Chuck Wilsker
President & CEO
The Telework Coalition

With U.S. gas prices rising on average 17 cents in the last two weeks, and crude oil expected to hit $200 per barrel, the case for telework and telecommuting is more compelling than ever.  A recent study projects that an estimated 1.35 billion gallons of gasoline could be conserved annually if U.S. workers telecommuted an average of just 1.6 days per week.

The Telework Coalition,  TelCoa, has long been leading the movement to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, promote a cleaner environment, and improve economic efficiency and quality of life through telecommuting.  The Telework Coalition works to enable virtual and mobile work through research, education, technology and legislation by focusing the efforts of companies, governments at all levels, nonprofits and individuals around this common interest.

Our landmark benchmarking study gathered important data from 13 organizations that collectively have more than 77,000 teleworkers and nearly 60,000 additional mobile workers.  We examined telework programs that have been in place for an average of 10 years.  Our study found that many of these programs are growing as the always-on, mobile workforce is increasingly enabled with broadband Internet access and mobile devices.

Teleworking is traditionally defined as “employees working at home;” but the rapid advancement of broadband and other mobile technologies is changing the nature of telework. In our study, we found that several participating organizations are transitioning to broader scale mobility programs, enabling employees to work anywhere they want including alternate corporate sites, client offices, hotels or at home offices.

Organizations are moving to telecommuting for a variety of reasons.  Many are driven by a desire to reduce the cost of real estate, where an average annual cost savings of $3,000 to $10,000 per employee can be achieved. Two organizations in our benchmarking survey reported annual cost savings of roughly $200 million related to real estate reduction through telework.

Another organization implemented a telework program 15 years ago to reduce costs.  The program has grown to include thousands of teleworkers and is focused on mobility.  “Our people are mobile and we don’t care where they work.  They used to be in our office or at home, but now they are everywhere.  They can’t be defined as office workers or teleworkers,” one respondent told us.

When asked about what unexpected consequences – good or not so good – telework has had on their organizations, the respondents to the Telework study offered the following comments:

• Greater business continuity and preparedness for disasters such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

• Greater employee mobility.

• Less likelihood of full-time teleworkers being laid off in the event of a reduction in force.

• Lower labor turnover rates.

• Easier to recruit for and fill telework positions.

• Greater sense of pride among employees.

• Generally higher employee performance ratings.

• High level of participation by employees and acceptance by management.

• Increased productivity.

• Real estate savings.

We found that regardless of sector or industry, the sentiment that teleworking is becoming “business as usual” is growing.  As the mobile workforce grows and the widespread connectivity of broadband reaches more people, the benefits are beyond dispute.

The fundamental starting point for telework is access to a broadband network, which is why the Telework Coalition promotes nationwide broadband deployment.  High-speed Internet access is an essential part of a home or mobile office.  And as the rising cost of gasoline pinches personal and corporate budgets, and the need to reduce harmful vehicle emissions becomes urgent, the economic and environmental case for telecommuting grows stronger. That’s a common interest, and a social good, we can all get behind.