At this writing, the Midwest—and specifically, what is now known as "Chiberia"—is in the grip of a post-snowstorm spate of sub-zero days (and when I say "sub," I mean 30 to 40 degrees below zero) that has disrupted transportation, closed schools and forced folks to stay home.
Luckily for me, my employer, Summit Professional Networks, is work-at-home friendly, so at this writing, I'm sitting in my living room, laptop on lap and cup of tea at hand, wearing sweatpants, heavy socks, a hoodie and several underlayers, with Ralph and Keaton The Dachshunds curled up next to me.
Not so long ago, most bosses expected their employees to be working in the office; those that wouldn't or couldn't comply were welcome to hit the bricks. Today, we have the cloud, mobile devices and smartphones. We also have more than the usual amount of unusual weather, as well as a younger workforce that's accustomed to doing everything in the virtual world. Who needs a long commute just to get to a work-sanctioned desk?
Not every business recognizes this reality, however. Sharon Emek, president and CEO of WAHVE—the service that connects seasoned insurance personnel to agencies needing outsourced workers—says that although more than 100 of its agency clients use at least one WAHVE employee, most still don't provide the tools for staffers to work from home.
"What a shame; they are losing so much productivity," she says. "Imagine how much everyone would benefit if an employee could work from home to take care of a sick child or because of bad weather. The agency would not lose the productivity, and the person would not have to give up a personal day. Everyone wins. I believe employees would be so grateful and view it as a reason to not leave the agency. The flexibility to work from home periodically for a good reason is worth more than a small raise."
So are independent agency owners more resistant to allowing employees to work at home? Sharon thought so. Because agency owners are older than other business owners, they may not be comfortable with a virtual workplace—even though they're frequently out of the office visiting clients and prospects. In fact, insurance agency work, more than that of other industries, lends itself to being accomplished remotely. "Checking policies, quoting on the carrier systems or preparing applications does not require sitting in a cubicle in the office," Emek says.
However, this perception seems to be changing—and will probably change even more as the average agency owner skews younger. Madelyn Flannagan, vice president of agent development, education and research for the Big I, citing the 2012 Agency Universe Study, notes that telework is becoming an accepted norm in most agencies, even small ones. Among independent agencies of all sizes, a third have one or more employees who work partly in the office and partly remotely—and one-eighth of them have one or more employees who work remotely full time.
"With VPNs and mobile apps, employees can work effectively anywhere," she says. Flanagan adds that it can't be determined whether this represents an increase because the 2012 study was the first time the question was posed.
Although I support this trend, and ordinarily would chide those Luddites who won't let their employees work remotely, I'm actually feeling a little cabin feverish myself. Between the snow and the deep freeze, I've been stuck within these walls with my own thoughts for the past four days. I'm usually a homebody, but even I have my limits.
So even though the weather reports are predicting that tomorrow's high will top out at 15, I'm going into the office.
Otherwise you may find me at home in front of a laptop, typing over and over: All work and no play makes Laura a dull girl.
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