Should home workers be hauled back to the office?

By Annie Waite, North American Editor of the Internal Comms Hub, Melcrum

A few major companies are taking steps to call their home (or 'remote') workers back to work in the office, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal last week.

Scarily, in light of this, there seems to be some kind of movement to get employees to sing 'Kumbaya' together in order to improve team communication...

Intel, HP, AT&T and parts of the US government have all recently summoned some of their home workers for regular face time with their colleagues, partly may be because of the notion that "teamwork improves when people work face-to-face."

But what about the disgruntled employees who've been dragged from their cushy lie-ins and no-dress-code working practices – is there any evidence to suggest these workers won't rebel against their newly enforced working environment? Surely engagement could drop as a result, and therefore affect company performance anyway during economic downturn? Has anyone seen any stats to suggest the contrary?

I'll be looking into how these changes were communicated to affected staff at the companies so far involved and report back on the Internal Comms Hub.

As the Wall Street Journal article suggests that other employers might follow suit as recession clouds loom, here are its "tips on keeping a work-at-home gig" – so if you and your HR team are considering a similar move to the companies mentioned above, you know what you're up against!:

• Perform well. In explaining the callbacks at Hewlett-Packard, Chief Information Officer Randy Mott said last year that telecommuting "had gotten applied more broadly than really made sense," and would be limited to "people who are proficient and who've shown they can perform over time." Make sure measurable objectives are set for your job, then meet them.

• Increase your visibility. One behavior sure to irk managers is to use work-at-home freedom to move to a location so remote, such as Hawaii, that travel costs soar. Although Intel disputes the assertion, people familiar with the callbacks there cite such abuses as a factor. Wherever you're located, find ways to remain visible.

• Make an effort to collaborate. Elliott Masie, head of the Masie Center, a research organization, says many younger managers are comfortable collaborating online. But as pressures mount, older managers may revert to the notion that to build teamwork, "it's important for everybody to sit around and sing 'Kumbaya' together," he says.

Soundtrack to the blog: Kumbaya