The coronavirus outbreak in the United States and in other countries has caused businesses to close offices or encourage their employees to work from home. Apple CEO Tim Cook took the step to send a message to his company’s global workforce to consider working from home for the next week, if their job allowed. While  businesses or their employees may consider telework a positive, health-related preventive measure, it may not always be the most optimal solution for the business itself and may not be available for some businesses altogether because of security concerns or the inability to provide services.

Businesses considering moving their workforce, even temporarily, to a teleworking model should consider the following five issues before embarking on a wholesale conversion:

Available Resources and Resource Allocation