Office Workstations in the Home (1985) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
The Potential of Remote Work for Professionals
The Potential of Remote Work for Professionals
Pages 125-132
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From page 125... ...
This may not be true, however, in the so-called glamour professions, such as medical research (non-M.D.} and civil rights legal defense, where a job carries prestige, autonomy, and other perquisites of professional status without high monetary rewards. The job of a professional also may be characterized by longterm deadlines and variety as opposed to minute specialization of Margrethe H
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From page 126... ...
The answer is, of course, "it all depends." Given the potential of technology to alter traditional work patterns, how might an organization take advantage of its increased flexibility? On the assumption that the professionals have skills that are in demand and therefore have the flexibility to choose from multiple work options, ~ see three alternative scenarios for organizational structures emerging: the location-independent organization, the contract organization, and the human resources organization.
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From page 127... ...
THE CONTRACT ORGANIZATION One response to economic uncertainty is to reduce the number of full-time salaried employees and purchase particular, specialized skills as needed on a contract basis. An ideal contract organization brings together significant numbers of personnel who would previously have been full-time employees but now contract out their specialized skills to different organizations.
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From page 128... ...
This scenario assumes the requisite skills offered by the specialist and needed by the organization can be provided through computer and communications technology, or at least that the results of production can be transmitted electronically. THE HUMAN RESOURCES ORGANIZATION In another very different scenario, companies take innovative approaches to invest in human resources on a long-term basis.
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From page 129... ...
A recent study showed that in the software development profession, women are significantly underrepresented at middle management levels and dramatically nonexistent at higher levels of management.) This is particularly significant when one recalls that the software industry has always been touted for its lack of
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From page 130... ...
According to the author of the study report, "Blacks need not apply." Another recent study indicates that for professional couples who both work full time outside of the home, women continue to bear most of the responsibilities for child care and other aspects of household maintenance.2 At the same time, equality is expected in the office women must work as hard as men to get ahead. Is it any surprise that women are underrepresented at middle and upper management levels, when the most important years for career development (i.e., ages 25 to 35)
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From page 131... ...
Furthermore, true equality between men and women in our society wiD not be achieved until it is achieved in the workplace, and the combined scenarios of the location-independent and human resources organization can facilitate workplace equality by providing and encouraging greater flexibility for both men and women. CONCLUSIONS The alternative scenarios presented here are not mutually exclusive.
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From page 132... ...
In an environment where jobs are wed designed and there is a management climate of trust and openness, implementing work at home in a positive way is easy. The concerns that ~ have expressed here also can be alleviated if the positive quality of work life is embedded in the long-term commitment to employee welfare in the human resources type of organization.
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