Disgruntled Co-Workers - What If They Can't Work at Home?

A Home Business Article Contributed by Sharon Hill

Keeping Everyone Happy While Some Work at Home

In most firms, not every employee can work at home. That's clear. If your company sells widgets your sales staff might be working at home planning sales calls and then on the road. But what about the folks who ship out the products? The person who greets walk-in customers? Or installs and maintains the office equipment? What about the folks who come in at the end of your work day to empty wastebaskets and vacuum? Some of these obviously can't do all or part of their tasks from their home.

Inevitably, there are going to be those folks who want to work at home but have to be told no. How do you keep them from getting angry and negatively influencing others in the office - or even quitting?

Communication is the Key to Successful Work at Home Programs

There's nothing more motivating, more satisfying to a subordinate than being recognized - being told her opinion, his contribution is valued. The best way to convey this message is to ask for this employee's help. "While I can't let you telework right now, you can help the program succeed by giving me some feedback on where you see problems - and where you see telework helping. I'm counting on your insight."

Communication with everyone is crucial to work at home success. From the very inception of the idea to allow employees to work at home you need to be telling everyone what you are considering and why. And ask their opinions. You need to tell managers, subordinate, union representatives, vendors and perhaps even customers. Each decision or consideration of a decision should be discussed company-wide by meeting, newsletter, e-mail, bulletin board, Intranet - whatever you use.

Praise those who do a good job in the office while others work at home. Tell them constantly that they are important. Give them periodic evaluation forms and formalize the procedure for reading and acting on these forms.

Make sure every candidate who is turned down for telework knows exactly why. If it's her or his need for improvement give them time-oriented goals, and then re-evaluate at the end of that timeframe. If they are not able to telework now simply because of their job tasks or the need for a certain number of folks to stay in the office, explain that. You might even suggest that employees alternate telework - one doing it for six months, the next for the subsequent six months. Be flexible. There's no bad decision that can't be undone.

Make Those Who Don't Work at Home Part of the Solution So They're Not Part of the Problem

Set up a buddy system. Make a non-teleworking coworker the buddy of a teleworker. Let them work as a two person team. Make it clear that they should not be doing the work of two people just because they're the one in the office. Offer an open door if any problems arise. Don't put them off. A disgruntled telework candidate that is turned down today, if handled correctly, may be the telework champion of tomorrow.