By Justin Schurr, Tenant Advisory Services, Edge

Teleworking, a concept advanced in 1973, has come in pretty handy while companies continue to navigate COVID-19, and we expect a segment of the work population to remain in this mode even when most employees return to work (hopefully very soon). At my firm, other than missing the personal contact with my colleagues, we immediately transitioned seamlessly without interruption into a teleworking mode and bridged the loss of our personal contact with video conferencing.I would assume, like me, others have found the experience a surprise from a sustained productivity perspective, but also the time saved getting dressed in the morning and then fighting rush-hour traffic for often over an hour.Sounds on the surface to be pretty great, but I anticipate that teleworking will ultimately fall into the “ be careful what you wish for” category.

The positives are obvious: wearing sweat clothes all day, saving on transportation expenses, being home to let the repairmen in and to watch the kids, opening the refrigerator to grab lunch and, generally, less wasted time throughout the day.

Nearly everyone in society have been experiencing this “new normal” work existence since mid-March and, yes, it seemed great at the beginning. However, studies have proven that long-term teleworking is the breeding ground for isolation and stress, the stifling of creativity due to lack of human interaction (after all, video conferencing can only replicate collaboration to a certain degree) and with an open refrigerator just a mere steps away from your computer, overeating can quickly become a problem.

While teleworking is ideal for some, it can set a dangerous precedent for others. Here are three reasons why companies should limit the practice and maintain a “homefield”:

Accountability

Problem.For every mature, disciplined and honest employee, there are always those looking to game the system. Productivity should increase due to the lack of distractions, but what is gained could be lost due to wasted time from Internet surfing, household chores, or simply leaving the house because no one is looking. Young people, especially those early in their careers, are benefited by structure in the workplace which becomes difficult with teleworking.

Solution.Firms must create accountability ground rules with staff member by setting specific daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual routines, tasks, and goals that can be easily monitored by the manager.In our office, we use a common team software where we are all kept very closely in the loop with our team’s productivity coupled with rapid communication through our instant messaging module.Another key strategy is to set standard hours of operation for the team rather than a random flex schedule so all team members are predominately at their desk and immediately accessible with response time as close to instantaneous as possible.

Loneliness

Problem.Working in isolation with a minimum of human contact during the work day can subconsciously cause stress from the loneliness. Loneliness is also known to lead to bad habits such as over-eating, smoking, using drugs and drinking. All of these factors can lead to increased workers compensation and healthcare costs which eats into -- or can surpass -- any savings derived from lower rent/office expenses.

Solution.Frequent team video/tele teleconferences, on-prem physical meetings, and social meet ups are an efficient way to address this challenge.

Less Standard Practice/More Emergency Protocol

Major organizations such as IBM, Facebook, and Google have brought workers back into the office after realizing the creativity loss from less collaboration and team innovation caused by off-prem employees. The “water cooler effect” which explains how close physical proximity breeds more effective communication, better understanding between co-workers, and more collaboration leading to overall morale gains.

Bottom line

Short-term productivity can be increased with the use of teleworking with the “right employees” but typically, this work arrangement is not positive without the presence of a “homefield.” It has been proven that a stable workplace fosters collaboration, learning and the generation of creative ideas.

Edge is a commercial real estate firm providing a full complement of advisory, leasing, investment sales, management, construction, property management and engineering services to clients throughout the Washington, D.C., Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Pennsylvania marketplaces. Founded in 2007, the company currently leases and manages more than 8.5 million square feet of commercial office, flex/office, industrial/warehouse, retail and mixed-use space.Visit: www.edgecre.com.