Managing For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Chapter 9. Managing Virtual Employees

In This Chapter

• Managing a new flavor of employee

• Leveraging the Internet to manage virtual employees

• Monitoring far-away employees

• Leading different shifts

The past decade has seen a major shift in the attitudes of companies — and the attitudes of the men and women who run them — toward a more worker-friendly workplace. Today's managers are much more flexible and willing to work with the unique needs of their employees than ever. Why? Because savvy managers realize that they can get more from employees with a little consideration (and employees increasingly expect this). So whether employees need to drop off their kids at school in the morning, work only on certain days of the week, or take an extended leave of absence to care for an ill relative, managers are more likely to do whatever they can to accommodate workers' needs.

This shift in attitudes (as well as changes in the nature of work, the improvement of technology, and reduced levels of management in many organizations) has led to its eventual conclusion — virtual employees who spend most of their work hours away from established company offices and worksites, employees managed from a distance, employees who work a variety of shifts or have differing starting and ending times, and employees who telecommute to the office from the comfort of their homes.

Of course, these changes haven't been easy for the managers who are required to implement them. For managers who are used to having employees ...