The rise of Tele-Commuting and the increase in Networked and Separated Workplaces since 1995

Provide a review of critical management functions and the necessary development of management skills required to deal with managing people in geographically separated locations.

The industrial age saw most of the work executed at the workplace using equipment that could not be applied in other locations. However, considering that the information age has now set in, more and more businesses are becoming information-based rather than dependant on location (Fonner and Stache, 2012 p.247). The onset of information and communication technologies (ICTs) meant that the geography of work would also change. In fact, for a majority of the current working population, execution of the day to day duties does not have to take place at a single centralized work location. Instead of travelling their respective places of work, the work is brought closer to them and this is done via telecommunication links regardless of the current location. As a result, new methods of executing workplace duties are emerging and becoming tremendously common. Telecommuting is defined as the act of conducting operations from a remote area. The remote location is often a place outside the traditional office and this may include a hotel room, a coffee shop, or even at home. Multiple technological advancements such as webcams, instant messaging, phones, internet, and faxes have been the main facilitators of this form of working arrangement (Rehman and Al-Hadhrami, 2010 p.4994). A majority of the telecommuters work in the communication, high-tech, and the financial industries. In addition, some companies from the western nations are adopting remote intelligence whereby they hire remote labor from developing nations where salaries are relatively lower.

The practice of telecommuting has grown significantly from the 1990s. This observation can be traced back to the never-ending demand on firms to raise their profits, while at the same time, cutting their costs of operation. Telecommuting, which is viewed as an option to the daily arrangements whereby employees execute their specified roles, has undergone significant transformations in the recent years. According to Ye (2012), companies are now facing intense pressure to develop more adaptable means for the modern “corporate office” considering the fact that workers are now in a position to access data. The modern workers now have the voice devices and additional services which are internet-enabled installed in their home locations and this has made telecommuting an essential practice in the business world (Ye, 2012 p.21). Multiple studies regarding telecommuting have revealed that as at 2009, the proportion of companies using the services of teleworkers doubled in a span of 4 years. The figure stood at 25% in 2003 and later shot to 50% in 2007 (Ye, 2012 p.21). In an effort to reduce their working spaces, many big telecommunication companies such as Siemens, Telia, Yahoo, Ericsson, and Vattenfall, have decided to consider flexible offices as possible solutions. In the near future, this telecommuting phenomenon is predicted to rise even higher considering that workers are more concerned about their security as well as the escalating fuel prices (on the side of the employee) and the urgent need to minimize the working space (on the side of the employers). Potter (2003) postulates that the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as well as the resulting anthrax threats are some of the factors that have renewed the telecommuting interest on both the employers’ and the employees’ sides (Potter, 2003 p.83).

“Remote Intelligence” as it applies to remote highly trained and Skilled Workers

The figure 1 above outlines the 3 main telecommuting adoption factors. First, technological trends impact telecommuting implementation as electronic devices will be needed for communication. Second, organizational factors as well as the specifications of the job impact implementation of telecommuting. Third, environmental factors such as the presence or absence of technology services providers, regulatory agencies, and the overall structure of the industry of the organization will impact telecommuting adoption.

In the past years, location and language have been the two main invincible barriers hindering the highly skilled individuals from entering the labor markets. With the emergence of telerobotics and telepresence, however, things are now taking a new twist. Heinze, Wierschke, Schacht, and von Löwis (2017) explain the emergence of remote intelligence. According to the authors, firms will now be in a position to source for highly skilled employees from overseas developing nations, where the cost of living and wages are relatively lower, and this will be achieved via telepresence technologies (Heinze, Wierschke, Schacht, and von Löwis, 2017 p. 413). In a developing nation such as Kenya, for instance, an accountant with an experience of 5 years pockets approximately $900 per month whereas an accountant with similar specifications in Britain takes home $3,900 per month. This can be viewed as a globalization extension; it faces out the arbitrage that cushions the highly skilled employees in the western nations. In essence, the tele-migrants will be recruited to execute administrative roles, control machines or ensure business development, putting more value from abroad. Heinze, Wierschke, Schacht, and von Löwis (2017) argue that workers at the service sector need to be less worried about artificial intelligence but worry more about a more significant threat which is virtual outsourcing or remote intelligence. Some of the examples of remote intelligence are evident today. One good example is telemedicine whereby doctors diagnose and treat patients remotely. Telesurgery is another striking example which entails surgeons conducting operations on their patients from hundreds of miles away. Another excellent example is the use of drones (Fries, Short, Langebrake, Patten, Kerr, Kibelka, Burwell, and Jalbert, 2001 p.654).

Though most people use these two terms interchangeably, there is a small difference between them. To start with telecommuting, the idea was initially formulated by Jack Nilles, a physicist who also doubled up as an engineer. During the process of designing communication systems and space vehicles for NASA and the American Air Force, he proposed that telecommunications could be adopted to replace the significant amount of time workers lost while moving from home to their work locations (Ovard and Pax, 1999 p.84). The definition of telecommuting can thus be borrowed from the origin of the term. Nilles coined the terms telework and telecommuting as he was dealing with projects that allowed working from home. On the other hand, remote intelligence means that the employee lives in a different geographic location from the main headquarters of the company (Michinov, Brunot, Le Bohec, Juhel, and Delaval, 2011 p.250). In brief, the main reasons why companies’ use of remote intelligence is not necessarily telecommuting are explained below. First, it is worth noting that telecommuting is a form of work arrangement whereby the employer gives the employee a chance to carry out work activities outside the main office. Often, the employee can work in various locations including at home, at the coffee shop, and so forth. The hallmark of telecommuting is that the employer has the ability can constantly make contacts via the phone or through the internet (Shah and González-Ibáñez, 2011 p.915). On the part of the employee, he/she has control of the location and time factors. On the other hand, remote intelligence entails companies recruiting highly skilled workers to perform specified roles from areas far away from the office. One of the significant differences between telecommuting and remote intelligence is that remote work can be executed from anywhere. A worker in India, for instance, can work for a company in the United States without changing location.

Why Companies’ use of Remote Intelligence is not necessarily Telecommuting

On a useful perspective, globalization can be viewed as a type of arbitrage propagated by the fact that various issues vary from one nation to the other. In the modern world, there are significant international differences in salaries and wages and this is where the term remote intelligence gains relevance (Bentley, Teo, McLeod, Tan, Bosua, and Gloet, 2016 p.2010). At the moment, arbitrating wage differences has become a seemingly uphill task. Moreover, mass migration has attracted immense political resistance meaning that low-wage employees cannot work outside their home nations. Therefore, the basic nature of remote intelligence is that communication technology, as well as improvements in computing power, will make it more cost-effective for the employer and employee. This means that a worker in India can work for a company in the United States without having to move. This phenomenon is enabled by the technology called telerobotics which is a technology that eliminates the need for physical presence in the workplace (Fonner and Roloff, 2012 p.215). The robots are controlled by remote intelligence as opposed to artificial intelligence. Controlling robots by remote intelligence means that a person in a remote location is controlling the robot. Unlike artificial intelligence, remote intelligence possesses flexibility and judgment thus overly disruptive to the poor and rich nations more so in the short term. Studies indicate that once robots become cheaper, workers in the manual services jobs will face severe competition from low-wage workers in developing nations. Notably, robots are less likely to offer a complete replacement to the in-person employees. However, it is worth noting that these robots could execute a significant number of tasks.

As mentioned earlier, remote intelligence poses significant threats to the western nations. This is mainly due to the fact that workers in the western nations earn significantly higher wages than their counterparts in the western nations (Van Gorp and Mazanek, 2011 p.590). As companies in the western nations look forward to saving on salary costs, they will have to consider sourcing for labor from the developing nations. A company in Britain that decides to seek the services of a Kenyan accountant via remote intelligence, for instance, will save $3,000 per month. This will mean that the accountants in Britain will find it hard to sustain their jobs.

The notable recent developments on remote intelligence have created a tremendous interest from both the general public and the media. The main ethical question that arises when the term remote intelligence is mentioned is what could be the legal, moral, and societal repercussions of sourcing for labor from the developing nations and disregarding the locals. Another ethical consideration that comes into play is whether applying remote intelligence makes sense for the business and also whether employees should be allowed to work from a remote location. It is worth noting that a majority of companies are taking the ROWE (results-oriented work environment) approach which means that these companies mainly focus on getting the work done rather than worrying about where or when the work was executed (De Menezes and Kelliher, 2011 p.458). Other companies have made it compulsory for employees to conduct their activities in their respective offices, not remotely, to enhance communication and collaboration. Other firms have launched flexible schedules to cater for personal needs, elder care, and child care. Other ethical factors that should be considered when using remote intelligence on the employee’s side is strict adherence to the work timings, a strict no personal errand during the working hours, keeping touch with the employer, and honesty.

To start with the advantages, remote intelligence enables the execution of workplace duties from a remote location. Instead of employees having to move from their current locations, they can work from wherever they currently located as long as they have access to the internet (Gajendran, Harrison, and Delaney?Klinger, 2015 p.361). Second, the employers will reduce salary costs as the employees recruited from the developing nations demand less pay. In addition to that, the companies will minimize costs associated with maintenance and buying of office equipment. The employers do not have to hire large working spaces as well. Third, remote intelligence increases the efficiency of the workforce considering that no time is wasted on the busy roads (Spinuzzi, 2012 p.390). People working in remote locations can utilize the time wasted by the regular office goers to ensure maximum productivity of the company.

Having looked at the benefits, it is also worth noting that remote intelligence is associated with its equal share of demerits. One of the key demerits is that productivity in the company may reduce due to poor connection with fellow workers. Working from remote locations makes it impossible to hold face-to-face conversations, discuss projects with workmates (Thorstenson, Molin, and Lundström, 2014 p.245). In essence, doing duties in groups creates a sense of inclusion. People who work away from the workplace are often treated as outsiders. Another drawback is that a worker who works remotely at the comfort of his/her home is likely to be distracted by external factors. A remote employee with children, for instance, will spend a great deal of working time taking care of the children. Often, each and every movement from the children will be followed by some attention. Another significant challenge of working from a remote location is that it becomes challenging to separate work from personal life. This mainly emanates from the fact that there is no clear separation of the home space and workplace (Van Yperen, Rietzschel, and De Jonge, 2014 p.1001). Often are the times when a remote worker is constantly checking his/her phone to make sure that they do not miss any message from the employer. The eventual result is that the productivity of the business will be affected by poor work and life balance on the side of the employee.

Notably, managing remote employees presents its unique set of challenges as compared to managing people in a single location. Concepts that bear fruits in an office might not work for remote employees. One of the important leadership styles that should be adopted when dealing with remote employees is creating time for small talks. Often are the times managing remotely entails giving instructions, but good managers should consider building a rapport (Green and Roberts, 2010 p.50). A rapport is essential when dealing with problems concerning workers. Also, a good remote leader is indefatigable. Notably, managing remote teams also means working in odd hours and long days due to the difference in time zones. Third, a remote leader ought to be a company evangelist as he/she will be required to feed the remote employees with positive issues including brand messaging, the values of the organization, and the culture of the company (Kelliher and Anderson, 2010 p.100). In a scenario where there is negative news, the leader should be willing to communicate even more to counteract the bad image. Besides that, a remote leader should be encouraging. Notably, just like the employees in the office setting, the remote employees undergo their fair share of challenges and thus the needs of a strong manager who will keep focused on their objectives. This can be achieved through positive energy and optimism. Another essential character of a good remote leader is approachability. Open communication ensures that managers are always in touch with the developments of the company, but when it comes to remote employees, things could be more different. If, for instance, a manager is often the last person to be fed with the bad news regarding the company’s affairs, then that should be taken as a red flag (Fonner and Roloff, 2010 p.336). Finally, a good remote leader should possess all the qualities of a leader such as offering emotional support, combating communication limitations, and encouraging frequent communication.

Conclusion

As noted from this paper, telecommuting and remote intelligence are two different terms which are often used interchangeably. Telecommuting refers to conducting operations from a remote area such as home, coffee shop, and so forth. On the other hand, remote intelligence refers to companies recruiting highly skilled workers to perform specified roles from areas far away from the office. For instance, a New York-based firm may choose to hire a professional from India to work remotely for the company. Also, it has been noted with a lot of concern that remote intelligence poses significant threats to the western workers as a rise in this trend would see them lose their jobs. On the same note, using remote intelligence requires a strict adherence to the ethics on both the sides of the employer and the employee. Remote leaders should also possess their unique set of leadership qualities.

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