How Teleworking Works Best: A Practical Guide for Managing Teleworkers

Telework is increasingly a component of organizational workforce structures because it can provide reduced costs and many other advantages. Telework may, however, be a terrifying prospect for one group: the managers whose job it is to lead a dispersed workforce. The good news is that the shift from “management by walking around” to “management by connecting around” does not require a manager to reinvent her job, but it does require a shift in her perception. Successful managers of teleworkers are those who have learned to manage the work and not the workers, and communicate regularly and mindfully with all workers.