Remote Intelligence and Telecommuting: A Comparative Analysis

This article discusses the rise of remote intelligence and telecommuting, their impact on the workplace, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. It also explores the ethics of using remote intelligence and the threats it poses to western nations. The article provides a comparative analysis of remote intelligence and telecommuting.

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Introduction
The industrial age saw most of the work executed at the workplace using equipment that
could not be applied in other locations. However, considering that the information age has now
set in, more and more businesses are becoming information-based rather than dependant on
location (Fonner and Stache, 2012 p.247). The onset of information and communication
technologies (ICTs) meant that the geography of work would also change. In fact, for a majority
of the current working population, execution of the day to day duties does not have to take place
at a single centralized work location. Instead of travelling their respective places of work, the
work is brought closer to them and this is done via telecommunication links regardless of the
current location. As a result, new methods of executing workplace duties are emerging and
becoming tremendously common. Telecommuting is defined as the act of conducting operations
from a remote area. The remote location is often a place outside the traditional office and this
may include a hotel room, a coffee shop, or even at home. Multiple technological advancements
such as webcams, instant messaging, phones, internet, and faxes have been the main facilitators
of this form of working arrangement (Rehman and Al-Hadhrami, 2010 p.4994). A majority of
the telecommuters work in the communication, high-tech, and the financial industries. In
addition, some companies from the western nations are adopting remote intelligence whereby
they hire remote labor from developing nations where salaries are relatively lower.
The rise of Tele-Commuting and the increase in Networked and Separated Workplaces
since 1995
The practice of telecommuting has grown significantly from the 1990s. This observation
can be traced back to the never-ending demand on firms to raise their profits, while at the same

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time, cutting their costs of operation. Telecommuting, which is viewed as an option to the daily
arrangements whereby employees execute their specified roles, has undergone significant
transformations in the recent years. According to Ye (2012), companies are now facing intense
pressure to develop more adaptable means for the modern “corporate office” considering the fact
that workers are now in a position to access data. The modern workers now have the voice
devices and additional services which are internet-enabled installed in their home locations and
this has made telecommuting an essential practice in the business world (Ye, 2012 p.21).
Multiple studies regarding telecommuting have revealed that as at 2009, the proportion of
companies using the services of teleworkers doubled in a span of 4 years. The figure stood at
25% in 2003 and later shot to 50% in 2007 (Ye, 2012 p.21). In an effort to reduce their working
spaces, many big telecommunication companies such as Siemens, Telia, Yahoo, Ericsson, and
Vattenfall, have decided to consider flexible offices as possible solutions. In the near future, this
telecommuting phenomenon is predicted to rise even higher considering that workers are more
concerned about their security as well as the escalating fuel prices (on the side of the employee)
and the urgent need to minimize the working space (on the side of the employers). Potter (2003)
postulates that the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon as well as the resulting anthrax threats are some of the factors that have renewed the
telecommuting interest on both the employers’ and the employees’ sides (Potter, 2003 p.83).

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The figure 1 above outlines the 3 main telecommuting adoption factors. First,
technological trends impact telecommuting implementation as electronic devices will be needed
for communication. Second, organizational factors as well as the specifications of the job impact
implementation of telecommuting. Third, environmental factors such as the presence or absence
of technology services providers, regulatory agencies, and the overall structure of the industry of
the organization will impact telecommuting adoption.
"Remote Intelligence" as it applies to remote highly trained and Skilled Workers
In the past years, location and language have been the two main invincible barriers
hindering the highly skilled individuals from entering the labor markets. With the emergence of
telerobotics and telepresence, however, things are now taking a new twist. Heinze, Wierschke,
Schacht, and von Löwis (2017) explain the emergence of remote intelligence. According to the

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authors, firms will now be in a position to source for highly skilled employees from overseas
developing nations, where the cost of living and wages are relatively lower, and this will be
achieved via telepresence technologies (Heinze, Wierschke, Schacht, and von Löwis, 2017 p.
413). In a developing nation such as Kenya, for instance, an accountant with an experience of 5
years pockets approximately $900 per month whereas an accountant with similar specifications
in Britain takes home $3,900 per month. This can be viewed as a globalization extension; it faces
out the arbitrage that cushions the highly skilled employees in the western nations. In essence,
the tele-migrants will be recruited to execute administrative roles, control machines or ensure
business development, putting more value from abroad. Heinze, Wierschke, Schacht, and von
Löwis (2017) argue that workers at the service sector need to be less worried about artificial
intelligence but worry more about a more significant threat which is virtual outsourcing or
remote intelligence. Some of the examples of remote intelligence are evident today. One good
example is telemedicine whereby doctors diagnose and treat patients remotely. Telesurgery is
another striking example which entails surgeons conducting operations on their patients from
hundreds of miles away. Another excellent example is the use of drones (Fries, Short,
Langebrake, Patten, Kerr, Kibelka, Burwell, and Jalbert, 2001 p.654).
Why Companies’ use of Remote Intelligence is not necessarily Telecommuting
Though most people use these two terms interchangeably, there is a small difference
between them. To start with telecommuting, the idea was initially formulated by Jack Nilles, a
physicist who also doubled up as an engineer. During the process of designing communication
systems and space vehicles for NASA and the American Air Force, he proposed that
telecommunications could be adopted to replace the significant amount of time workers lost

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while moving from home to their work locations (Ovard and Pax, 1999 p.84). The definition of
telecommuting can thus be borrowed from the origin of the term. Nilles coined the terms
telework and telecommuting as he was dealing with projects that allowed working from home.
On the other hand, remote intelligence means that the employee lives in a different geographic
location from the main headquarters of the company (Michinov, Brunot, Le Bohec, Juhel, and
Delaval, 2011 p.250). In brief, the main reasons why companies’ use of remote intelligence is
not necessarily telecommuting are explained below. First, it is worth noting that telecommuting
is a form of work arrangement whereby the employer gives the employee a chance to carry out
work activities outside the main office. Often, the employee can work in various locations
including at home, at the coffee shop, and so forth. The hallmark of telecommuting is that the
employer has the ability can constantly make contacts via the phone or through the internet
(Shah and González-Ibáñez, 2011 p.915). On the part of the employee, he/she has control of the
location and time factors. On the other hand, remote intelligence entails companies recruiting
highly skilled workers to perform specified roles from areas far away from the office. One of the
significant differences between telecommuting and remote intelligence is that remote work can
be executed from anywhere. A worker in India, for instance, can work for a company in the
United States without changing location.
Nature of Remote Intelligence and how this has been enabled
On a useful perspective, globalization can be viewed as a type of arbitrage propagated by
the fact that various issues vary from one nation to the other. In the modern world, there are
significant international differences in salaries and wages and this is where the term remote
intelligence gains relevance (Bentley, Teo, McLeod, Tan, Bosua, and Gloet, 2016 p.2010). At

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the moment, arbitrating wage differences has become a seemingly uphill task. Moreover, mass
migration has attracted immense political resistance meaning that low-wage employees cannot
work outside their home nations. Therefore, the basic nature of remote intelligence is that
communication technology, as well as improvements in computing power, will make it more
cost-effective for the employer and employee. This means that a worker in India can work for a
company in the United States without having to move. This phenomenon is enabled by the
technology called telerobotics which is a technology that eliminates the need for physical
presence in the workplace (Fonner and Roloff, 2012 p.215). The robots are controlled by remote
intelligence as opposed to artificial intelligence. Controlling robots by remote intelligence means
that a person in a remote location is controlling the robot. Unlike artificial intelligence, remote
intelligence possesses flexibility and judgment thus overly disruptive to the poor and rich nations
more so in the short term. Studies indicate that once robots become cheaper, workers in the
manual services jobs will face severe competition from low-wage workers in developing nations.
Notably, robots are less likely to offer a complete replacement to the in-person employees.
However, it is worth noting that these robots could execute a significant number of tasks.
Threats posed by Remote Intelligence to the Western Nations
As mentioned earlier, remote intelligence poses significant threats to the western nations.
This is mainly due to the fact that workers in the western nations earn significantly higher wages
than their counterparts in the western nations (Van Gorp and Mazanek, 2011 p.590). As
companies in the western nations look forward to saving on salary costs, they will have to
consider sourcing for labor from the developing nations. A company in Britain that decides to

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seek the services of a Kenyan accountant via remote intelligence, for instance, will save $3,000
per month. This will mean that the accountants in Britain will find it hard to sustain their jobs.
Ethics of using remote intelligence
The notable recent developments on remote intelligence have created a tremendous
interest from both the general public and the media. The main ethical question that arises when
the term remote intelligence is mentioned is what could be the legal, moral, and societal
repercussions of sourcing for labor from the developing nations and disregarding the locals.
Another ethical consideration that comes into play is whether applying remote intelligence
makes sense for the business and also whether employees should be allowed to work from a
remote location. It is worth noting that a majority of companies are taking the ROWE (results-
oriented work environment) approach which means that these companies mainly focus on getting
the work done rather than worrying about where or when the work was executed (De Menezes
and Kelliher, 2011 p.458). Other companies have made it compulsory for employees to conduct
their activities in their respective offices, not remotely, to enhance communication and
collaboration. Other firms have launched flexible schedules to cater for personal needs, elder
care, and child care. Other ethical factors that should be considered when using remote
intelligence on the employee’s side is strict adherence to the work timings, a strict no personal
errand during the working hours, keeping touch with the employer, and honesty.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Remote Intelligence
To start with the advantages, remote intelligence enables the execution of workplace
duties from a remote location. Instead of employees having to move from their current locations,

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they can work from wherever they currently located as long as they have access to the internet
(Gajendran, Harrison, and Delaney‐Klinger, 2015 p.361). Second, the employers will reduce
salary costs as the employees recruited from the developing nations demand less pay. In addition
to that, the companies will minimize costs associated with maintenance and buying of office
equipment. The employers do not have to hire large working spaces as well. Third, remote
intelligence increases the efficiency of the workforce considering that no time is wasted on the
busy roads (Spinuzzi, 2012 p.390). People working in remote locations can utilize the time
wasted by the regular office goers to ensure maximum productivity of the company.
Having looked at the benefits, it is also worth noting that remote intelligence is associated
with its equal share of demerits. One of the key demerits is that productivity in the company may
reduce due to poor connection with fellow workers. Working from remote locations makes it
impossible to hold face-to-face conversations, discuss projects with workmates (Thorstenson,
Molin, and Lundström, 2014 p.245). In essence, doing duties in groups creates a sense of
inclusion. People who work away from the workplace are often treated as outsiders. Another
drawback is that a worker who works remotely at the comfort of his/her home is likely to be
distracted by external factors. A remote employee with children, for instance, will spend a great
deal of working time taking care of the children. Often, each and every movement from the
children will be followed by some attention. Another significant challenge of working from a
remote location is that it becomes challenging to separate work from personal life. This mainly
emanates from the fact that there is no clear separation of the home space and workplace (Van
Yperen, Rietzschel, and De Jonge, 2014 p.1001). Often are the times when a remote worker is
constantly checking his/her phone to make sure that they do not miss any message from the

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employer. The eventual result is that the productivity of the business will be affected by poor
work and life balance on the side of the employee.
Leadership Style and Skills Required to Sustainably Manage Remote Intelligence
Notably, managing remote employees presents its unique set of challenges as compared
to managing people in a single location. Concepts that bear fruits in an office might not work for
remote employees. One of the important leadership styles that should be adopted when dealing
with remote employees is creating time for small talks. Often are the times managing remotely
entails giving instructions, but good managers should consider building a rapport (Green and
Roberts, 2010 p.50). A rapport is essential when dealing with problems concerning workers.
Also, a good remote leader is indefatigable. Notably, managing remote teams also means
working in odd hours and long days due to the difference in time zones. Third, a remote leader
ought to be a company evangelist as he/she will be required to feed the remote employees with
positive issues including brand messaging, the values of the organization, and the culture of the
company (Kelliher and Anderson, 2010 p.100). In a scenario where there is negative news, the
leader should be willing to communicate even more to counteract the bad image. Besides that, a
remote leader should be encouraging. Notably, just like the employees in the office setting, the
remote employees undergo their fair share of challenges and thus the needs of a strong manager
who will keep focused on their objectives. This can be achieved through positive energy and
optimism. Another essential character of a good remote leader is approachability. Open
communication ensures that managers are always in touch with the developments of the
company, but when it comes to remote employees, things could be more different. If, for
instance, a manager is often the last person to be fed with the bad news regarding the company’s

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affairs, then that should be taken as a red flag (Fonner and Roloff, 2010 p.336). Finally, a good
remote leader should possess all the qualities of a leader such as offering emotional support,
combating communication limitations, and encouraging frequent communication.
Conclusion
As noted from this paper, telecommuting and remote intelligence are two different terms
which are often used interchangeably. Telecommuting refers to conducting operations from a
remote area such as home, coffee shop, and so forth. On the other hand, remote intelligence
refers to companies recruiting highly skilled workers to perform specified roles from areas far
away from the office. For instance, a New York-based firm may choose to hire a professional
from India to work remotely for the company. Also, it has been noted with a lot of concern that
remote intelligence poses significant threats to the western workers as a rise in this trend would
see them lose their jobs. On the same note, using remote intelligence requires a strict adherence
to the ethics on both the sides of the employer and the employee. Remote leaders should also
possess their unique set of leadership qualities.

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