Debunking Labor's telework revolution
Predictions that Australia will see a spike in telework may look credible on the surface, but neither the nature of the workforce nor technological history support this assumption.
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Comments PolicyTeleworking is old news and is an issue of staff management practices, not communications technology (Debunking Labor's telework revolution, November 23). Sufficient broadband capability and the needed technology for effective teleworking have been available for over a decade. Teleworking has always been limited by the perceived difficulty in managing team members that the manager cannot physically see on a day-to-day basis. For good managers with the right training this is not an issue because its really about providing clear objectives and good and frequent feedback on performance.
This new fandangled telecommuting/teleworking thing will never take off! (Debunking Labor's telework revolution, November 23)
I'm burying my head in the sand till the whole thing blows over.
It worked so well for Australian retailers in regards to that whole online selling malarky, I'm sure it'll work for me.
Good managers value real results over the appearance of business (Debunking Labor's telework revolution, November 23). Teleworking changes the superficial indicators and managers need to adjust to that, but if you have effective performance measurement in place, it can work for everyone.
Not all managers can be described as "good" however. Some prefer to have their minions on hand to feed their ego. I would take the author's scepticism as a general criticism of management rather than the teleworking model.
I do agree that Labor won't make it happen however. It suits their purposes to use it to justify NBN, but in the industrial relations area, teleworking = workplace flexibility = bad for unions. It's not going to happen if they can stop it!
"1967 forecasts of futurist Herman Kahn of a 30-hour workweek with 13 weeks of vacation per year "
sounds nice! (Debunking Labor's telework revolution, November 23)
Forget Government providing management training - companies that provide sound telecommuting options will attract better employees and have an advantage over their competitors - more than enough justification for them to put their own hands in their pockets and train management and change workplace culture (Debunking Labor's telework revolution, November 23).