CHANGES IN WORK-AT-HOME EMPLOYER POLICIES

There has been a business trend for a number of years for employers to increasingly allow employees to work at home.  Indeed, cases have even been brought by plaintiffs contending that home work must be allowed as a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability.  Now, for the first time, this trend has reversed with fewer employers adding home worker policies and more returning such home workers to a place of business. 

Some of the national companies that have discontinued their home worker policies including IBM, Aetna, Bank of America and Best Buy, among others.  According to the Society for Human Resource Management, a majority of U.S. employers still let employees telecommute sometimes.  But the portion of U.S. workers who performed all or some of their work at home fell to 22% last year, from 24% in 2015, reversing the trend that has continued for many years. 

Surprisingly, the reason for the decline in home work is not primarily based on productivity.  While there is some disagreement, many studies show that home workers are as or more productive than those at the place of business.  The decline in home work seems to be based more on the fact that managers want their employees present and the advantages that face-to-face work conversations might have.  Some managers feel that conference calls do not yield the benefits of face-to-face meetings. 

One discovered negative of such change in policies is that former home workers seem to be having a difficult time readjusting to physical presence at the work site.  Returning workers must get used to the lack of privacy and long commutes, and have a tendency upon their immediate return to have more difficulties in managing their time.

The transition itself may create some issues.  IBM, one of the long-standing promoters of homework, offered thousands of such home workers a choice to follow their jobs back to an office or apply for a new role.