Exploring Telecommuting and Remote Intelligence in Modern Workplace

This essay explores the evolving landscape of telecommuting and remote intelligence in modern workplaces, emphasizing the critical management functions required to effectively manage employees in separated locations. It delves into the rise of telecommuting, driven by increased productivity and improved work-life balance, and contrasts it with remote intelligence, which involves human-controlled robots performing tasks remotely. The essay highlights the potential threat of remote intelligence to workers in developed countries due to job displacement and ethical challenges, while also acknowledging its advantages in reducing labor costs and increasing efficiency. The analysis covers the ethical considerations surrounding remote intelligence, particularly regarding liability and the absence of explicit guidelines, and concludes by weighing the benefits and disadvantages of both telecommuting and remote intelligence for companies and employees alike, emphasizing the need for careful consideration of the impact on the workforce.

Running head: TELECOMMUTING AND REMOTE INTELLIGENCE 1
Telecommuting and Remote Intelligence
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Introduction
Nowadays, organizations are continuously looking for methods to acquire a competitive
advantage. One of the ways to achieve this objective is to enhance the productivity of the
employees. To ensure employees are productive, organizations allow them to work in separate
locations and away from the direct supervision of managers. Using telecommuting employers
can reduce the time wasted by employees when getting to work and increase their productivity
(Siha & Monroe, 2006). In this essay, the focus is on the management functions that enhance
telecommuting. Additionally, the essay addresses the use of remote intelligence in the modern
workplaces.
Critical Management Functions Required to Manage People in Separated Locations
Telecommuting affects the relationship between managers and the employees. According
to Dambrin (2004), it makes it difficult for the managers to control the employees. The difficulty
arises because the communication between the two is affected. The use of telecommuting
reduces the formal communication between the two (Dambrin, 2004). This knowledge proves
that the development of a management system that focuses on this issue is essential for the
survival of the company. Wojcak et al. (2016) state that management functions can be applied
after effective communication is established and the employees are motivated through
leadership. It can be argued that the management functions required are influenced by the type of
communication and leadership used.
One of the critical management functions required for telecommuting is planning.
Jeseviciute-Ufartiene (2014) argues that planning plays a significant role in the management
process of an organization. For this case, Pyöriä (2011) proposes that management should plan
the design of the work arrangements to ensure it complies with the legal requirement and goals

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of the organization. It can be argued that planning entails the development of a strategy that will
allow employees to work remotely without affecting their relationship with their supervisors. For
example, managers can schedule meeting at the end of each week to debrief with the employees
and discuss issues that occurred during that week. Overall, planning should be used to manage to
telecommute.
Another critical management function that is required in telecommuting is control.
According to Šljivić Skorup & Vukadinović (2015), control is used by management to achieve
the company's objectives. Controlling entails putting measures that ensure the employees work
for the fulfillment of the company's goals, not their own needs. In telecommuting, applying
indirect control measures enhances its success. Peters et al. (2016) argue that indirect controls
such as pay associated with individual performance increase the use of telecommuting.
Alternatively, direct control measures, such as the use of managers, do not support the use of
telecommuting (Peters et al., 2016). Therefore, managers can use indirect or direct control
measures to influence how telecommuting is used in the organization depending on the needs of
the company.
The Rise of Telecommuting
Telecommuting is a common practice in modern workplaces. According to Siha and
Monroe (2006), telecommuting is the use of technology to allow employees to work away from
the office. The devices that enable the practice may include computers and telephones.
Additionally, telecommuting is the use of a work arrangement that is distributed (Siha &
Monroe, 2006). For example, some workers may use a generic office to carry out their work.
Another type of telecommuting occurs when employees extend their working hours after leaving
the office by working from home (Siha & Monroe, 2006). This type is mainly common with

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professions such as lawyers where work can be done at home. The last type is where the
employees are mobile (Siha & Monroe, 2006). This form is common with a sales team.
Telecommuting can be done in different ways due to the advancement in technological
inventions.
Telecommuting has been on the rise since the 1990s. In the 1990s, approximately seven
million United States employees were involved in telecommuting, and by 2006 they were around
nineteen million (Siha & Monroe, 2006). Mainly, the rise of this practice is due to the benefits
that firms enjoy. For example, it increases the productivity of the employees (Gajendran &
Harrison, 2007). The increased productivity occurs because less time is wasted, especially in
traffic jams. Another motivating factor is that it enables the employees to balance between work
and family life (Gajendran & Harrison, 2007). It allows the employees to schedule their chores
and work tasks efficiently since less time is wasted. The use of telecommuting has increased due
to the benefits firms and employees enjoy.
Remote Intelligence
Remote intelligence is also a growing practice in the modern workplace. According to
Baldwin (2017), remote intelligence occurs when human beings perform tasks using robots by
operating them remotely. The robots are not operated using artificial intelligence. The
technology of using these robots is referred to as telerobotics (Baldwin, 2017). For example,
surgeons can perform surgery on patients remotely using robots. Baldwin (2016) argued that
advancement in technology is making it economical for people to work remotely. Remote
intelligence is economical because labor is cheaper in some countries especially the developing
ones, which means firms save on labor cost. Additionally, using robots minimizes human errors,

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which increases productivity for the firm. Generally, the use of remote intelligence is
characterized by the use of robots that are controlled by humans.
Remote intelligence has been enabled in various industries. For instance, in the medical
field, it has been facilitated through telesurgery. Telesurgery occurs when surgeons operate on
patients remotely through robots (Eveleth, 2014). The use of remote intelligence in medicine has
been necessitated by the requirement of emergency operations in remote location, especially
during war. Remote intelligence has also been used in the hotel industry where a robot can clean
a hotel room remotely under the guidance of a hotel cleaner (Baldwin, 2017). In these industries,
remote intelligence has been enabled by the rise of globalization. Globalization has made it
easier for employers to access cheap labor from developing countries, which is common for the
manufacturing industries (Salvalaggio, 2017). For the service industries, it was harder to
implement such practices, but the use of remote intelligence has permitted this.
Remote Intelligence Differs from Telecommuting
Remote intelligence differs from telecommuting in the method of operation. As
mentioned earlier, remote intelligence occurs when a person operates a task remotely using a
robot while telecommunicating occurs when an employee is working outside the office. In both
cases, the employee performs the task remotely using different methods. In remote intelligence,
the employees face the threat of losing their source of livelihood while in telecommuting the
threat is not there. Remote intelligence poses a threat because some workers may lose their jobs
due to the use of robots. Additionally, those workers lose their jobs when the organization
prefers to use cheap labor from developing countries.
Remote intelligence and telecommuting provide different advantages to a company.
Remote intelligence has provided a way for companies to reduce the labor cost of highly skilled

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employees. The company can reduce cost by hiring the experienced professionals in a
developing country where labor is cheap. Using remote intelligence, the employee can perform
the tasks required despite the geographical location. On the other hand, telecommuting allows a
company to save on costs by minimizing the use of resources. For example, it is more efficient
for employees to work away from the office and reduce time wastage. The use of this method
increases the job satisfaction of the employee, which improves their performance (Siha &
Monroe, 2006). Ultimately the productivity of the company grows.
Remote Intelligence Significant Threat to the Workers in Developed Western Countries
Remote intelligence is a threat to the sustainability of labor in the developed countries.
According to Salvalaggio (2017), remote intelligence is a threat to the highly skilled workers.
Remote intelligence allows highly skilled employees to perform tasks using robots, which makes
it easier for a company to hire only one highly skilled employee. For example, a surgery who
conducts remote operation using remote intelligence may be required to perform surgeries on
patients who visit different branches of the hospital. In this case, the hospital may decide not to
hire another specialist. This decision may lead to the unemployment of other highly skilled
professionals. Therefore, the use of remote intelligence poses a threat to the workforce in the
developed countries.
Remote intelligence is also a threat to the labor forces in the developed countries because
it affects their productivity. A study about the use of drugs revealed that drug abuse and labor
participation are related (Salvalaggio, 2017). According to Salvalaggio (2017), the research also
showed that men who were not employed used pain prescription medicine daily. The use of these
drugs leads to death when they are abused. It can be argued that the loss of jobs due to the use of
remote intelligence can lead to addiction, which affects the lives of the employees. Therefore, the

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use of remote intelligence is a threat to the workforce because it leads to the loss of jobs, which
may affect the productivity of the employees.
Ethics of Remote Intelligence
The use of remote intelligence may lead to the rise of ethical challenges. The use of
remote intelligence is supposed to be under the ethical guidelines, which ensure that humans are
protected from harm. Presently, there are no ethical guidelines that explicitly outline how remote
intelligence can be used. A challenge regarding ethics and the use of remote intelligence arises
when the role of the robot is considered. The robot is not capable of having a moral standing
because it cannot make rational decisions. Therefore, it is may be difficult to determine who is
liable in case a robot does something wrong.
Advantages of Remote Intelligence
The use of remote intelligence has the following benefits. The first advantage is that it
assists to reduce labor cost for the company. As mentioned earlier, the use of artificial
intelligence allows a company to use cheap labor from developing countries that helps to save on
costs. Another advantage is that it helps to increase the productivity of the company. The
increase in productivity occurs due to the job satisfaction enjoyed by employees, which improves
their performance. The other advantage to the company is that it reduces errors, which increases
the efficiency of the firm. The use of robots makes it easier for the tasks to be done without the
risk of errors. Ultimately, the use of remote intelligence is beneficial to the company through
increasing its productivity.
The use of remote intelligence is also beneficial to the employees. The first benefit is that
it allows employees in developing countries to get job opportunities. Despite some employees
losing their jobs, the use of remote intelligence provides jobs for others. The second benefit is

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that it reduces human errors. For example, surgeries performed using robots make it easier to
avoid human errors. The use of remote intelligence also makes it easier for the employee to
balance between life and work. The balance is achieved because the employee can work from a
different location, which means some of the tasks may be done at home.
Disadvantages of Remote Intelligence
The use of remote intelligence has disadvantages. The first disadvantage is that it
threatens the sustainability of the labor force. As mentioned earlier, the use of remote
intelligence may lead to the loss of jobs for some highly skilled individuals. For example, the
New York Stock Exchange reduced the number of floor traders from around 5000 to 400
(Salvalaggio, 2017). The second disadvantage is that it creates ethic challenges for the company.
For example, according to Eveleth (2014), it becomes challenging when an error occurs during
telesurgery, and the surgeon is supposed to determine who is liable. The use of remote
intelligence creates ethical challenges because it is difficult to decide on the moral standing of
the robots used. Using remote intelligence is disadvantageous due to the effect on the employees
and its relationship with ethics.
The use of remote intelligence may not be effective in all circumstances. Salvalaggio
(2017) states that doing business face to face is an effective method. Psychologists argue that
there are micro-expressions that can be used to determine if someone is lying or being truthful
(Salvalaggio, 2017). These micro-expressions make it easier to carry out business meeting
because parties involved can analyze each other. Using the current technology, one cannot view
the micro-expressions, which makes it difficult to determine if someone is lying (Salvalaggio,
2017). Based on this assessment, the use of remote intelligence may not be appropriate for all

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situations especially when dealing with clients. However, due to the advancement in technology
developers may provide videos that may show micro-expressions in future.
Leadership Style Required to Manage Remote Intelligence
Remote intelligence can be managed using different leadership styles depending on the
situation. For instance, Nanjundeswaraswamy and Swamy (2014) suggest that transformational
leadership can be used by the management to alter the employees’ views. The employees can be
influenced by the leaders to ensure they support the implementation of remote intelligence
practices. The use of this leadership style allows the leader to transform the employees by paying
attention to their needs (Nanjundeswaraswamy & Swamy, 2014). For this case, the employees
can address their concerns about the threat of using remote intelligence. The manager can use
this opportunity to assure them that their jobs would be safe and no one would get fired. In case,
anyone does get fired the managers can ensure that they understand the significance of using
remote intelligence despite the loss of employment.
The second leadership style that can be used is transactional leadership. According to
Nanjundeswaraswamy and Swamy (2014), transactional leadership entails the use of a reward
system to motivate the employees. In this case, managers can ensure the employees use remote
intelligence by rewarding those that use it through bonuses. The managers can use a performance
management system to evaluate the employees' performance to ascertain that the employee's
performance has increased before offering the reward. Additionally, the style can be used to
discourage certain behaviors by using the negative rewards (Nanjundeswaraswamy & Swamy,
2014). For this case, management can use the performance evaluation to identify those who need
to improve their performance and develop strategies to improve. The negative reward would be
listing the employee in the group that requires performance improvement.

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Conclusion
Telecommuting is an essential practice in modern organizations. It is advantageous
because it increases the productivity of the organizations by enhancing the performance of
employees. Despite this advantage, it can be replaced by the use of remote intelligence. Remote
intelligence allows employees to work remotely and perform tasks. The use of remote
intelligence is advantageous to the employer because it assists in the development of practices
that take advantage of globalization. The use of remote intelligence allows organizations to use
cheap labor, which saves in costs. However, it poses the threat of affecting the labor force in the
developed countries and creates ethical challenges. Despite these concerns, the use of remote
intelligence is inevitable due to the advancement in technology.

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