Local Job Agencies Say Remote Jobs Are on The Rise

Many employees throughout the United States noticed their work places became less and less populated as the state of the economy receded and employers continually felt pinches in their budgets, prompting a steady trend of staff lay-offs over the past few years.

However a new trend shows that a less populated work place may be due to employers laying-off their employees not to fire them, but to merely send them home.

Ryan Skubis, district president of Robert Half International, an employee staffing service, for the Clearwater and Largo areas, says remote work arrangements are becoming more popular for project-based jobs that may not require a frequent interaction with clients or customers.

“It can work for any type of company out there,” said Skubis. “It’s more for the type of position than the type of industry for these types of arrangements.”

According to a recent study done by Accountemps, a California-based specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals, one-third of chief financial officers say that remote work arrangements such as telecommuting or working from satellite offices have increased at their companies over the past three years.

The study was conducted by an independent research firm where about 1,400 chief financial officers from across the United States received telephone interviews revolving around one particular question:

Have remote work arrangements within your company increased, decreased or remained the same in the last three years?

The results show that 11 percent of those companies interviewed say that remote work arrangements have increased greatly and 22 percent say they’ve increased somewhat; 57 percent of companies distinguished that they’d experienced “no change.”

Max Messner, chairman of Accountemps and author of “Human Resources Kit for Dummies,” says that the prevalence of mobile technologies and wireless communication makes it easier for companies to support remote work arrangements for their employees.

“Although not all positions are suited to remote work arrangements, for those that are, this option can help give professionals more control over their schedules and aid in recruitment and retention efforts,” Messner said in a statement.

He added that companies that are considering remote work arrangements should set clear policies and establish specific productivity goals.

Michael Malfitano, an attorney specializing in employee labor laws at Constagny Brooks & Smith Labor and Employment Law Firm in Tampa, said he’s become aware of an increase in remote work arrangements in the Tampa Bay area through anecdotes from employers, for example, customer call center types of work. He said the nature of that type of job and its flexibility in work schedule lends itself to suit a remote work arrangement.

Skubis amplified that employers can benefit in many ways by incorporating remote work arrangements into their companies’ cultures. Examples include increasing productivity, since some employees may concentrate better at home, employee satisfaction, control over environments and savings on real estate, since less office space is needed to run a company if its employees are working from a distance.

On the other hand, employers can also experience some drawbacks; if not managed properly, productivity and morality can decline and missed deadlines can accumulate.

“The obvious disadvantage is you don’t have people there working under close supervision,” said Malfitano, adding that businesses have to analyze for themselves the advantages and disadvantages of having less people in their work places.

“There has to be some sense of accountability of communication to make sure everyone’s on the same page,” said Skubis. “Even if that means meeting every two weeks to go over deadlines in terms of where they are on projects and their work.”

Accountemps lists five tips for both employers and employees who want to implement remote work arrangements into their organizational structure: communication, resources, planning, security and camaraderie.

“The one thing a company needs to make sure it has is a secure system,” said Skubis, adding that a back-up system for computers and phones should be in place and protected against security threats. “There’s got to be clear expectations and productivity goals set up. I think that’s really important.”

For employees who are seeking to set up a remote work arrangement with their employer, Skubis suggests being prepared and keeping the conversation positive and also being flexible when approaching their supervisors with the idea.

“I think you need to make a good business case,” said Skubis.

He suggests that those interested in the remote work set-up highlight how both he or she and the employer will benefit from the arrangement. Also, being prepared to answer any questions that may come up is key.

“If the position works with these type of arrangements, I think it’s being more looked into now than in years past,” said Skubis. “It’s a very interesting concept.”

To learn more about Accountemps' study, visit their website.