The Advantages of Telecommuting

By Treeliving Telecommuting is the workplace option that allows office work to be done at an alternate work site such as the home, for one or more days per week. The increasing use of broadband services in homes and USB devices for Internet connection in laptops has made telecommuting a viable option for working executives. At times, it is rather essential for businesses with traveling employees. Telecomm uting not only enhances employee productivity and helps organizations in cutting operational costs but also proves to be an eco friendly practice. Not many people realize that telecommuting is a real green process and helps in saving the environment. When employees work from home, there is less of commuter traffic and this reduces fuel consumption. Reduction in use of fuels eventually decreases air pollution. TelCoa has estimated that if 32 million Americans who could work from home did so at least once a week, 74 million gallons of gas could be saved! Another interesting finding by Telework Research Network reveals that even one day of telecommuting can save 423,000 tons of greenhouse gas – the equivalent of taking 77,000 cars off the road for a year. Energy consumption is also reduced with telecommuting as offices can cut down on lighting and air conditioning in their offices. Working from home calls for modest demands on energy for heating, cooling and lighting needs, and makes effective use of existing building space and facilities. As per the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) telecommuting is part of a climate change solution and using electronics to telecommute saves 9 to 14 billion kilowatt-hours of energy each year — or roughly the amount of energy required to power 1 million US households annually. Telecommuting helps in saving the environment in another way – it reduces land use for unnecessary construction of extra parking lots. If more people worked from home and used telecommuting devices, parking lots could be converted to parks and the size of highways could also be reduced to make way for the planting of trees. Working from home also reduces work related stress and gives employees more time to spend with their families. Telecommuting is a win-win-win green setup – it helps companies fulfill their corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards, while communities benefit from enhanced air quality, traffic reduction and energy conservation. Saving the environment is not that difficult – with a few conscious efforts we can make a huge difference for our planet and can help it to become really green again!