HP Axes Telecommuting Options

I've long had a love-hate relationship with telecommuting job arrangements. On one hand, I love the ability to cut out a long drive to work and the convenience that being at home during the day offers: I can open the door for the UPS guy, and I needn't bother with troublesome pants.

And yet, as a manager, I realize that telecommuting can present problems for an office and the other members of the staff who were able to haul themselves out of bed that morning. The biggest problem is, of course, reaching someone who's "working from home." It's much more problematic to dial a phone, leave a voice mail (because no one working at home is ever near the phone, it seems), and wait for a return call instead of just peeking over the cubicle partition to ask that person a simple question. Then there's simple jealousy: Other staff members feel ripped off that they can't work in their pajamas. And telecommuting plans can be ripe for abuse by less ethical workers.

So I'm torn. And so is Hewlett-Packard, which just announced that it will be scaling back the telecommuting options for its IT employees for a simple reason: It thinks, rightly so, that a team environment isn't well fostered by a group that doesn't physically occupy the same space. This normally wouldn't be news of much consequence, but HP is considered a pioneer of telecommuting, having launched its first telecommuting plans in the 1960s.

The linked article, from the San Jose Mercury News, offers more explanation of the HP decision while outlining many of the pros and cons of the telecommute. But I'd like to hear from you: Does your company offer telecommuting options? Do you use them? Does anyone abuse them? How well does the system work?