The Benefits of Telecommuting

Studies show that telecommuting is gaining popularity with many U.S. employers as they realize the cost benefits offered by telecommuting programs.
According to a study conducted by The Dieringer Research Group of WorldatWork (2006), the number of Americans telecommuting at least one day per month has grown by 10 percent in recent years, rising from 26.1 million in 2005 to 28.7 million in 2006, with roughly 20 percent of the workforce engaging in some type of telecommuting work. Predictions are that this number will continue to rise to an estimated 100 million workers by 2010 due to factors such as increased access to wireless and broadband connections, making it less expensive and more productive to
40 percent of IBM’s workforce has no official office. One-third of AT&T’s managers telecommute. At Sun Microsystems, Inc., nearly half of employees work from home (and they estimate savings of $400 million in real estate costs over six years as a result). By the end of 2007, all 4,000 corporate workers at Best Buy will be transitioned to a new "results-only work environment" (ROWE), which encourages employees to work any hours they please, where they please, as long as they get their work done.
Only 11 percent of workers take advantage of telecommuting as a work option move that can save an average of $688 a year in gasoline costs. That's according to the National Technology Readiness survey, produced by Rockbridge Associates, Inc. and the Center of Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland. Only 2 percent of Americans telecommute full-time, even though most have the technology to make it happen. Three out of four homes have Internet access; 66 percent have high-speed access. If everyone who had the option to telecommute did so, the number of Americans telecommuting would jump to 25 percent, and the nation would save $3.9 billion a year in fuel costs, the survey suggests.
Harprit Singh, CEO of Intellicomm, an Internet development and communications services firm, voices similar sentiments.
"For a telecommuting program to be effective, it should emphasize the benefits of work-life