Telecommuting: Your Professional Happiness Project
When I read that telecommuters are happier, in addition to being less stressed and more productive, I thought synchronicity had struck again. My book club book for this month is The Happiness Project, or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. The author shares her 12-month journey of what she tried and what she learned. I’m only on January, but I’ve learned that she works from home.
As usual, one thought leads to another, and I began to wonder about the state of telecommuting in general. Many of the people I know are full- or part-time teleworkers, but what’s the big picture? The Telework Research Institute gave me some answers in a 2011 report.
Some of the key findings stopped me in my tracks, and you’ll see why:
- Forty-five percent of the US workforce holds a job that is compatible with at least part-time telework.
- Fifty million U.S. employees who want to work from home hold jobs that are telework compatible though only 2.9 million consider home their primary place of work (2.3% of the workforce).
- The existing 2.9 million US telecommuters save 390 million gallons of gas and prevent the release of 3.6 million tons of greenhouse gases yearly.
- If those with compatible jobs worked at home 2.4 days a week (the national average of those who do), the reduction in greenhouse gases (51 million tons) would be equivalent of taking the entire New York workforce off the roads.
- The national savings would total over $900 billion a year; enough to reduce our Persian Gulf oil imports by 46%.
- The biggest barrier to telecommuting, by a wide margin, is management fear and mistrust.
The report says that the affect of the recession on telecommuting isn’t yet clear, but that the five-year growth rate is significant. And no wonder, in view of this stat: In February of 2011, Fortune Magazine reported that 82% of companies that made its annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list allow employees to telecommute or work at home at least 20% of the time. Take a look at the report for more key findings, the research behind them, and a list of the benefits to businesses, individuals and the nation.
The sources of happiness are typically attributed to genetics, life circumstances and the choices we make. As usual, some things we can control, some we can’t. And some choices are no brainers.
So what are your thoughts on telecommuting? Is it an option at your organization? Do you have a online collaboration tools in place?
Is this a happiness project more employers should implement in when considering employee satisfaction and ways to boost productivity? Or, as a way to reduce their environmental impact?