Introduction
Many modern enterprises have introduced information and communication technologies. Telecommuting is a working method that enables employees to work outside of the office, frequently at home, at a client site, or while traveling while still carrying out their duties and interacting with coworkers (Onyemaechi et al., 2018). This opens up new opportunities, including from the point of view of health and safety.
For example, telecommuting can reduce travel time and the associated risk of workplace accidents and promote a better work-life balance. However, it can also create challenges, such as managing the psychosocial risks of solo work, possibly blurring boundaries between work and personal life, and ensuring workplace ergonomics. A stung job creates many positive opportunities for a company if it can solve potential problems because employees can choose the convenient option.
Benefits of Telecommuting for MedEx and Its Employees
The most significant benefit for MedEx in implementing telecommuting is hiring great people, no matter where they live. As a result, the quality of the work performed is higher, and the cost of the services of programmers and other employees is lower. Remote work attracts motivated people capable of self-organization and taking personal responsibility (Ferreira et al., 2021). Remote work and stimulation of creative thinking are prerequisites for an innovative organizational management style. This style opens up opportunities for organizing a breakthrough in competitiveness, including in severe foreign markets.
MedEx can make remote work even more efficient by using convenient instant messengers with a video call function. Messengers are suitable for remote communication of employees in an organization, including organizing meetings or conferences. Messengers help save time, fuel, and effort, i.e., transaction costs that an employee incurs to get to the head office of the organization. Messengers will allow MedEx to create a convenient and comfortable mode of communication, such as teamwork. Teamwork for a modern organization such as MedEx is essential; messengers allow you to improve communication within the team through constant contact, even after hours.
Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Telecommuting
The advantages and disadvantages of working remotely should be considered from the point of view of employers and employees. The main benefits of telecommuting for an organization are access to more employees and hiring employees regardless of where they live. The staff’s productivity rises due to the lack of distractions from conversations with coworkers, and the issue of labor discipline violations like absenteeism also disappears (Ferreira et al., 2021). The business has additional financial benefits, as remote work reduces costs associated with office and employee workspace maintenance, such as utility costs and expenses associated with maintaining computer equipment (Ferreira et al., 2021).
From the employee’s perspective, the main benefits of remote work include time and transportation cost savings for trips to the office. This makes it possible to plan a flexible work schedule and, if necessary, combine the performance of professional and domestic duties. The employee is exempt from some corporate requirements, such as the dress code, which is an additional attractive aspect for employees.
Remote work also has several disadvantages, and the main danger for the company is a complicated system for monitoring work performance. This type of employment has no organizational environment and a regulated and controlled working regime. For employees, the problem is that they will have to work in isolation, without a team, without the necessary social environment for many, because if a person is used to pleasant communication with colleagues, he will be deprived of this at home. When working at home, there is always a risk of technical problems with a computer or the Internet, which threatens to disrupt the work deadlines and, therefore, undermines the employee’s reputation.
Challenges in offering telecommuting are mostly connected with being dependent on the speed of gadgets and time savings; it is also necessary to consider the requirements for the cost of this mode of work and security. Employees are required to use outdated computers or laptops, which can reduce productivity. In addition, there is another risk, such as time-absorbers, which include computer games that distract the employee.
Recommendation on Telecommuting for MedEx
Since MedEx has a problem with employee turnover, management must identify and take steps to fix it. Employees who participated in a survey Harry provided said that one of the main reasons they left was not salary or working conditions but the inconvenience of working in an office. Therefore, I would recommend MedEx to implement the ability to work remotely. To reduce potential risks, managers need to prepare for such a step and find solutions to problems that may arise. For instance, the business must find a solution to the potential issue of inaccurate terms of reference, changes to the content of tasks already in progress, and lower work costs than office workers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the business must consider each new decision carefully and conduct a preliminary risk analysis. MedEx is no exception, so the administration must consider potential issues. However, the business must try to accommodate employees’ requests for remote work because the nature of the work permits it. Employees and managers will benefit from remote work if MedEx works to create a system for monitoring and motivating employees and a high-quality technical side.
References
Ferreira, R., Pereira, R., Bianchi, I. S., & da Silva, M. M. (2021). Decision factors for remote work adoption: Advantages, disadvantages, driving forces and challenges. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(1), 70. Web.
Onyemaechi, U., Chinyere, U. P., & Emmanuel, U. (2018). Impact of telecommuting on employees’ performance. Journal of Economics and Management Sciences. Web.
Yang, L., Holtz, D., Jaffe, S., Suri, S., Sinha, S., Weston, J., Joyce, C., Shah, N., Sherman, K., Hecht, B., & Teevan, J. (2021). The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers. Nature Human Behaviour, 6(1), 43–54. Web.