With apologies to the 2000 Clinton campaign. Every few months or so some alleged pundit is quoted in the press as showing that telecommuting is bad because:

• The productivity of telecommuters plummets;
• The cost of telecommuting technology is too high;
• Supervisors find it to be impossible to manage telecommuters;
• All of the above and more.

A recent example of this phenomenon is an article by Reuters titled: “Telecommuting not great for workers left in the office“. This adds a new twist. After all the years we’ve spent worrying about the telecommuters’ performance we now find out from this article that the real hit is on those poor souls left behind. I feel that I must point out—again—that there is possibly a common thread to these claims.

It’s the training, stupid! Continue reading It’s the training, stupid! →