Canadians have readily embraced technological advances such as online banking, use of the Internet, Blackberrys and cellphones.

But old-line thinking - better suited to the industrial revolution - is holding us back from the full benefits of telecommuting.

Despite growing evidence of the economic and environmental benefits of telecommuting, Canadian businesses and governments seem to have a hard time thinking outside the box - ah, cubicle.

"There are a lot of managers who say, 'Not on my watch,' " says Bob Fortier, president of the Canadian Telework Association, who himself telecommutes from his InnoVisions Canada office in Manotick, Ont., a half hour from Ottawa.

Susan Garms

Some supervisors don't believe employees work unless they're under a supervisor's eye (or thumb).

For those management troglodytes, here's a shocker - worker productivity goes up with telework.

British Telecom, which has 80,000 employees, found productivity rose 31 per cent among its 9,000 teleworkers, due to lack of disruptions, stress and commuting time.

Telecommuting can also save recruitment and training costs because it builds loyalty. AT&T found two-thirds of workers offered jobs by competitors remained with the company, citing telework as a major factor in their decision.

And loyalty is a key predictor of productivity, according to recent research into work/life balance at Carleton's Sprott School of Business.

This magazine has frequently covered the growing reality of widespread worker shortages due to the exit of the Baby Boomer generation from the workforce. If growing competition has increased the stress level now, imagine what it will be like when worker shortages are thrown in the mix.

Telework could be the solution. But you have to do it right, says Susan Garms, senior consultant, telework solutions for Bell Canada. "You have to have the right work, the right people, the right support."

Not every job suits itself to telework - but any job that requires an employee to sit in a chair using a telephone and computer most of the day is a prime candidate. Don't think it applies to your company? Look again. Who would have thought a retail store clerk could be a telecommuter until e-commerce?

The right people are a necessary part of the equation.

Seasoned, experienced, autonomous people are the best candidates for telework. And they need supervisors and bosses focused on results-based productivity and who understand the human-resources requirements of the home-office worker.

Teleworkers "have to be strong enough to reach out when they're feeling isolated," says Garms.

Employers also need to recognize teleworkers need regular communication with colleagues and supervisors. "I have a virtual cup of coffee every Friday at 10 a.m. with my boss, just to catch up," says Garms, herself a teleworker.

Teleworkers need to be assured they'll be kept in the loop, remembered for social occasions, and not overlooked when it comes to promotions. And their in-office colleagues need to know they're not picking up the slack for a teleworker who isn't shouldering a full load, she says.

Businesses also need to support their out-of-office employees with proper technology, equipment and workspace to ensure their work environment is safe for them and secure for the company.

"The key is getting the right people," says Garms. "And it has to be a voluntary program, with the agreement of the employee and the approval of management - with the flexibility that the arrangement can be altered or terminated at any time due to changes in work or at the office."

Despite the demonstrated benefits, many companies don't have telework policies. Many teleworkers still labour under informal agreements - arrangements between workers and their immediate supervisors - with little knowledge of, or support from, executives.

"The company may not have a telework program, possibly not even formal blessing," says Fortier. "Managers use it where it works."

Sometimes even when there is a policy, as for Canada's quarter-million or so federal public servants, it is inconsistently applied and few workers and supervisors actually participate, says Fortier.

Enterprising employers are already expanding on the basics of telework.

Businesses are now opening satellite centres where teleworkers can come to an office environment when they need company support services or to arrange conferences or meetings.

A new service industry has been born to supply such satellite offices for companies that aren't large enough to develop their own.

Some businesses are getting rid of head offices altogether and have an entire workforce that telecommutes.

Best Buy, a consumer-electronics retail giant based in Minneapolis, has put all 4,000 corporate staff on a flextime program based on the idea that it doesn't matter where or when work is done, only that it is done well.

This move to a results-only work environment (ROWE) is the company's response to high employee turnover and high corporate stress level. And it's already paying off. Productivity is up an average of 35 per cent in departments in the program, the company reports.

OK, so telework works. How do we get it working more consistently in Canada?

Canadian businesses and government need a much more organized approach.

We need government policy that both sets an example and encourages telework. When the U.S. federal government began penalizing federal agencies for not offering telework, the percentage of teleworkers jumped from 19 to 41 per cent.

It would be nice to see an initiative among Canada's civil servants — and for government, perhaps as part of its efforts to meet Kyoto greenhouse gas emission targets, to provide incentives for business to follow its lead.

Cities and provinces should have policies to support telework as part of infrastructure reduction - reducing commuter pressure should save on costs for building roads, expanding transit systems, building bridges. If they can't afford to throw money into incentives, they can launch public advertising campaigns. Don't laugh. The Participaction campaign worked to get Canadian couch potatoes into the gym.

We need company policies that formally recognize telework as a profitable option and practices that support it. That means training managers - and workers - to stop watching the clock and move to an objective-based approach to work, where conditions and personalities allow.

Nowadays, who really needs to be chained to their desk?

(Sharon Adams can be reached at sharon@businessedge.ca)