eWorkPlace FAQs

Through extensive contact with employers, we bring the opportunity to share our knowledge with a wide audience. To help you access our valuable expertise, we provide a wide variety of frequently asked questions and our answers here. Please check back regularly, as the information is updated frequently! Simply click on a link below to get started…

• General Questions about Telework
• Start-Up - Implementation
• Costs and Benefits
• Facilities Guidelines
• Managing Teleworkers
• Telework and Family Life

General Questions about Telework

• What is the prevalence of telework?
• Does telework affect employee productivity?
• Are teamwork and telework possible at the same time?
• Do teleworkers only work for large companies?
• Can teleworkers be non-exempt, hourly employees?
• Do teleworkers have difficulty advancing in their careers?

Start-up and Implementation

• Do companies provide office equipment for teleworkers?
• Should teleworkers be reimbursed for use of their own office equipment?
• If an employee lives in one state and teleworks for a company located in another state, which state is designated for tax purposes?

Costs and Benefits

• Why would a company want to start a telework program?
• What do I need to have “in place” before offering telework?
• Why doesn't everyone telework?
• What technology and office space should employers provide teleworkers at the corporate office?
• Do teleworkers feel lonely working by themselves?

Facility Guidelines

• If teleworkers only work away from the office a couple of days a week, what is the advantage of telework?
• Should teleworkers expect the company to provide home office furniture or and home-office design services?
• What is the difference between telework and working in a virtual office?

Managing Teleworkers

• What jobs are best suited for telework?
• Why can't I just let my employees decide amongst themselves who will telework?
• As a manager, is it practical for me to telework?
• Should telework be a mandatory work arrangement for some jobs?
• Will my telework schedule make it hard for my co-workers and clients to work with me?
• Sometimes I get the worst of both worlds. My co-workers and clients either call/page me in the evening or on the weekend when I'm not working, or they don't want to call me when I'm teleworking because I'm at home and therefore they think I'm not working. How can I correct this problem?
• What role does telework play in office politics?
• Is the workload of the support staff increased because of telework?

Telework and Family Life

• Will a problem arise if my spouse is at home when I telework?
• I'm afraid I'll work too much if my office is in my home. How do I avoid this temptation?
• Can dependent care and telework be done together?
• How can I keep track of my children and concentrate on my work when I telework?
• Should my office space at home be viewed as separate from the entire house, or should it be a place where my children and spouse can find me if they need me?