You’ve heard the saying “less is more”. Well apparently when it comes to accessibility, less presence (physically) may in some cases mean more.

I read a fascinating article in Network World today. The topic was the increase in telecommuting in the IT industry. This topic in general was very interesting - especially to me as I’m an IT worker myself - and I’ll probably blog about it in more depth soon. But there was one small part that really got my attention:

Ironically, staying in touch can be easier as a teleworker, he has found. As an in-office manager, Bruner spent a lot of time in meetings, and his direct reports tended to touch base only when they could catch him in his office. As a teleworker, Bruner says his reports are able to contact him more quickly when they need to, using instant messaging, e-mail or the phone.

When I started telecommuting I had 10 direct reports. After I had worked remotely for a few months, I asked how things were different for them. They said I was more accessible to them than I had been when I was in the office,” recalls Bruner.

Wow! Can I say that again - WOW! This is really significant. With all the (misguided) fears that telecommuters are harder to reach, harder to work with, etc, this is a great example that shows people’s gut reactions are just plain wrong. We need to get more visibility for examples like this. It shows that if the technology (IM, email, etc) is used as it’s intended, it really can remove the barrier of physical absence - and in some cases, actually beat out presence for accessiblity.

Now if you’re trying to fight the “I want to telecommute but my manager is not thrilled with the idea” battle - show your boss this quote! Show your HR rep this quote! They might realize, with a little openmindedness, that telecommuting might have more benefits for the company than they knew.

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