computer technologies. Many workers welcome this development as it eliminates travel time and costs, which has significantly increased due to the worsening traffic conditions in major cities in the country.
The law, however, provides that telecommuting is subject to the discretion of the employer. An employer in the private sector may offer a telecommuting program to its employees on a voluntary basis and upon such terms and conditions as they may mutually agree upon.
Why will employers consider it?
Telecommuting arrangement/s is one way employers can attract and retain premier talent, reduce overhead expenses, and increase productivity. Enhanced recruitment and
retention. For many individuals, the travel time between the work place and home is becoming a major consideration whether to apply for employment with a company. I have increasingly heard comments from some executives that they have actually crossed out job opportunities that will require more than an hour’s commute. By offering a work from home arrangement, employers may be able to entice good potential candidates to join them. On the other hand, for existing employees, eliminating the daily commute will keep them happy enough to stay with an employer for the long term. It allows workers greater control over their work hours and work location.
Boost productivity. Working from home can also be more productive, as employees do not have the distractions or hectic pace of an office environment.
Results in savings. Telecommuting saves employers money in office expenses, such as office supplies, furniture, equipment, coffee, and janitorial services. On the other hand, for employees, telecommuting allows people to save on expenses such as fuel, parking fees, vehicle maintenance, public transport fare, dining out, and clothing purchases.
Given these benefits, should an employer offer it? How would employers best proceed in adopting it?
An employer must first assess whether a telecommuting arrangement is suitable for its operations. For instance, if the company deals with numerous customers who require faceto-face interaction, telecommuting may not work, unless it has a good number of client-facing employees which will allow rotation of assignments. The work performed by employees and current manpower resources should also be reviewed. A company that only has a single employee acting as cashier or receptionist would have difficulty allowing said employee the chance to work from home. Likewise, workers in the factory or other employee activities that require physical supervision will, definitely, not be able to apply for telecommuting arrangements.
Assuming the company is able to identify the work activities where telecommuting arrangements may be applicable, there are several considerations that must be taken into account and appropriate planning must be made to address them before introducing the practice. Having the needed technology.
The essence of telecommuting is that the work can be performed by the employee even if he is not in the office premises. Thus, the assumption is that he has access to the same resources that he would have if he was in the office. For example, companies invest in stable, high-speed internet to ensure seamless operations. Employees at home offices may not have the resources for that and, thus, a discussion on who will bear the cost of these resources must take place. Safeguarding office information.
A company adopts security measures to protect its assets, which includes confidential and proprietary business information. It controls access to such information in the office by providing for appropriate security measures.
If telecommuting is allowed, the company must address the risks created by allowing its employees to bring out with them company files. The place where the employees works may also have to be defined. Are they working in a coffee shop or a restaurant in a mall where their files can be seen by other people? Are they accessing a secured internet line? Companies must ensure that potential vulnerabilities to cybersecurity and data privacy are addressed before they are allowed access to company systems.
Appropriate supervision. In most cases, telecommuting works for employee activities that do not require constant supervision. Their output will be measured by work they are expected to complete like a report or similar deliverables that must be submitted by a certain date.
While they are not in the office, companies must still be able to supervise their work to ensure that their deliverables are timely submitted and the expected quality of output is adequately met. A system of monitoring and reporting must, thus, be established.
Notably, the law raises a challenge to employers when it provided that telecommuting employees must be given overtime and night shift differential. It will be quite difficult for the employer to know if the employee worked for more than the standard work hours during the day, having no knowledge of the time he started and ended his work. It will also be difficult to know if he stopped working during certain hours of the day and continued working in the evening. Employers must set up a system to monitor working hours, based on verifiable metrics other than time report cards or observance of actual physical presence. Access to knowledge. Employees who work within an office environment are able to access a variety of resources and insights from other employees when dealing with a problem or situation. When working remotely, it may be harder to make contact with
someone or acquire the knowledge needed. The company must establish ways for them to communicate, wherever they are. Ensuring accountability and responsibility. For employees covered by telecommuting arrangement, in general, their performance will be measured not by the number of hours that they are in the office but the timeliness and quality of their output. A performance management and rating system focusing on these factors, rather than punctuality or attendance, will support positive behaviour.
A caution though, RA 11165 requires that the telecommuting employees must have the same performance standards as those working in the office. To meet this legal requirement, a review of the performance management for all employees must be undertaken. Corporate culture takes a hit.
Culture is a big part of what makes employers great — the way in which they treat their employees, reward effort and so forth. When employees are telecommuting, it is possible that they have less occasions to meet each other and interact. Moreover, the benefits of brainstorming and innovation through on-site collaboration diminish. Companies must recognize this risk and, thus, schedule group activities on a regular and timely basis. For instance, it can have their employees come in to the office occasionally for training and holiday parties or socials.
In summary, the passage of the Telecommuting Act is a welcome development in the Philippines. Employers and employees must consider both the pros and cons of the arrangement and appropriately plan for it. For a start, it may be good for them to start with a small group of employees, measure productivity, and then roll out on a larger scale when ready. —