Telecommuting

Telecommuting

As defined in Webster's New World Dictionary, Third Edition, telecommuting is "an electronic mode of doing work outside the office that traditionally has been done in the office, as by computer terminal in the employee's home." Basically, it is working at home utilizing current technology, such as computers, modems, and fax machines. Traditionally, people have commuted by cars, buses, trains, and subways, to work and back. Through the innovation of telecommuting, , the actual necessity to change location in order to accomplish this task has been challenged on the basis of concerns for energy conservation, loss of productivity, and other issues.

One advantage of telecommuting is energy conservation. A tremendous amount of energy is required to produce transportation equipment such as automobiles, buses trains, and subways. If telecommuting is promoted, there will be less use of this equipment and less energy will be required for production, maintenance, and repair of this equipment. Fuel resources needed to operate this equipment will be reduced. The building and repair of highways and maintenance requires a large consumption of energy, not only in the operation of the highway construction and repair equipment, but also in the manufacture and transportation of the required materials. An increase in the percentage of people telecommuting to work will decrease the need for expanded highways and associated road maintenance. The first two areas related to getting to work.

Once a person arrives at a central office working location, he or she represents another energy consumer, often times magnified many times over what would be required at home. The office building has heating, cooling, and lighting needs, and the materials to build it and maintain it require energy in their production and transportation. Working from home requires only modest incremental demands on energy for heating, cooling, and lighting needs, and makes effective use of existing building space and facilities.

Telecommuting also improves productivity. Much time is spent on unnecessary activities by people who commute back and forth to work in the conventional manner. Time is wasted from the minute one gets up to go to work until the minute one returns home from work. With telecom...

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...p; "Form a telecommuting team that includes technical experts, upper managers and human resources staff, and assign a telework coordinator."

"Contact other companies to learn from their experiences."

"Train participants and supervisors."

"Monitor the program through surveys before and after a pilot."

Measuring productivity in actual dollars is difficult. The actual productivity is best measured by the satisfaction and enjoyment by employees.

Bibliography

Bibliography

Bjerklie, David and Partick E. Cole. "Age of the road warrior." Time 145.12

(1995): 38- 40. Blodgett, Mindy. "Lower costs spur move to more telecommuting."

Computerworld 30.45 (1996) 8. Blodgett, Mindy. "Telecommuting pilot test proves space-saving plan." Computerworld 30.46

(1996) 81-82. Webster's New World Dictionary of American English, Third

College Edition. Victoria Neureldt, Ed. 1988 New York 1375.