The Case of the Possibility of Telecommuting in Seattle

Introduction
Telecommuting
Personal Interviews:

D.F.
T.R.
S.F.

Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction

Have you ever been late for work, an important meeting, job interview, or a test because you are stuck in traffic? Have you caught yourself listening to the traffic reports for any stalled vehicles or accidents along your "normal" route. This has probably occurred to each of us at least one time in our lives. In a recent study by the Texas Transportation Institute, the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett area is ranked sixth as having the worst traffic congestion in the United States.

There are many jobs out there where people do not even have to go into work to be productive. We call this telecommuting. It is the act of performing the job duties usually performed at work at home with the use of computers and telephones. In my case study, I will analyze the effects of telecommuting in the field of finance. I have chosen the finance sector because of the hours of operation and the work being performed. The hours of operation generally occur during the peak commuting times of 6:00-9:00am and 3:00-6:00pm. Most of the work is done at a desk usually in front of a computer. I have interviewed three people from the finance field and will explain my findings.

Telecommuting

Telecommuting is bringing work home to the worker. The employee uses telephones and computers to do their job from their home. Currently ten percent of the Nation’s workers telecommute for at least part of the week, and by the year 2000 that number could reach fifteen percent(1). Some people believe that telecommuting will hurt society by having people confined to their homes. However, in some cases workers are confined to their desks or cubicles in the workplace.

Telecommuting was originally visualized to reduce the traffic congestion that is occurring in major cities around the Nation. But, it also has different effects that occurred from it. It is an inexpensive solution for businesses to grow without buying more office space. The employees are finding that their families are receiving more attention. There is less neighborhood crime occurring due to the occupancy of the homes during the day(2).

When selecting candidates for telecommuting there are different characteristics that must be considered by the employer. These characteristics may include: the employees job description, personality, desire, and willingness to work from home. Holland American Line Westours used some of these characteristics in choosing who would be selected for their telecommunication program. As their telecommuting program went on, HALW received a good idea of who would be a successful telecommuter. HALW has discovered another characteristic that is important for a successful telecommuter, demographics. The tour line has come up with a list of attributes of people who tend to do well working from home:

People who do not tend to do well working from home:

Holland America Line Westours (HALW), a Seattle-based wholesale cruise and tour company, has recently won a national award at the National Telecommuting Advisory Council Conference for the implementation of a new technology for their reservation agents working from their homes. The tour company experimented with new technology for a call center which provides full monitoring and statistical reporting on agent activities(3).

Personal Interviews

The next three pages are personal interviews with workers in different sectors in the finance field. The first is a personal banker in the Loan-By-Phone department at Seafirst Bank. The second is a Patients Account Representative at Valley Medical Center. And, thirdly, the Senior Marketing Officer at Washington State Employees Credit Union. During these interviews I asked them questions such as: How much time is spent commuting to and from work? What is the distance traveled? What are your job duties? Is telecommuting a feasible option for you?

D.F.
Personal Banker, Loan-By-Phone
Seafirst Bank

Commuting Statistics:

Ms. Flores is a personal banker at Seafirst Loan-By-Phone. Her job entails processing loan applications and selling investment products. She relies mainly on the computer and telephone to perform these duties.

During the interview, she expressed how interested she is in the prospect of telecommuting. In fact, this is something that has been brought up frequently at work. As we move toward a paperless society, the finance industry seems to require less personal contact. Since she works over the phone and does not deal directly with the public, her job can easily switch over to telecommuting. She is quite independent at work and rarely comes in contact with other coworkers. She depends on computers as her main source of information. There are two major problems that have been addressed regarding the possible transition of this position to telecommuting. First, there is always the issue of funding. Telecommuting requires a high level of technology. Businesses find it hard to make a great deal of investment on this fairly new concept. Second, there is little opportunity for quality control if telecommuting is implemented. The level of service provided can not be closely monitored. Despite these issues, personal banking remains to be a good prospect for telecommuting.

Ms. Flores lives in Beacon Hill and commutes five miles to Downtown Seattle. Although this might seem minimal, she travels by way of Interstate 5 during peak hours of traffic. Telecommuting can directly affect traffic congestion by lessening the number of drivers on the road, especially during peak hours. There are fifty Seafirst Loan-By-Phone employees, not to mention other supporting personnel. If implemented on a larger scale to include bank branches, telecommuting could mean an even greater amount of cars off the road.

T.R.
Patient Account Representative
Valley Medical Center

Commuting Statistics:

Ms. Reyes deals extensively with the processing of patient’s accounts. She deals with patients, insurance companies, as well as government agencies such as The Department of Health and Social Services. Although she works with patients personally from time to time, the bulk of her interactions is done over the phone.

Ms. Reyes feels that telecommuting can be feasibly applied to her job. As it is now, some of the billing for insurance companies can be done electronically. Others still require a form to be mailed. At any rate, the information needed to process insurance claims is readily available on computer. Accounts that are open can be researched online. Those that have been paid are researched through microfiche. Ms. Reyes thinks than microfiching can be eliminated if the database was expanded to included older accounts. As with Ms. Flores, concerns regarding funding and quality control are at issue.

Aside from working a Valley Medical Center, Ms. Reyes is also a student at the University of Washington. She spends a great deal of time traveling to and from work and school using Interstate 5. She travels during peak hours, as well. Telecommuting would save valuable travel time. There are 40 other Patient Account Representatives at Valley Medical Center. Currently, none of them carpool and most live 20 miles from work. They rely mainly on two already very congested freeways: Interstate 405 and Highway 167.

S.F.
Senior Marketing Officer
Washington State Employees Credit Union

Commuting Statistics:

Ms. Flores (sister of Dina Flores) is in charge of marketing at Washington State Employees Credit Union. Her job entails conducting seminars at state agencies, organizing workshops for credit union members, creating and implementing effective marketing strategies.

Since she deals extensively with the public, Ms. Flores feels that telecommuting is not an alternative for her. Aside from research, the bulk of her responsibilities requires her make personal appearances for meetings and presentations. This type of interaction cannot be replaced by computer-online communication. Since telecommuting is not applicable to Ms. Flores’ job, there can not be any projections on its effects on traffic.

Conclusion

By analyzing the three interviews, I have concluded that telecommuting is very feasible in the areas where contact with other people is already limited. Target areas are jobs that mainly involve information processing, such as in the areas of finance, accounting, and research among others. These jobs also require a high amount of independence and self-motivation. Telecommuting should be implemented on a large scale in order for it to have a noticeable effect on traffic congestion. Even if workers telecommute and average of two to three times a week, this would still mean a drastic reduction of cars on the roads, especially during peak hours. Although, I have focused on the area of traffic congestion, the benefits of telecommuting encompass a variety of areas: less wear and tear on the roads, less pollution, less amount of money spent on parking, less gas, no more parking fees, less wear and tear on your car, less time commuting, less time getting ready for work, less office space and related costs (heating, electricity, etc.), and less money spent on job related expenses, such as wardrobe and fast food.

(1)-O'Brien. (Fall, 1996). PNTAC Times

(2)-Miles, W. (Fall, 1996). PNTAC Times

(3)-Rabal J.M. (Fall, 1996). PNTAC Times

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