Snowstorms Are Not a Problem for Teleworkers

Telecommuting could save billions of dollars a year

With the coastal Northeast of the United States hit by ferocious storms that have dumped snow everywhere over the past few days, schools, businesses and government offices have closed, flights have been grounded and billions of dollars have been lost. Millions of people are taking snow days, but some of them are still expected to get their jobs done.

For regular telecommuters it's business as usual as long as their internet connections are still working. Many companies and government offices in New York, D.C., Pennsylvania, Virginia and other affected states have managed to keep vital services running by implementing emergency plans that allow certain other employees to work remotely too.

Telecommuting makes perfect financial sense

Although only 4 percent of people employed in the U.S. currently telework, around 40 percent have jobs that could be done at least partly from home. If all these workers were to telecommute 50 percent of the time, the total economic impact would be around $750 billion each year, according to the Telework Research Network. The group's latest findings include the following:
The country would reduce its annual oil use by 453 million barrels, which could cut imports from the Gulf by 57 percent and save $31 billion a year (at $70/barrel).

• The nation's productivity would improve by 6.2 million man-years, or the equivalent of $200 billion of labor every year.

• Businesses would reduce their spending on utilities, real estate, absenteeism and staff turnover by a total of $194 billion a year.

• Individuals would cut their costs for transportation and other work-related items (excluding daycare and eldercare) by $2500 to $11000 a year.

• More then $3 billion would be saved on highway maintenance, since people would be driving 180 billion fewer miles every year.

• Deaths and injuries from traffic accidents would drop by 150000 a year. This would shrink annual accident-related costs by $18 billion.

Teleworking is good for the environment, too

With fewer commuters on the roads and fewer offices requiring light, heat or air conditioning, the planet would benefit as well from having a greater number of remote workers. If more people worked from home, the decreased use of energy could help slow the pace of global warming and pollution. … click here to read the rest of the article titled “Snowstorms Are Not a Problem for Teleworkers“