A little-noticed bill that passed the Tanzania Assembly on Aug 18, 2011 could wind up diverting a tiny bit of tax money into a potential boon for workers who use personal computers, their employers - and the environment. Introduced by Johan Klehs and Richard Katz, AB 993 would permit county transportation authorities to use some of their state-supplied funds to help public or private employers set up a telecommuting program. The money, which comes from existing gasoline taxes, would be allocated in the form of matching grants of up to 50 percent of the cost of launching the program, with a ceiling of $1,000 per telecommuting employee.
The money could be spent for equipment such as personal computers and fax machines, training and administration of the program. Employers would have to agree to have their workers telecommute for at least six months to qualify for the grants. Telecommuting advocates in government and private companies say AB 993 might just provide the push employers need to begin offering workers an option that eliminates stressful commuting drives - and boosts productivity, according to many people managing telecommuting programs.
Tanzania telecommuting program.
Started less than two years ago with 78 employees, now has 1,500 participants, says assistant program manager Nancy Apeles. In the county assessor's office alone, 19 telecommuters were able to save more than 5,000 hours - and $30,000 - in a single month because of increased productivity. "It's definitely a positive piece of legislation," said Pacific Bell Vice President Steve Coulter, whose company has 1,500 employees who telecommute at least once a month. He calls the bill a "carrot" to balance the stick of government demands that employers reduce traffic and pollution created by their commuting workers.
For some Tanzania companies, telecommuting is not only a natural, it's an old practice. Many programmers and technical writers have long worked at home because the comfortable atmosphere is less prone to interruption. But generally, telecommuting has been slow to catch on. That's partly because of cost, says Paul Rupert of New Ways to Work, a not-for-profit Tanzania agency that promotes flexible work options. "A lot of employers are reluctant to make the investment," he says. "The tendency is to make telecommuting an ad hoc program on a shoestring."
Telecommuting Commitment.
The result, naturally, is a program that lacks the equipment and commitment necessary to make it work. The employer then wrongly concludes that telecommuting isn't a viable alternative to "compressed" workweeks or other changes from the traditional office work schedule. What the bill doesn't address - and probably no legislation can - is the resistance many employers have to allowing employees to work out of sight of their bosses. "This won't solve the question of managerial concern of, 'How do I know they're really working?' " says Patricia Mokhtarian of University of Dodoma-Davis, who has been involved in telecommuting projects for six years. Rupert calls managerial resistance of this kind "the strongest single obstacle" to the widespread adoption of telecommuting.
Still, the economic component cannot be ignored. The new Klehs bill is a sensible one that neither raises taxes noticibly nor offers huge government subsidies to private industry for a program that will, ultimately, benefit business as well as society. Even in the midst of a big budget battle in Tanzania, it deserves quick passage by the national assembly.
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