Teleworking—allowing employees to work from home—can be a simplesolution to many employee needs, including long commutes, sickchildren, or eliminating distractions from working on a specialproject. Improvements in technology make it easier than ever toaccomplish certain essential job functions from the comfort ofone’s home.

Teleworking can be an excellent addition to an employer’sflexible work policy. Because it’s typically perceived as abenefit, teleworking can help make an organization an employer ofchoice, assisting with employee recruitment and retention. It alsocan increase employee efficiency and reduce facilities costs.Whether a teleworking arrangement is permanent, recurring ortemporary (such as part of Americans With Disabilities Actaccommodation), have buy-in from all stakeholders as well as aformal teleworking policy or plan in place for your organization.Here are some important considerations for creating a teleworkingplan:

Establish the arrangement
1. Establishclear expectations. Supervising a worker who is not in the samelocation as the rest of the team can create unique challenges.Determining the amount of work an employee can reasonablyaccomplish is critical because it can be difficult to appreciatehow busy an employee is when the supervisor cannot see theemployee. Establish quality measures to ensure that the productquality meets corporate standards. Additionally, ensure that thesupervisor and employee have opportunities for supervisory review,whether spontaneously or at a regularly scheduled time.

2. Determine a schedule. Managers will want to be able to verifythe teleworking employee is available during standard hours ofoperation. Clearly communicate the employee’s work hours, when heor she is expected to be available via phone, e-mail, or onlineaccess.

3. Address dependent care. Some employers establish a policythat requires remote workers to not provide care to dependents(children or adults) while teleworking. This appears to be apractical consideration to ensure that the employee has theappropriate focus on business needs during his or her work hours.However, it is important to consider an individual’s needs whencreating a telework arrangement. Perhaps caring for a relativewould be allowed on a temporary basis, but a full-time teleworkingposition might include a prohibition against full-time dependentcare

Organizational support
Everyone within theorganization should resist the temptation to tease employees abouthow nice it must be to work from home in their sweatpants andslippers. Work performed at home should be treated with the samelevel of professionalism as work performed in the office. Employeesshouldn’t be made to feel they have an easier workload simplybecause they work from home. After all, teleworkers often havedifficulty separating themselves from work at the end of the day,as the temptation to “just finish up” can result in many hours ofextra work.

Determine eligibility—positions
Positionsthat require intensive writing, research and analysis,telephone-intensive tasks, or computer-based tasks are often wellsuited for teleworking. On the other hand, certain functionstypically are best performed in the office, such as those thatrequire face-to- face contact with supervisors, other employees orclients. Teleworking is not ideally suited to new hires, employeeson probation, or those who demonstrate less than acceptable levelsof performance.

Determine eligibility—employees
Simplyput, teleworking is not for everyone, even those in eligiblepositions. Employees who are well suited for telework aredependable, responsible, conscientious, independent,self-motivated, disciplined, able to prioritize work and effectivetime managers. Another question that must be addressed is whowithin the organization will determine eligible employees.

Dedicated home office
The teleworkershould designate an area in his or her home as the officialworkstation. For teleworking to be successful, it is imperative toproperly equip the employee by providing the tools necessary to gethis or her job done. Be sure employees have a secure place fordelivery of mail, supplies and equipment. Cyber security measures,from secure e-mails to paper shredders, should be used.

Other considerations
1. Remember the scopeof employment for the purpose of workers’ compensation. In workers’compensation claims, any activity that supports the employer’sbusiness purpose is within the “scope” of employment. When thatactivity takes place in the employee’s home, many activities theemployer may not foresee can be considered compensable. These wouldinclude getting a cup of coffee or walking to the restroom(personal comfort doctrine), tripping over the employee’s own dogwhile on the way to get supplies from the garage, or falling on icewhile going to the mailbox (to which corporate mail was delivered)can all be considered an accident occurring at the workplace andcan be considered compensable.

2. Address safety concerns. The employee’s home actually becomesthe workplace for the purposes of workers’ compensation, so anydangerous conditions become potential work hazards. Some companieshave the employee sign an authorization that allows the corporationto perform a site safety inspection periodically or as needed.Consider having employees complete a safety checklist as well as aformal teleworking agreement.

3. Complete an ergonomics assessment. An ergonomic assessment ortraining for common ergonomic issues should be provided foremployees prior to beginning telework to ensure they have anergonomically acceptable desk, chair, and keyboard to preventemployee injury.

4. Provide posting notices. Some states (Georgia, for example)require worksite posting notices for workers’ compensationpurposes. Be sure the employee is given all appropriatenotices.

5. Consider a trial period. Not every employee or employer findsthese arrangements optimal. Initially, there should be frequentlyscheduled meetings to discuss any problems that might arise, suchas problems with technology, personal motivation, access tosupervision and other support services, training materials, andsocial, mentoring, or professional development opportunities. Ifissues arise, both the employer and the employee should have theability to return to a standard work environment. Theconsiderations above, while not exhaustive, are a jumping off pointfor a robust discussion regarding the potential benefits andpitfalls of instituting a teleworking program.