Clean Fairfax Council

It seems today we all are looking for more sustainable options when it comes to work. And that’s great if you work for a green company that values sustainability in the workplace. However, there are other options when it comes to being sustainably proactive in your new job searches.

Telecommuting allows people to work for any company in the world, while reducing your carbon footprint.

For starters, not having a car is no longer a viable excuse for not being able to find work. This alone not only reduces carbon emissions that contribute to greenhouse gasses (as well as hours of traffic congestion). Telecommuting frees up polluting traffic on highways, saves companies office space and therefore heating, cooling, and resource energy. A research study figured that if 53% of white- collar workers could telecommute 2 days a week, they could collectively save 9.7 billion gallons of gas per year. Thousands of companies big and small now have effective telecommuter programs. For example, AT&T’s 36,000 telecommuters save 80,000 tons of CO2 annually according to a World Resources Institute Report

Telecommuting has also opened many doors for disabled or impoverished people. How awesome is that?! Aside from the environmental benefits, working from home can reduce the stress of overbearing managers or coworkers, and allow you to set your own schedules and breaks.

Telecommuting is also a benefit for the employer. It removes the need for work permits and improves the employer’s hiring options. It has often proved to increase overall productivity and reduce costs. Probably the most alluring factor in telecommuting is the money and time one saves on transportation (about $5,000-$21,000 a year and 15-25 workdays a year).

… However, there are many problems with telecommuting that can harm productivity. For one, not everyone is suited to be productive from home just like some people tend to be more productive at home. Some people need a work environment to keep them on task and focused while others find that the home environment eases them into a productive Zen. Moreover, working from home can create alienation in the workplace. Your coworker in the office, who rarely sees you, if at all, may feel less loyalty toward you than his buddy in the next cubicle because he personally interacts with him. If you telecommute only on certain days, your boss may say something like “well since you weren’t at the meeting on Friday, we went ahead with this decision that you’re going to hate”. This lack of human interaction can create tension, even more so if the only way you communicate is via IM or Email, which allows for even less understanding than video chat. From a legal perspective, certain tax laws may require you to pay taxes to both your home state and the state your company works in. Fair pay is another concern of the company and employee since management can’t completely monitor a telecommuter’s work habits and that telecommuter may live in a different country with different pay grades. This can cause security worries. …

How do I prevent this from happening?

1. Pick a telecommuting job that interests you. Just like you wouldn’t pick a job that you hate, be sure to pick an area of
   

   Keeping organized is the key to Telecommuting effectively.

   focus that appeals to you and your career.

2. Create a work-place environment at home. By doing so, you can prevent yourself from getting easily distracted by a TV that is turned on, or the house chores that are still waiting to be done.
3. Set a specific time to get your work done. You can take breaks when needed, but by setting a goal time for yourself you can motivate yourself to get as much done as possible until that time is over.
4. Describing exactly what you want can allow you to get your work done without detecting any possible confusion or misunderstandings that can create misinterpretations and ruin projects.
5. Companies- Employers can find a way to provide access for their employees to their databases at HQ. This can reduce the amount of uncertainty of the labor being done. If not, you can always track your employee’s work but requesting they log their hours in a timesheet document every week or so.

In conclusion, the effectiveness of telecommuting comes down to whether or not the employee is able to do the work they are assigned and communicate efficiently with their employers. It may not always be the best fit for a worker or business, but overall, studies have shown that for both employers and employees, it reduces costs, saves time, and increases productivity.