At NASCO, an Atlanta claims processing company recognized for employees’ quality of life, about 60 percent of the 700 employees work from home two days a week, a highly touted benefit. The key to making those arrangements work, says the company, is training both managers and staff on the details, including handling conference calls from home, creating a home workspace and keeping co-workers abreast of projects and progress.
“Employees are well aware that if they are not performing, the manager has the right to take the remote arrangement away,” says Barbara Bell-Dees, vice president of human resources and people services at NASCO.
In the past year, we’ve seen companies such as Yahoo, Best Buy and Bank of America send mixed signals on flexibility and work-from-home arrangements. Debate over the merits and drawbacks rages as technology makes it easier to get jobs done anywhere, anytime. Many managers still strongly believe that it’s hard to be collaborative without face time. Yet the Dolphins aren’t the only employer to find that rejecting flexible arrangements could get them in legal trouble. A lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. also raises questions about whether companies can deny work-from-home arrangements.
Ford employee Jane Harris, a resale steel buyer, asked to work from home four days a week because she suffered from irritable bowel syndrome. Ford denied Harris’s request, saying her presence in the office was necessary. She says her days consisted of phone calls and emails from her desk. The American with Disabilities Act lawsuit was brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Harris and has been sent back by an appeals court to a lower court.
Some believe that regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome, it could spark employers to put more thought into what exactly makes coming to an office every day a job requirement.
In Sullivan’s case, he wants his job back, with medical benefits. His attorney, Harr, says that in 17 years, the Dolphins scout never was given a poor performance review or received verbal discipline. Sullivan can review film from anywhere, but if he had been asked to return to the office permanently, he would have done it, Harr says. Harr also says he has received indications that Sullivan’s grievance can be resolved favorably.
If workplace flexibility is to be embraced the way Obama envisions, it must be more than just a policy. Managers and employees must be educated on how to put it into practice — and be well aware of how it benefits all.
Cindy Krischer Goodman is CEO of BalanceGal LLC, a provider of news and advice on how to balance work and life.
©2014 The Miami Herald
Distributed by MCT Information Services
