is not a substitute for child care, it can allow some workers--notably women--much needed freedom.
In their search for affordable housing, people are moving farther from the cities and their work sites. They face longer commutes and often wind up searching for work closer to home. Telecommuting can ease the strain of commuting long distances every day. It is a viable option for a firm when it is faced with the possible loss of key employees because of increased local housing costs.
When a company offers telecommuting as an option, everyone wins--including the company. Researchers have found that a well-designed telecommuting program can help boost a company's profits by improving job performance. Many managers may fear that once their workers are out of sight, they will neglect their duties. On the contrary, studies show that telecommuting actually increases employee productivity. For example, research on a control data telecommuting program found that its employees' productivity rose 15 to 25 percent. Additionally, employees are less likely to be distracted at home than in the office. Both SCAG and Pacific Bell found that employees faced fewer distractions at home than they did at the office. Telecommuters have more continuous work time, can use once non-productive commute time, and can work at personal "peak" times instead of being herded into a standard time schedule.
Telecommuters are less stressed. Studies show that the drive to work can sap employees of energy, even as much as two hours after the commute. Telecommuting can reduce illness caused by stress. Also, in the case of emergencies, such as a sick child or a car breakdown, a telecommuter can take care of the problem and spend the rest of the day working, instead of calling in sick. Telecommuting programs enable firms to recruit from a wider audience, tapping into a new labor pool, such as the physically impaired, the elderly, and the geographically...