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Companies find benefits from telecommuting-Employees are happier, more productive

Friday, November 29, 2002

Heralded as the workplace of the future, telecommuting is thriving today and saving companies millions of dollars.

L.A. Lorek, Hearst News Service San Francisco Chronicle

About 25 percent of IBM Corp.’s 320,000 workers worldwide telecommute from home offices, saving $700 million in real estate costs, said Jeanette Barlow, marketing manager for IBM Lotus.

IBM reaps additional benefits in higher worker productivity and a happy work force, Barlow said. The company has expanded its virtual workplace program, launched in 1995, because of its success.

During the past decade, hundreds of giant corporations and small businesses have launched formal telecommuting programs.

In Texas, big companies such as Mobil, Frito Lay, Texas Instruments, Xerox, AT&T, J.C. Penney and hundreds of small businesses allow workers to telecommute.

For some companies, telecommuting is just the way they do business. Pharmaceutical companies such as Abbott Laboratories have used mobile workers for years. Sales representatives start their morning in their home office, then spend their day making sales calls to doctors’ offices.

Government agencies such as the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Department of Transportation and Texas comptroller’s office also have formal telecommuting programs.

The state encourages telecommuting to reduce pollution and time wasted in traffic.

Two out of every three cars on the road in the United States each day hit congestion, according to a Texas Transportation Institute study released in June. That costs U.S. commuters $67 billion in lost time, wasted fuel and vehicle wear and tear, the study said.

"Telecommuting is definitely on the rise," said Tim Kane, president of the International Telework Association and Council, or ITAC, based in Washington.

Nationwide ITAC estimates 28 million people telecommute one to three days a week — up 42 percent from 19.6 million in 1999. By 2005, about one-third, or 50 million, of the nation’s workers will be part- or full-time teleworkers, Kane said.

Rather than try to fight telecommuting, companies need to embrace it, Kane said.

Contrary to popular myths, telecommuters do not spend more time snacking than regular workers. Nor do they watch soap operas or take care of their kids all day.

In fact, most telecommuters are men with graduate degrees and incomes over $40,000 per year working in professional and managerial occupations, according to Telework America, a study sponsored by AT&T and ITAC.

The study shows many telecommuters live on the East and West coasts and in metropolitan areas with lots of people and traffic congestion.

"There is a growing need and demand for work and life balance in this country," Kane said. "Some people are spending hours stuck in traffic commuting each day."

Not Jennifer Janus in San Antonio. Her commute consists of a walk down the hall to a spare bedroom converted into an office. From there, Janus works as a public relations manager for FNC Inc., an Oxford, Miss., financial services software company.

Using the Internet, a phone, fax machine and a computer, Janus can communicate with workers and clients all over the country. She started working for FNC after graduate school. When her husband, who is in the Air Force, was transferred to San Antonio, the company asked her to telecommute.

On the plus side, Janus has few interruptions during the workday. She gets a lot of work done, and her schedule is flexible enough so she can run and bike regularly. The casual workplace is also a big perk.

"I don’t have to spend a lot of money on a professional wardrobe or dry cleaning," she said.

On the downside, she doesn’t have co-workers around for socializing. To make up for that, she gets involved in the community and work-related organizations.

For employees, the top benefit of working from home is balance, said Jeff Zbar, the author of "Teleworking & Telecommuting: Strategies for Remote Workers & Their Managers."

"The need for work and life balance really hit home for people after Sept. 11," Zbar said. "Workers wanted to be closer to home."

Telecommuting has some real advantages for companies too, Zbar said. It aids in recruiting and retaining workers. Some studies indicate that telecommuters work longer hours and more workdays than the average employee because they spend less time commuting.

For example, the General Services Commission of Texas launched a telework program in 1996. Sixteen employees participated in the 36-month program, which saved 575 hours of commuting time, 1,449 gallons of fuel and 1,214 hours of sick leave.

Altogether, the commission estimated it saved the state $19,732 and productivity increased more than 25 percent for all teleworkers.

"Telecommuters are dedicated and driven," Zbar said. "Their boss can’t see them, so they feel a lot of pressure to produce."

In the past, Kane said, companies reluctantly let people telecommute for the employees’ convenience and hoped it wouldn’t cost too much. Now, many employers encourage telecommuting because they see it as a way to get more work out of people who are already productive.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/29/BU157144.DTL&type=business

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