More Productive away from the Office?

A study of almost 2,000 employees at the tech giant Cisco said those who telecommute experienced a significant increase in work-life flexibility, productivity, and overall satisfaction.

A Cisco news release said the company also reaps substantial benefits. The company has generated an estimated annual savings of $277 million in productivity by allowing employees to telecommute and telework.

Cisco said its survey found telecommuters recognize the benefits gained by their work program:

• Approximately 69% of the employees surveyed cited higher productivity when working remotely, and 75% of those surveyed said the timeliness of their work improved.
• By telecommuting, 83% of employees said their ability to communicate and collaborate with co-workers was the same as, if not better than, it was when working onsite.
• 67% of survey respondents said their overall work quality improved when telecommuting.
• An improved quality of life through telecommuting was cited by 80% of survey respondents.

Telecommuting can also lead to a higher employee retention rate, as more than 91% of respondents said telecommuting is somewhat or very important to their overall satisfaction.

Another survey last year study of 212 IT and other professionals in a range of industries by CompTIA shows that the benefits of telecommuting to organizations include improved employee productivity (67%), cost savings (59%), access to more qualified staff (39%), employee retention (37%), and improved employee health (25%).

However, the respondents cited challenges also, including securing corporate information systems (53%), limiting use of unauthorized and unsupported devices (38%), and controlling personal use of corporate mobile assets (33%).