Telecommuting With Less Pay…. Not the Best Arrangement
February 27, 2009 by Cherie Burbach
Filed under Parenting
I recently asked the question “Would you telecommute for less pay?” We got some interesting comments from that post.
Our reader Omie made a great point by saying that telecommuting is not the answer to childcare issues. You can’t watch small children (for the most part) while doing a job from home. She also makes the point that if you’re doing the same work, why SHOULD you get paid for doing less? She said:
“Less” is a relative term but I’ll skip speculating on how much less “less” could be and throw my vote in with the 61% who will not work for less. I don’t think telecommuting is easy, in fact, it could be harder. For instance there would be the expectation that you’re home, therefore you can fix lunch/dinner/clean house/do laundry while doing the same work. Saving on gas is not enough, unless you have a really long commute. If I could save on childcare, I would be swayed, but I don’t think working while attending to a toddler is effective. That could work with older kids. I really don’t mind telecommuting a few days a week but unless I’m also expected to deliver less work, why should I be paid less?”
Telesaur spoke to the point that telecommuting isn’t just a benefit to workers but to employers as well.
“I know plenty of people who have said they’d take less pay in order to telecommute, but I don’t think that’s the way we should be selling telecommuting to employers. Telecommuting is business strategy. While it benefits the telecommuter, the employer receives just as many, if not more, benefits by implementing a telework plan. Thinking that you would need to take lesser compensation means you’re focusing on how it will benefit you. Focus on how you will benefit your employer first.”
Rich Copley reminded us that oftentimes telecommuting means also working longer hours. This is definitely something I can attest to.
“I have a job that lets me telecommute on occasion, say if one of the kids is home sick, weather makes travel hazardous (a recent situation) or I just feel like it. And Omie is right, the house is full of things that beg for you attention, from the laundry to that stack of papers on the table next to the couch, etc. One of the hazards of telecommuting and those distractions is it can start to spread your day out, and work ends up permeating the whole day. So there are hazards, and I would approach it with wariness. Often, after a day of telecommuting, I’m happy to get back to the office. As for pay, seeing the gas and childcare argument, I’d consider maybe an extremely modest reduction, but not much.”
Great points! Do you have a comment about telecommuting and pay? Give us your thoughts with a comment below.
I work for a health insurance company and have telecommuted for several years….. I could never go back into the office. It’s not just gas money you are saving, it’s also things like clothing and lunch money. I no longer have the same dread about Mondays. I do not have to share a bathroom with 200 other people. I can crank the radio and sing . I can take a shower on my lunch break. I don’t have kids so I cannot really speak to that issue, but I did turn the guest room into my home office to make ignoring housework easier. I think the hardest thing for me has been dealing with other people….They don’t seem to understand that just because I am home, that it is not an open invitation to drop by in the afternoon or call me to talk about non-work things. People think if you are home, you must be your own boss, and that is just not the case for me. That being said , I would take up to 20% cut in income before I would go back into the office. Because when all is said and done, I would rather be happy with 80% than miserable with 100%. I swear , if I had to put on a skirt and heels on a Monday morning , I would be very miserable.