VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/190809
VEGAS INC C OV E R STO RY something. It works for me because it allows me to have my family time at the same time that I have my work time." Gorov admitted that because she works from home, she sometimes puts in too many hours. Wilson said she often goes back to work for an hour or more after putting her son to bed. Working from home has required Wilson to become a more efficient time manager, she said. She has learned that she can easily work overtime if she loses track of the clock. What she expected to be 10 minutes of checking email can rapidly snowball into an hour of following up on details. But not everybody has bought into telecommuting. Wilsker said the movement took an especially big hit when Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer killed her company's work-from-home policy, a move that garnered international attention. "She said it wasn't so much about distractions as it was about encouraging collaboration," Wilsker said. "But today's technologies allow for video collaboration. If you and I have Skype and cameras, we could just as easily talk online." Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh outlined a viewpoint similar to Mayer's in his book "Delivering Happiness," in which he argues that interaction with colleagues is necessary. An important part of the Zappos culture is encouraging "employee collisions" to help workers interact and develop ideas. That isn't to say Hsieh is totally opposed to the idea of telecommuting. "I think if more employees held meetings in their homes, invited folks that were interested in Zappos or downtown to come into their homes, etc., I actually would be all for that and think that it would be a good thing for our culture and brand," Hsieh wrote to an employee who questioned him about his perceived anti-telecommuting views. "I think being out and about in the downtown community is actually our next evolution and I think it may actually be better than being in an office, or perhaps it should be split 50-50." Wilsker contends that there are just as many distractions, if not more, in a traditional workplace than at home. "Actually, I think people who telework are more productive because there are fewer distractions," Wilsker said. "(In an office) on Monday morning, people are still talking about football, the Emmys or 'Breaking Bad.' They aren't necessarily focused on work." Many employers who prohibit telecommuting believe they can better | 14 October 2013 20131014_VI01_F.indd 15 | What about the HOA? Local homeowner associations have no problem with people working from home as long as their home office doesn't become a distribution center. "I think most people who are telecommuting are just in their offices at home," said Donna Toussaint, president of the Nevada Chapter of the Community Associations Institute, which represents the state's almost 3,000 homeowners associations. "If people are selling things out of their homes, that's a different story. But I have not heard of people working from home being a problem for neighborhoods." The city of Las Vegas also permits telecommuting, as long as people aren't conducting meetings or selling merchandise from their homes. CRUNCH TIME: Debra Gorov, an events consultant, works from her Henderson home office. manage productivity when workers are in their cubicles. "The biggest excuse I get is, 'How do I know they're working when they're home?'" Wilsker said. "My comeback is, 'How do you know they're working in the office?' In the office, there's Facebook, Twitter and personal email accounts." "I would actually argue that one is more productive working from home than in an office," he continued. "Sure, if I've been working at my desk for a few hours I might take a break and throw in a load of laundry. However, if you compare that with an office, there may be people who come in just to chat, and you're trying to get them out of your office to get some work done. You don't have those sidebar conversations that take away your day." Employees who work from home also tend to be more loyal to their companies, LEILA NAVIDI advocates say. "One of the things that costs businesses a whole lot of money is turnover," Wilsker said. "To hire somebody and get them trained may cost one to five times their annual salary. But once employees have (teleworking) as an option, workers are going to be less inclined to take another job that doesn't offer it. I've seen people reject a 25 percent increase in pay because the new job required them to be in the office." Employees also save money working remotely. TelCoa found that workers can save up to $8,000 a year telecommuting because of decreased transportation costs, lower clothing bills and eating fewer meals out. "I used to wear a suit to work every day, but not anymore since I've begun working from home," Wilsker said. "My suits are hanging in my closet most of the time, and my dry-cleaning bills are really low. At home, it's sweats in the winter and shorts and tank tops in the summer." If a home office is used exclusively for work, employees can claim a deduction on their federal income taxes. They also can write off business equipment, such as phone lines and Internet access. Employers can save, too – up to $20,000 a year per employee, according to TelCoa. A Washington, D.C., insurance office, for example, allowed half of its 40 staffers to work from home at least half the time as an experiment. As a result, the company downsized into an office a third of the size, saved on supplies and services, and in a year and a half, hasn't lost a single employee to a competitor. "The change also allowed them to improve customer service," Wilsker said. "One of their big clients sent an email at 8:45 p.m. saying, 'Something important has come up. Please get ahold of me first thing in the morning to get it fixed.' The guy was at home, and like most people, he didn't turn his computer off, so he got the message at 9 p.m. and called him up right then. The guy said, 'Hey, it's 9 p.m., why are you calling me?' and he said, 'You said it was important.' He got it resolved. That is now a client for life." Wilsker said telecommuting also provides benefits for the larger community. "It's good for the environment," he said. "It's good for society. It's good for employers and good for employees. And there are little things, too. There are neighborhoods where kids come home from school and there are no adults around. Some of our teleworkers have told us that when their kids come home, there's an adult presence so there's less opportunity for neighborhood trouble." 15 10/10/13 2:20:22 PM