Telecommuting Options Growing

Telecommuting is not a new concept, but it is one that continues to grow in popularity as more and more business are beginning to see this as a money-saving venture, not just a way to keep employees happy. Companies from New York to North Dakota to New Orleans are taking advantage of what technology now offers and having more and more employees work from their homes.

For example, instead of building or expanding call centers, cable and satellite companies are farming out their customer service jobs to people working out of their homes. According to a Women in Cable Telecommunications survey, Time Warner and Cox Communications avoided expanding its call center by adding telecommuting jobs. Cox currently has 1,200 home-based workers and plans to expand its program. These statistics are according to the 2008 Women In Cable Telecommunications' "PAR Initiative Survey." DirecTv, a satellite entertainment company is training workers in Illinois to eventually fill more than 500 home-based customer service jobs.

Telecommuting is also helping some cities. According the Times Picayune, New Orleans, devastated by Katrina, is hoping the telecommuting jobs will make New Orleans an attractive city. Census data shows the "rust belt" those older cities in the colder parts of the country, have a declining population. New Orleans hopes to draw those leaving the cold north to work in the Sun Belt. Advances in technology could help northern workers keep their jobs, but in a sunnier, warmer atmosphere.

Telecommuting is also seen as a way for a company to "go green." If workers stay home several days a week, they aren't in cars polluting the air. In the Phoenix area, some companies are offering telecommuting positions specifically to help save the environment. An editorial in the Press Democrat out of Santa Rosa, CA, urged the government to offer incentives to companies to offer more telecommuting jobs as a way of saving fuel.

High real estate prices are also driving telecommuting. According to workforce.com, a growing number of organizations are offering telecommuting, particularly in the expensive cities such as New York and San Francisco where office space is still expensive despite the downturn in the real estate market. Before what was a perk, telecommuting has become a way for companies to reduce their office space, and their operating costs. One such success story is Sun Microsystems, which has allowed employees to telecommute since 2000, and estimates the company has saved $67.8 million in real estate costs in 2006 alone, Workforce.com reported.

Telecommuting is also helping people who live in rural areas stay there. Prairie Business, a North Dakota business publication, noted that telecommuting is becoming more important to those living in rural areas. Working at home from a rural area can be far more enticing than living near a city and facing a long commute in grueling traffic.

Even John McCain, in his failed bid for the presidency, recognized that telecommuting is the wave of the future. He pledged to offer more telecommuting opportunities within the federal government.

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