The Teleworking Option

0Teleworking, also known as telecommuting, is being considered by many firms as a green strategy and as a way to improve balance between work and family life.

0By Rena M. Klein, FAIA

0Teleworking, or telecommuting, is fast becoming a viable option for architectural firms. The high cost of commuting, both economic and environmental, and the perceived benefit to work-life balance are leading firms to consider this choice. In her article “Works Well With Others,” appearing in Mother Jones Magazine, February 2008, Kiera Butler discusses the latest trends in teleworking.

0It is possible to work anywhere and the advantages of doing so are many. Time spent commuting, up to four hours a day in some cases, could be spent in many more productive ways. The environmental benefits are equally attractive – a workforce that doesn’t commute doesn’t use as much fuel, puts less carbon into the atmosphere and places less strain on existing transportation infrastructure. For architectural firms, teleworking offers the promise of better balance between work and family life.

0The Telework Coalition is an advocacy group for teleworking and telecommuting. According to their 2006 Benchmarking Study, many organizations now see teleworking as an integral part of their everyday operations. Participating companies report many advantages including, “greater flexibility for employees to relocate to other parts of the country, greater ability to maintain business continuity in response to natural or man-made disasters, lower turn-over rates and better performance for teleworking employees, access to a larger number of qualified applicants, and fewer layoffs for teleworkers than their office-based counterparts.”

Importance of Social Interaction

0Despite these benefits, teleworking has yet to really catch-on. With the exception of virtual call-centers and other “work-from-home” enterprises, acceptance of telecommuting has fallen short of expectations. According to Butler, people who work at home are often troubled by distractions and are subject to feeling lonely and unmotivated. In her article, she cites the work of Stephen Humphrey, professor of management at Florida State University. Through analysis of forty years of research, Humphrey found a strong reinforcing correlation between the level of social interaction in a workplace and the level of job satisfaction and productivity among the workers.

0Since productivity is critical to profitability in architectural firms, this connection between social interaction and productivity is significant. In many cases, social interaction will prove essential to the successful completion of work, especially complex and non-routine projects. Face to face get-togethers allow for informal information exchange, stimulating conversations, and creative encounters. Social interaction often builds familiarity and caring among co-workers which can inspire commitment and appreciation.

0While social interaction is important, other forces also impact job satisfaction and productivity. Balancing work and family life has become a critical issue in employee retention, especially with more mothers in the workforce and fathers increasingly involved in care-giving. Teleworking is a family-friendly option that firms can consider along with other flexible arrangements. An AIA Best Practices document outlines sample policies for firms when initiating a teleworking program. This document warns of the need for clarity in purpose, eligibility, work schedule, and communication protocols.

0Keys to successfully combining teamwork with teleworking include: adequate structure, both social and technological; frequent communication between all parties; transparent decision making processes; explicit expectations in terms of schedule and deliverables; and at least one face to face meeting per week.

The Coworking Solution

0For all the perceived benefits of teleworking, there remains evidence that few people actually enjoy working by themselves at home. According to Professor Humphrey, as related by Butler in the Mother Jones article, “the office has become a refuge of sorts…we suddenly start to realize, we miss socializing – and we need it.”

0Across the nation, teleworking entrepreneurs have devised a solution to this problem. Known as Coworking spaces, freelance and independent teleworkers rent desks in an office fitted with business amenities. Butler cites an example in San Francisco – a Coworking space called the Hat Factory. Here independent workers can have “a desk and standard office amenities, and access to a shared kitchen, private meeting room, and lounge. And something else—social interactions and networking.”

0Essential to the notion of Coworking is collaboration and spontaneous teamwork. Brad Neuberg, founder of one of the first Coworking spaces, calls this phenomenon “accelerated serendipity.”

0Many of these facilities operate on a model similar to a gym membership – workers are not assigned to specific desks, making Coworking cheaper than most subleasing arrangements.

0Although Coworking spaces have been used mostly by independent teleworkers, they can provide a solution for architectural firms. A small firm in Washington State, located an hour and a ferry ride away from Seattle, provides an example. All six professional employees of CA Architects (pseudonym) live in Seattle, and, until recently, most commuted daily to the firm office expending considerable time and expense. Rising gas prices and environmental concerns prompted the Principal to establish a Coworking space for his employees located in Seattle, close to their homes. Firm employees now spend half their work week together in this space tele-communicating with their boss at the distant office. This Coworking space is not a branch office – clients will never come there – instead, it is meant to provide an opportunity for professional collaboration without the long commute. Through this arrangement, CA Architects achieve social interaction, effective work processes, and significant savings in time, expense, and energy.

0While CA Architects may seem unique, many firms are located some distance from where most of their staff reside. This may be true of a New York City firm with staff who live in the suburbs; or a rural architecture firm, located hours from the nearest urban center. Firms in this kind of situation sometimes find it difficult to recruit and retain qualified staff. Setting up a coworking / teleworking space close to the residences of current staff (and potential staff) may be part of the solution for these firms. Firms with individual telecommuters might consider renting a desk in an existing Coworking space for their employee. Even a new mother, who might take her sleeping infant with her, needs professional and social interaction.

0Teleworking is one strategy that architectural firms can use to provide employees with flexible and sustainable workplace alternatives. However, researchers agree that working alone at home is often less than satisfactory. Coworking spaces provide an option for firms when commuting is too impractical and a choice for teleworkers when the home environment is too isolating.

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0Rena M. Klein, FAIA, principal of R.M. Klein Consulting, in Seattle, Washington, is a member of the Soloso Editorial Content Review Board and serves as the Subject Matter Expert for Practice.

0Keywords: Practice, Personnel management, Employment, Working conditions, Human resources, Telecommuting, Teleworking, Flexible work schedules, Flex-time, Coworking, Work-life balance, Employee retention, Family-friendly workplace, Critique