What Is Telecommuting and What Does it Entail?

Telecommuting is a work arrangement where employees deliver their work from outside the company’s office space by leveraging internet connections or phone lines. Thanks to modern remote connecting software and technologies—such as remote desktops, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solutions, cloud hosting, thin clients, and more—any workstation or application can be available and accessible from any device, anywhere, any time. Telecommuting is also known as teleworking or work-from-home (WFH), as typically, employees prefer to stay at home while working for the company.

How Does Telecommuting Work?

Rather than commuting to the workplace, the employee communicates with coworkers and bosses via telecommunication. Telephone, online chat applications, video conference platforms, and email are examples of these. Technologies (like Slack or Zoom) have enabled working from home more convenient for office workers. Wi-Fi access may make communication nearly smooth.

The employee may visit the office on occasion to attend meetings in person and keep in contact with the employer, but with so many alternatives for distance conferencing, it’s not always necessary.

The Benefits of Telecommuting

When it comes to telecommuting, there are several advantages. And because the advantages apply to both employees and employers, there is something for everyone.

Telecommuting gives businesses the ability to hire resources from a global talent pool. One of the significant benefits of telecommuting is allowing organizations to save office space while reducing overhead costs—they no longer need infrastructure for employee accommodation. It also cuts down on travel expenses. Moreover, telecommuting gives employees the autonomy to effectively use their time while carrying out a balanced work-life culture. The luxury to work in their own comfortable space increases productivity and loyalty to the organization.

An Improved Work-Life Balance

With telecommuting, employees would avoid the minor distractions which can be found within an office setting and focus on the task at hand. They may devote their workday to concentrated blocks of time rather than being tugged in several directions, which might help them finish more quickly. This gives them more time in their day to devote to personal chores that they would not have had time for otherwise.

Employee Satisfaction is Higher

Employees have a higher chance of being totally involved and hyper-focused since no one is distracting them from getting their duties done. Employees that go “all-in” with their job are far more invested in the outcome. As a result, after everything is finished, they are typically more pleased of their work. Nothing beats the satisfaction of work done well, and telecommuting may help employees achieve just that.

It’s Easier to concentrate

Without other employees around to distract you, makes focusing on your work easier and thus allows for better concentration. You also won’t have to worry about the domino effect, when one employee distracts another, who would then attract a few more employees and distract them, and so on.

There is No Need to Commute

Teleworkers save an hour or two each day by not traveling in hectic rush-hour traffic. Employees can use these hours to work or undertake duties that would otherwise take time away from their workday. You and your staff win in either case. Furthermore, by removing your employees from the road, your organization will reduce its carbon impact and gain a greener, more ecologically conscious image.

Greater Adaptability/Flexibility

Employees get to choose a work schedule that best suits their productivity style. So if any of your team members would rather sleep in and start later in the day, they are free to do so. And, if they enjoy waking up before the sun to do activities, they may be through with their work-day before most night owls have even awoken.

Lowered Operating Costs

Telecommuting initiatives allow more employees to work from home. As a result, you might be able to downsize toward a lesser workplace.

Employees’ Costs are Reduced

When teleworkers do not commute to an office, they save money on petrol and public transit. Employees who work from home save money on meals, work clothes, and child care. With fewer expenditures, their pay may stretch longer without requiring increased compensation, which is another benefit.

The Challenges of Telecommuting

There are a few downsides that businesses would want to address before embracing a telecommuting policy.

Lack of Supervision. One major issue with telecommuting is the lack of direct supervision. Businesses may doubt if an employee has put in the desired hours.
Less Personal and Social Contact. Working from home could result in problems in communication between employees and management. This might not only affect work performance but also staff morale.
Distractions at Home. Some employees might have more distractions at home rather than at the office and might waste company time on doing other things such as house chores.
Security Concerns. Telecommuting might result in reduced security for the organization. This can however be solved by enforcing certain security compliance measures and working with a cloud service provider who you can trust.
Challenges with Virtualization Technologies. Also, an employee must have good remote access and control of the company’s applications and workstations. Implementing virtualization technologies, such as remote desktops, virtual networks, or VDI, provides secure and controlled access. However, without a simple and cost-effective solution, implementing these virtualization technologies is a daunting task and can cause a rift in the businesses’ pockets.

Different Types of Telecommuting

There are a few different kinds of telecommuting, each requiring different types of remote working setups:

Employees who telecommute part-time do it from their homes or other remote locations.
Employees who telecommute full-time do it from their homes or other remote locations.
Employees work longer days on fewer days per week during a compressed work week.
Workers commute to their workplaces yet conduct their business from a remote location.
Teams of employees working together virtually to complete projects.

Parallels RAS Complements Telecommuting

With the increasing popularity of telecommuting jobs, there is a growing demand for remote desktop application solutions. Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) is a comprehensive virtualization solution that lets organizations publish virtual desktops and applications to end-users anywhere in the world. By using Parallels RAS, businesses can create virtual machines on top of any standard hypervisor, such as Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware ESXi.

Parallels RAS is an easy-to-deploy virtualization solution available at a lower price compared to other market products. Implementing virtualized infrastructures such as VDI and RDSH is less complicated with Parallels RAS. For businesses that want to provide their telecommuting employees with a native-like experience at any time and on virtually any device, Parallels RAS is the go-to solution.

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