Posted on Tue, Oct. 20, 2009
Americans are increasingly interested in telecommuting, working part- or full-time from home or a remote office aided by shared information and communication technologies. It allows employees to work from anywhere in the world with secure Internet access.
Business professionals place high value on telecommuting, moving employers to offer the option to prospective hires. A recent study conducted by staffing consultant Robert Half International surveyed 1,400 chief financial officers and found great interest in telecommuting. Nearly half said telecommuting is second only to salary as a means of attracting talent, while one-third said it’s the best way. The study also found younger workers are increasingly demanding the option to telecommute.
Telecommuting isn’t just advantageous for employees, however. According to the American Electronics Association, part-time telecommuting potentially can decrease the cost of business. Office overhead includes such expenses as a lease or mortgage on the office space, basic utilities like electricity and water, and multiple phone and fax lines. If these costs are shifted to the employee, the company can save thousands of dollars. In a study conducted by the Telework Coalition, a D.C.-based telecommuting advocacy group, 13 organizations with a collective 77,000 telecommuters were surveyed. The study found those organizations that implemented telecommuting saved $10,000 per employee annually in reduced office space and resources.
Reduced environmental impact is another advantage of telecommuting. Cutting down commuter traffic reduces the amount of toxic gases, dust particles and chemicals sprayed into the atmosphere and washed into nearby water sources. Last year former Vice President Al Gore participated in a videoconference linking him from a location in Nashville, Tenn. to participants in San Jose, Calif. and London. The virtual panel discussed business technology’s impact on the environment with emphasis on climate change. The event featured existing business technology and the Internet to highlight their pivotal roles in aiding collaboration among outlying parties while leaving low environmental impact. The Web conference proved the point as it eliminated the participants’ need to drive or fly to a central meeting location, thus reducing pollution.
Avoiding traffic congestion, staving off frequent trips to the gas pump and hindering excessive wear and tear on a vehicle are among many reasons workers like telecommuting. Work hours become more flexible as the telecommuter can access business files and information at any time. Telecommuters can balance their work and home lives by accommodating family activities or running errands throughout the day and returning to the home office to finish tasks. Telecommuting also provides better access for disabled, retired and semi-retired professionals to enter and return to the workforce.
Regardless of their field, career or job title, telecommuters need access to their company data. Working from home or a remote office typically requires a telecommuter data access to a company’s network, which is often a Virtual Private Network (VPN), Local Area Network (LAN), or Wide Area Network (WAN). For a telecommuter to succeed, he or she will need minimum requirements such as a laptop computer, phone line and high-speed Internet connection. It’s likely the telecommuter also will need a printer, fax machine and a variety of software from basic office packages to Web conferencing programs.
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