員工在家辦公 企業如何管理?

Amy Johnson works from her home in Dixon, Ill., talking with clients and filing reports for her job as a fingerprint technician. In one way, though, she might as well be sitting at a desk next to her boss in Chicago.

艾米•約翰遜(Amy Johnson)是一名指紋鑑定師，她在自己位於伊利諾伊州迪克森(Dixon)的家中工作，在家裏與客戶討論問題、提交工作報告。當然，她其實也可以在芝加哥坐在老闆身旁工作。

Using a computer-monitoring program, Timothy Daniels, vice president of operations for Accurate Biometrics, can track whether Ms. Johnson and other employees are working - or slacking off. Once a week, he looks at summaries of 'what websites they're using, and for how long,' he says. 'It enables us to keep a watchful eye without being over-invasive.'

蒂莫西•丹尼爾斯(Timothy Daniels)是約翰遜所在公司Accurate Biometrics的運營副總裁，通過一款電腦監控軟件他可以瞭解到約翰遜和其他員工是在工作還是在偷懶。丹尼爾斯每週會查看記錄了他們上什麼網站、上網站的時間有多長的總結。他說，“這可以讓我們保持關注又不至於會過度侵犯（員工的隱私）。”

Ms. Johnson knows her computer is monitored, but 'it doesn't bother me,' she says. 'I'm not doing anything I shouldn't be doing.'

約翰遜知道她的電腦受到監控，但是她說這並未讓她感到不舒服，她沒有做任何不應該做的事情。

Working from home used to be a welcome break from the stress and interruptions of the office. (And let's be honest: It also offered the flexibility of squeezing in some errands or a nap between conference calls.)

在過去，在家工作是一個擺脫辦公室中的壓力和干擾的受歡迎的方法。（而且，說實話，在家工作時間靈活，我們可以擠出時間辦些雜事或是在電話會議的間隙打個盹。）

These days, working from home is more like being in the office, with bosses developing new ways to make sure employees are on task. Some track projects and schedule meetings on shared calendars. Others require 'virtual face time' via email, instant messaging or calls. And some, like Accurate Biometrics, monitor computer use of employees, both at home and in the office.

現如今，隨着管理者想出新方法來確定員工是否在幹活，在家工作越來越像在辦公室上班了。有些公司會跟蹤項目進度並在共享日程表上安排會議，有些公司則要求通過電子郵件、即時消息或者電話來進行“虛擬面談”。另一些公司，比如Accurate Biometrics，會監控員工的電腦使用情況，無論他們是在家工作還是在公司上班。

Gartner Inc., a Stamford, Conn., technology-research company, predicts use of computer security-monitoring programs will rise to 60% of employers by 2015, from fewer than 10% now. The systems are used mainly to secure sensitive data and comply with government rules, but they also generate lots of personal information on employees' online behavior. To avoid violating employees' privacy, employers should tell employees they're being monitored and track only business-related activities, attorneys say.

康涅狄格州斯坦福德(Stamford)的技術調研公司Gartner預計，到2015年，企業的電腦安全監控軟件使用量將從現在的不足10%升至60%。這些軟件主要用於保護敏感信息，同時也是爲了遵守政府的規定，但是它們也會生成許多有關員工上網行爲的私人信息。律師稱，爲了避免侵犯員工的隱私，企業應告知員工他們受到監控並只跟蹤與工作有關的上網活動。

The security program Mr. Daniels uses, InterGuard by Awareness Technologies in Los Angeles, is used by financial-services, health-care and other employers to track productivity, prevent leaks and comply with security regulations. Like most monitoring programs, it also allows Mr. Daniels to see whether all his employees, including 16 office workers and 24 who work from home, are using their computer time in productive ways. Employees know the program is in place.

丹尼爾斯所使用的安全軟件是洛杉磯Awareness Technologies公司生產的InterGuard，它被一些金融服務和醫療企業以及其他企業用來跟蹤員工的工作效率、防止信息泄露以及遵守信息安全方面的規定。與大多數監控軟件相同，它可以讓丹尼爾斯查看其所有員工（包括16名在辦公室上班和24名在家工作的員工）是否在有效地利用電腦。員工們都知道該監控軟件的存在。

Such programs can help bosses spot people who need help, as well as those who are wasting time, says Elena Proskumina, a sales specialist for NesterSoft, a Woodbridge, Ontario, maker of a monitoring program called WorkTime. One popular report among WorkTime clients is 'top Facebook users,' she says.

安大略伍德布里奇(Woodbridge)監控軟件生產商NesterSoft的銷售專員伊蓮娜•普洛斯庫米娜(Elena Proskumina)稱，此類軟件可以讓管理者發現誰需要幫助、誰又在浪費時間。她說，該公司監控軟件WorkTime的客戶最爲關注的監控信息是“上Facebook最多的人”。

Employers say the idea isn't to keep people chained to their jobs for eight hours straight. They realize that people working from home may take breaks to run errands or handle other non-work tasks.

各企業稱，監控員工的理念並不是爲了八小時連續不斷把員工綁在工作上。他們意識到，在家工作的員工可能會抽出時間來辦些雜事或是處理工作之外的其他事情。

Many of Celeste O'Keefe's 13 employees often work from home, which helps them manage the long hours their jobs can require, Ms. O'Keefe says. Ms. O'Keefe, chief executive of Dancel, a provider of litigation-support services for attorneys, uses SpectorSoft to help track time spent on client projects by all employees, either in the office or at home.

塞萊斯特•奧基弗(Celeste O'Keefe)是爲律師提供訴訟支持服務的Dancel公司的首席執行長，該公司位於密西西比州的迪艾伯維爾(d'Iberville)。她說，其13名員工中有很多人常常在家工作，這有助於他們更好地應對有時候需要長時間工作的要求。她利用一款名爲“SpectorSoft”的軟件來跟蹤所有員工花在客戶項目上的時間，無論他們是在辦公室還是在家上班。

Ms. O'Keefe says she doesn't use the program 'to snoop' on individuals. Still, after she noticed one home-based employee's output lagging for several months, the program enabled her to see that the employee was spending a lot of time writing Word documents, something not required for her job. After learning she was actually spending most of her workday studying for a master's degree, 'I had to let her go. I couldn't say, 'Oh, I'll trust you again,'' says Ms. O'Keefe, whose company is based in a d'Iberville, Miss.

奧基弗說，她使用這款軟件並不是爲了“窺探”員工。在注意到一名在家辦公的員工的工作進度落後了幾個月時間後，她利用這款軟件發現該員工花了很多時間寫Word文檔，但這並不是工作要求的內容。在瞭解到該員工實際上把大部分工作時間花在攻讀碩士學位之後，奧基弗說，“我必須讓她走人，我不能說‘噢，我可以再相信你一次。’”

The distinctions between working from home and from the office are also blurred because more people are splitting their weeks, and even their days, between home and office. The number of corporate employees who work from home at least one day a month has been rising 23% a year since 2007, on average, to 22.8 million last year, says Raymond Boggs, a vice president at IDC, a Framingham, Mass., market-research company. Those who work from home only one or two days a month are leading the trend, rising by an average 69.5% every year since 2007, to 3.3 million people last year, Mr. Boggs says.

在家辦公與在辦公室上班之間的區別也變得很模糊，因爲更多人每幾周甚至每幾天就會在家和辦公室之間輪換工作。馬薩諸塞州弗雷明漢(Framingham)市場研究公司IDC的副總裁雷蒙德•博格斯(Raymond Boggs)稱，自2007年以來，每個月至少在家工作一天的企業員工的數量平均每年上升了23%，在去年達到2280萬人。他還說，每個月只在家工作一兩天的人成爲主流，自2007年以來每年平均增加69.5%，在去年達到330萬人。

'The basic challenge for managers is getting trickier,' Mr. Boggs says. 'Some may work at home every Friday. Others leave at 3 p.m. to be with kids coming from school, then work after dinner from home,' he says.

博格斯指出，“管理者面臨的基本難題變得越來越棘手，有些人可能是每週五在家工作，另一些人則可能在下午三點下班和放學回家的孩子呆在一起，然後在晚飯後在家工作。”

Focusing on accomplishments rather than time is another way employers track at-home workers. And everyday tools such as videoconferencing, shared calendars, regular email and instant messaging help bosses track progress.

關注工作績效而非工作時長是企業用來跟蹤在家工作的員工的另一種方法。此外，視頻會議、共享日程表、常規性電子郵件和即時消息等此類日常工具也能幫助管理者瞭解員工的工作進度。

With most of its 940 employees working from home at least occasionally, Ryan LLC, a tax-services firm in Dallas, has managers set targets for each job and hold employees accountable. The firm has since seen gains in productivity and client satisfaction, and a drop in voluntary employee turnover, says Delta Emerson, an executive vice president for Ryan.

Ryan LLC是一家位於達拉斯的稅務服務公司，該公司擁有940名員工，其中大多數人至少會偶爾在家辦公。該公司會讓管理者爲每項工作制定目標，並讓員工承擔起責任。執行副總裁德爾塔•愛默生(Delta Emerson)稱，自實行該舉措之後，公司發現工作效率和客戶滿意度均有所上升，同時員工的主動離職率也在下降。

Every Monday, Chad Dunkin, a team leader for Ryan in Houston, meets with his four team members to set the week's agenda, framing objectives in specifics: 'We have project A, B, C and D, and we need them done by X date,' he says, and assigns tasks and timelines to each employee. After that, it doesn't matter where or even when they work, because 'we are all judged by results,' Mr. Dunkin says.

查德•鄧金(Chad Dunkin)是Ryan公司休斯頓分公司的一名團隊負責人，每週一他都會與四名同事會面，制定當週的工作日程並設定具體的目標。他說，他們會設定項目A、B、C、D，確定它們的完成期限，然後會給每名員工分配任務和設定時間表。鄧金說，在此之後，員工們在哪裏工作、甚至是什麼時候工作都無關緊要，因爲他們全都按照績效來評判工作。

Employees post their schedules on shared Outlook calendars and talk often on conference calls, says Heather Harrison, a senior consultant. When she is working from home, she instant messages or emails frequent updates to Mr. Dunkin. 'Working at home isn't much different from working at the office,' she says.

Ryan的高級諮詢顧問希瑟•哈里森(Heather Harrison)說，員工們會把他們的日常安排發到共享的Outlook日程表上，並且經常在電話會議上討論問題。在家工作時，她會給鄧金髮送即時消息或者經常發郵件彙報最新進展。她說，“在家工作與在辦公室工作並沒有多大差別。”