Telcommuting Downside

Telecommuting may boost morale for telecommuters, but it can have the opposite effect on those left behind in the office, according to Professor Timothy Golden, a management professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

"Those who do not telecommute are more likely to be dissatisfied with their job and leave the company, says Golden. Golden's research suggests that their co-workers tend to find the workplace less enjoyable, have fewer emotional ties to co-workers and generally feel less obligated to the organization.

About 37 percent of U.S.-based and international companies now offer flexible work arrangements, with the number of those programs growing at a rate of 11 percent per year, according to the Society of Human Resource Management.

With a greater prevalence of telecommuters in a work unit, he said, non-telecommuters find it less personally fulfilling to do their work.

Greater face-to-face contact between co-workers when all employees are in the office and granting greater job autonomy can help, Golden argues.

He studied a sample of 240 professional employees from a medium-sized company.