News Releases
PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE OUT-DATED RELEASES!
Click on the following for up to date information on:
11-17-10: FEDERAL TELEWORK PASSED TODAY: COULD SAVE TAXPAYERS BILLIONS
HOW MANY PEOPLE TELECOMMUTE
U.S. TELECOMMUTING SAVINGS POTENTIAL
TELECOMMUTING PROS AND CONS
TELECOMMUTING STATISTICS
INTERACTIVE TELEWORK SAVINGS CALCULATOR
REPORTERS: For additional information, reporters on assignment may call or email Kate-at-TeleworkResearchNetwork-dot-com. Please let us know what publication you represent, the nature of the article, and your timeframe and we’ll help if we can. If you’re under a tight deadline, please call Seven Six Zero-703-0377 (Pacific Time).
Press Releases From Telework Research Network
• November 17, 2010—Federal Telework Bill Passed Today: Could Save Taxpayers Billions
• July 14, 2010—Govt. Numbers Show House Vote Could Save $11 Billion Each Year
• May 12, 2010—”No” Vote On House Telework Bill Will Cost Taxpayers $15 Billion/Year
• April 20, 2010—Save the Planet—Work at Home on Earth Day
• April 30, 2009—Businesses and Government Unprepared for Swine Flu Pandemic
• April 18, 2009—New Study Shows Telecommuting Could Save Canadian Companies Billions
• April 17, 2009—Undress4Success Chosen as Exclusive Telework Partner for MakeGood.com
• April 16, 2009—Staying Home on Earth Day & Spare the Planet
• March 16, 2009—Book Release: Undress For Success—The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home
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November 18, 2010
Contact:
Kate Lister
TeleworkResearchNetwork.com
Telephone: 760-703-0377 or 760-473-2574
[email protected]
Today’s Passage of the Federal Telework Bill Could Save Taxpayers Billions
And Send a Message to the Private Sector About the Need for More Telework
San Diego CA, November 18, 2010-Today’s passage of the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 (H.R. 1722) could save taxpayers over $15 billion a year! The staggering costs of lost productivity from federal workers during last Winter’s snowstorms-estimated by the government at $71 million a day-would pay for the five year cost of a telework program for federal workers (estimated by OPM at $30 million) in just one snow day.
Today’s passage by the House, in a bipartisan vote of 254 to 152, follows unanimous passage in the Senate in September. The President’s signature on the bill—which is widely expected—will add teeth to a 2000 mandate that required every government employee to telecommute to the maximum extent possible. While continuity of operations inspired the original mandate, many additional drivers stimulated this new legislation.
According to Kate Lister, principal researcher at the San Diego-based Telework Research Network, the new bill could save the government over $7,000 per telecommuter. While 61% of the federal workforce holds a telework-compatible job, less than 8% of those eligible do so on a regular basis. Using assumptions from a 2006 study by the U.S. General Services Administration (conducted by Booz Allen), the Telework Research Network estimates that that if those eligible employees who wanted to work from home (79% according to a recent Federal Telework Study) did so just one day a week (the level set by H.R. 1722):
Agencies would:
- Increase productivity by over $4.6 billion each year - equivalent to 26,000 man years of work
- Save $850 million in annual real estate, electricity, and related costs
- Save $2.3 billion in annual absenteeism
- Save $3.1 billion in annual employee turnover
- Improve continuity of operations
- Improve work life balance and better address the needs of families, parents, and senior caregivers.
- Avoid the ‘brain drain’ effect of retiring boomers by allowing them to work flexibly
- Be able to recruit and retain the best people
- Offer fuller employment for disabled workers, rural residents, and military families
Federal Employees would:
- Achieve a better work-life balance
- Save $800-$2,700/year in transportation and work-related expenses
- Collectively save 114 million gallons of gas / year
- Suffer fewer illnesses
The Nation would:
- Save almost 6 million barrels and $465 million in imported oil
- Reduce greenhouse gases by 1 million tons/year—the equivalent of taking 193,000 cars off the road
- Reduce road travel by 2.3 billion miles/year
- Reduce road congestion thereby increasing productivity for non-teleworkers as well
- Save over 1,900 people from traffic-related injury or death each year and save $234 million a year in related costs
- Improve emergency responsiveness
- Reduce pollution from road work and new office construction
- Preserve open spaces
- Alleviate the strain on our crumbling transportation infrastructure
- Reduce terrorism targets of opportunity
About The Telework Research Network:
The TeleworkResearchNetwork (http://teleworkresearchnetwork.com) has synthesized over 250 case studies, scholarly reviews, research papers, books, and other documents on telecommuting and related topics. They’ve interviewed the nation’s largest and smallest virtual employers and their employees, corporate executives, telework advocates and naysayers, top researchers, legislators, legal representatives, leaders of successful telework advocacy programs in both the public and private sector, and venture capitalists who have invested in the remote work model. Their research has won the praise of top telework and worklife advocates including WorldatWork, the Canadian Telework Association, the Telework Coalition, the Sloan Foundation, and many other. Their proprietary Telework Savings Calculator has been used by company and community leaders to model the benefits of telework. They are currently working on a translation of their U.S. telework savings model for the U.K. (sponsored by Citrix Online) and Canadian (in cooperation with Workshift Calgary) markets.
For more information contact Kate Lister or Tom Harnish (760-703-0377 or 760-473-2574, Pacific) or via email at [email protected].
UPDATE: HR 1722, the subject of this new release, passed today 290-131. The legislation directs the Office of Personnel Management to issue regulations on telework, and requires agencies to come up with policies that permit teleworking for up to 20 percent of the hours worked over two weeks. Agencies must designate a telework managing officer, provide training to employees, and ensure that there are no distinctions between teleworkers and others in performance appraisals.
NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2010
CONTACT:
Kate Lister
TeleworkResearchNetwork.com
Telephone: 760-703-0377 or 760-473-2574
HOUSE VOTE ON TELEWORK BILL TODAY COULD SAVE FED $10.7 BILLION A YEAR
OMB estimate of $30 million cost over five years is less than half of a single snow day cost
SAN DIEGO CA: The Telework Improvements Act (H.R. 1722) is getting a second chance in the House today. Defeated narrowly in May, Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) reintroduced the Bill that would beef up federal telework participation. A similar bill (S.707) passed unanimously in the Senate on May 24th.
The last round of House votes missed by only 4% with all of the nay votes coming from the Republican side of the House. Naysayers cited costs, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated to be $30 million over a five year period, as the reason for their opposition to the bill. Research by the Telework Research Network shows the bill would in fact save agency and employee participants almost $11 billion a year.
“The staggering costs of lost productivity from federal workers during last Winter’s snowstorms-estimated by the government at $71 million a day-would pay for the five year cost of the bill in one day,” says Kate Lister, Principal Research at the Telework Research Network.
Based on assumptions from a 2006 study commissioned by the U.S. General Services Administration (conducted by Booz Allen), and others, the Telework Research Network’s Telework Savings Calculator (http://tinyurl.com/32bzqau) shows that if those eligible employees who wanted to work from home did so just one day every other week (the level required in H.R. 1722):
Agencies would:
- Increase productivity by over $2.3 billion each year - equivalent to 26,000 man years of work
- Save $850 million in annual real estate, electricity, and related costs
- Save $2.3 billion in annual absenteeism
- Save $3.1 billion in annual employee turnover
- Improve continuity of operations
- Improve work life balance and better address the needs of families, parents, and senior caregivers.
- Avoid the ‘brain drain’ effect of retiring boomers by allowing them to work flexibly
- Be able to recruit and retain the best people
- Offer fuller employment for disabled workers, rural residents, and military families
Federal Employees would:
- Achieve a better work-life balance
- Save $400-$1,400/year in transportation and work-related expenses
- Collectively save $57 million a year at the pumps
- Suffer fewer illnesses
The Nation would:
- Save almost 3 million barrels and $233 million in imported oil
- Reduce greenhouse gases by 532,000 tons/year—the equivlient of taking 97,000 cars off the road
- Reduce road travel by 1.2 billion miles/year saving $20 million in road maintenance
- Reduce road congestion thereby increasing productivity for non-teleworkers as well
- Save 1,000 people from traffic-related injury or death each year and save $117 million a year in related costs
- Improve emergency responsiveness
- Reduce pollution from road work and new office construction
- Preserve open spaces
- Alleviate the strain on our crumbling transportation infrastructure
- Reduce terrorism targets of opportunity
The savings per telecommuter would total about $5,200/participant per year.
The TeleworkResearchNetwork (http://teleworkresearchnetwork.com) has synthesized over 250 case studies, scholarly reviews, research papers, books, and other documents on telecommuting and related topics. The company interviewed some of the nation’s largest and smallest virtual employers and their employees, corporate executives, telework advocates and naysayers, top researchers, legislators, legal representatives, leaders of successful telework advocacy programs in both the public and private sector, and venture capitalists who have invested in the remote work model.
Using the latest Census data, and assumptions from dozens of government and private sector sources, they’ve developed a model, the Telework Savings Calculator, to quantify the economic, environmental, and societal potential on telecommuting for every, city, county, congressional district, and state in the nation (http://teleworkresearchnetwork.com/research/telework-savings-calculator/). It’s available free on the web along with a model that allows companies and communities quantify their own potential telecommuting savings based on the size of their workforce.
More about telecommuting, the pros and cons, who’s doing it, and other resources for companies, individuals and researchers are available at TeleworkResearchNetwork.com.
Principals of the Telework Research network are authors of the popular press book, Undress For Success—The Naked Truth About Working At Home (Wiley 2009) has won the praise of top telework and worklife advocates including WorldatWork, the Canadian Telework Association, the Telework Coalition, the Sloan Foundation, and the father of telecommuting, Jack Nilles.
For more information, Kate Lister can be reached at 760-703-0377.
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NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2010
Kate Lister : 760-703-0377
Tom Harnish: 760-473-2574
“NO” VOTE ON HOUSE TELEWORK BILL
WILL COST TAXPAYERS $15 BILLION/YEAR
Senate Bill Pending
San Diego, CA (USA), May 12, 2010—The “no” vote on H.R. 1722, The Telework Improvements Act, will cost American taxpayers $15 billion a year. According to calculations prepared by the Telelwork Research Network (TRN), that’s what passage of the bill could have saved the government in real estate, electricity, absenteeism, turnover, gas, imported oil, and other costs.
“Approving the bill should have been a no-brainer. According to the government’s own figures, lost productivity cost $71 million each day a snowstorm clobbered the Capital” said Kate Lister, Principal Investigator at TRN. “Based on costs projected by the Congressional Budget Office, we’re talking a 250% return on investment—and that’s before you consider the impact of weather, disease, and terrorist events that frequently threaten to bring the Capital to its knees,” said Lister.
Federal workers have been required to telecommute to the maximum extent possible since 2000—mainly to ensure continuity of operations in the event of an emergency. Yet, while 61% of the federal workforce is considered eligible to telework, only 5.2% do so. H.R. 1722, and a similar bill still pending in the Senate (S.707), was crafted to close the gap—a problem that stems largely from management resistance.
The bill was narrowly defeated—all but one of the nay votes was from the Republican side of the House. “Given that an almost identical bill passed in the House during the last months of the Bush administration—it’s hard not to blame the reversal on party politics,” said Lister.
The Telework Research Network’s TeleworkSavingsCalculator has been used by companies and government agencies to promote telework programs throughout the U.S. and Canada. Their popular press book, Undress For Success—The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home (Wiley, March 2009), has been praised by top environmental, worklife, and telework researchers.
_______________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2010
CONTACT:
Kate Lister
Telephone: 760-703-0377 or 760-473-2574
Save the Planet—Work at Home on Earth Day
Greenhouse gas savings would equate to taking 77,000 cars off the road for a year
San Diego, CA (USA), April 20, 2010 — If every person in the U.S. with a telecommuting-compatible job worked at home on Earth Day, collectively it would:
• Save 900 Million vehicle miles
• Save 45 Million gallons of gas—$188 Million in consumer savings
• Save 2.3 Million barrels of oil—valued at $185 Million
• Eliminate 423,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases—the equivilant of taking 77,000 cars off the road for a year.
• Save 28 million kWh in net electricity—enough to power 2,600 homes for a year
• Save 775 people from traffic injury and deaths
Less than 2% of U.S. employees work from home the majority of the time (not including the self-employed), but 40% could. If they did so just half of the time (roughly the national average for those who do), as a nation we would save over a half a trillion dollars a year and much more.
The above results are based on the Telework Savings Calculator created by telecommuting researchers and authors Kate Lister and Tom Harnish. Their work has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Washington Post, and dozens of other publications and has been used by companies and government agencies to promote telework programs throughout the U.S. and Canada. Their popular press book, Undress For Success—The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home (Wiley, March 2009), has been praised by top environmental, worklife, and telework advocates.
More details about the number of telecommuters, the pros and cons, and other details are available at the TeleworkResearchNetwork.com.
For more information contact Kate Lister or Tom Harnish (760-703-0377 or 760-473-2574, Pacific) or via email at [email protected].
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2009
CONTACT:
Kate Lister or Tom Harnish
http://Undress4Success.com
Telephone: 760-703-0377
With Swine Flu upon us, the recent announcement that only 5% of the nation’s Federal workers telework is bad news. The possibility of a pandemic is precisely why mandatory telework legislation was enacted almost a decade ago.
FEDERAL TELECOMMUTING PROGRAM UNPREPARED FOR SWINE FLU PANDEMIC
San Diego CA (PRWEB) May 1, 2009 — With a Swine Flu outbreak upon us, the recent announcement that only 5% of the nation’s 1.9 million Federal workers telecommute is bad news. The possibility of a pandemic is precisely why legislation that requires all Federal workers to work from home “to the maximum extent possible” was enacted almost a decade ago.
According to telework researcher Kate Lister, “The civilian workforce isn’t prepared either.” While it’s estimated that 40% of U.S. workers hold jobs that would allow them to work from home, less than 2% of civilian workforce do so on a regular basis. “We hear a lot about telework whenever there’s a problem, but while many companies and government agencies talk the talk, they don’t walk the walk. Attitudes that are stuck in the days of typing pools and sweatshops are the real issue. Managers simply don’t trust their employees to work unsupervised,” says Lister.
Telecommuting is central to disaster preparedness planning. A 2007 study showed that 74% of teleworkers say they could work at home during a disaster while only 28% of non-teleworkers feel they could.
Research collaborator Tom Harnish warned that, “Successful telework programs don’t happen overnight. Managers and employees need training and experience in remote work. And hardware and software solutions need to be in place to ensure secure access to data. The time to prepare for what you’ll do in the event of a pandemic or national disaster is before it happens.”
For more information contact Kate Lister or Tom Harnish at 760-703-0377. Additional information about telecommuting is available at http://undress4success.com.
Lister and Harnish have synthesized over 250 studies on telework and related topics. They’ve interviewed dozens of advocates, challengers, researchers, venture capitalists, Fortune 500 executives, virtual employers, online job board executives and users, and scores of home-based workers in a wide variety of professions. Their Telework Savings Calculator and telecommuting research has been used by companies, legislators, and community advocates to promote work-at-home programs throughout the U.S. and Canada. Authors of three business books for John Wiley & Sons, their latest book, Undress For Success: The Naked Truth About Making Money At Home, has won the endorsement of top telework researchers and work-life advocates.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 18, 2009 - NOTE INFORMATION IS DATED - PLEASE CALL FOR AN UPDATE
CONTACT: Kate Lister or Tom Harnish
Undress4Success.com / TeleworkResearchNetwork.com
Telephone: (seven-six-zero)703-0377 or (seven-six-zero)473-2574
New Study Shows Telecommuting Could Save Canadian Companies Billions and Improve the Environment
Vancouver, BC April 18, 2009 – By encouraging people to work at home Canadian companies could save 46 million barrels of oil and avoid the production of 9 million tons of greenhouse gas while saving C$50 billion a year, according to data released today by MakeGood, a Vancouver digital media company.
MakeGood and San Diego think-tank Telework Research Network (TRN) collaborated to combine 2006 Canadian census data and the findings of over 250 studies to assess the impact telecommuting could have on the Canadian environment, on company’s bottom lines, and on employees.
According to MakeGood CEO Rick Goossen, “This is our first application of the TRN Telework Savings Calculator. We’re integrating it into our online service so companies can make more visible their improved environmental impact and other efforts for the social good.”
Kate Lister, principal researcher at TRN said, “Today only 7.7% of about 16 million Canadian workers telecommute, but 5.2 million more could. If eligible employees worked at home just half the time it would be the same as taking 1.6 million cars off the road for a year. In fact, 170,000 homes could be powered for a year with the energy saved in office electricity alone.”
While beneficial to the environment, working from home also benefits employers and employees. Companies that support telework enjoy reduced real-estate costs, lower absenteeism and turnover, gain access to a broader workforce, and increased productivity. Employees can save from C$3,000 to C$13,000 a year in work-related expenses, and improve their work/life balance.
MakeGood, one of Vancouver’s hottest early stage companies, allows businesses to cost-effectively practice social responsibility and demonstrate their good corporate citizenship through an innovative online presence and unique web badge. MakeGood works with leading non-profits, such as United Way of the Lower Mainland, to enhance their support for corporate donors. For more information visit MakeGood.com or call (six-zero-four) 685-7784.
The Telework Research Network is the research arm of Undress4Success.com, a three-year-old private research organization that has interviewed telework advocates and challengers including top business researchers, venture capitalists, Fortune 500 executives, virtual employers, online job board executives and users, and dozens of home-based workers in a wide variety of professions. Their research has been used by companies, legislators, and community advocates to promote telework programs throughout the Canada and U.S.. For more information visit TeleworkResearchNetwork.com or call (seven-six-zero)703-0377.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2009
CONTACT: Kate Lister or Tom Harnish
Undress4Success.com / TeleworkResearchNetwork.com
Telephone: (seven-six-zero)703-0377 or (seven-six-zero)473-2574
Undress4Success.com Chosen as Exclusive Telecommuting Partner of MakeGood.com
San Diego CA, April 17, 2009 – MakeGood, one of Vancouver’s hottest early stage companies, has chosen Undress4Success and its Telework Research Network (TRN) as its exclusive telecommuting partner.
According to MakeGood CEO Rick Goossen, “Our goal is to offer socially responsible organizations an efficient way to connect with together the top philanthropic and social good organizations throughout the world. Telework is an important way for companies to show their concern for environmental and work-life issues. TRN’s Telework Savings Calculator will allow our members to quantify the how their use of home-based staff reduces their carbon footprint and improves employees’ lives.”
Kate Lister, principal researcher at TRN said, “we see the partnership with MakeGood as a way to bring attention to the many benefits telework offers companies, communities, and employees.” MakeGood allows businesses to cost-effectively practice social responsibility and demonstrate their good corporate citizenship through an innovative online presence and unique web badge. MakeGood works with leading non-profits, such as United Way, to enhance their support for corporate donors. For more information visit MakeGood.com or call (six-zero-four)685-7784.
The Telework Research Network, is a three-year-old private research organization dedicated to fostering telecommuting initiatives. Its research has been used by companies, legislators, and community advocates throughout the Canada and U.S.. For more information visit TeleworkResearchNetwork.com or call (seven-six-zero)703-0377.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2009 NOTE INFORMATION IS DATED - PLEASE CALL FOR AN UPDATE
CONTACT: Kate Lister or Tom Harnish
Undress4Success.com Telephone: (seven-six-zero)703-0377 or (seven-six-zero)473-2574
Staying Home on Earth Day Would Spare the Planet 1.5 Billion Pounds of Pollution
San Diego, CA (USA), April 16, 2009—New research shows that if U.S. employees with telework-compatible jobs worked at home on Earth Day, April 22, the environment would be spared 1.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gases—the equivalent of taking 127,000 cars off the road for a year.
Nationwide, less than six million Americans consider home their regular workplace, but more than 50 million hold jobs that are telework-compatible. On an annual basis, if those who could work from home did so just half of the time (roughly the national average for those who already do), the greenhouse gas savings would total 84 million metric tons. The reduced driving would allow us to cut our Gulf Oil imports by 57%. It could increase U.S. company profits by over $550 billion a year—the result of lower real estate, electricity, absenteeism, and turnover costs together with increased employee productivity. And it would save individuals between $2,500 to $11,000 a year. The commuting time they’d avoid would total 2.5 workweeks of free time a year.
Using the latest U.S. Census American Community Survey figures, and data from dozens of authoritative studies, the Telework Savings Calculator was developed to quantify what every city, county, region, Congressional District, and State in the nation could save through telecommuting / work-from-home initiatives. It is available free for public, corporate and government use at http://undress4success.com. A customize option allows users to change more than a dozen variables to model their own company or community savings potential.
Kate Lister and Tom Harnish who created the Telework Savings Calculator are authors of the just released book, Undress For Success—The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home (John Wiley & Sons, April 2009). Over the past three years, they have synthesized over 250 studies on telecommuting and related topics. They’ve interviewed dozens of telework advocates and challengers including top researchers, venture capitalists, Fortune 500 executives, virtual employers, online job board executives and users, and dozens of home-based workers in a wide variety of professions. Companies, legislators, and community leaders have used their research to promote telework programs throughout the U.S. and Canada.
For more information contact Kate Lister or Tom Harnish, (seven-six-zero)703-0377 or (seven-six-zero)473-2574, or via email at [email protected]. The Telework Savings Calculator can be accessed directly at: http://undress4success.com/research/telework-savings-calculator/.
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March 16, 2009
CONTACT: Kate Lister or Tom Harnish
Undress4Success.com
Telephone: (seven-six-zero)703-0377 or (seven-six-zero)473-2574
Undress for Success—The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home
by Kate Lister and Tom Harnish
San Diego CA. March 16, 2009 – UNDRESS FOR SUCCESS: The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home (Wiley, April 2009), is a serious, sometimes irreverent, look at everything you need to know to earn a living and simplify your life with a work-at-home job, freelance career, or home-based-business. It offers hope for the bummed out, burned out, and stressed out employee. It offers companies a way to weather the economy and keep their best people. It offers communities a way to save money and reduce their carbon footprint.
Work shouldn’t be where you go; it should be what you do.
Kate Lister and Tom Harnish have spent over three decades running successful home-based businesses. They’ve reviewed more than 250 studies about telecommuting and home-based work. They’ve interviewed dozens of employers, employees, researchers, freelancers, and home-based entrepreneurs.
The result is this practical step-by-step guide to the advantages and disadvantages of working from home, the best home-based jobs and opportunities, and the skills and traits that predict success. Over 300 million Google hits on “work from home” mislead Americans into blind alleys, false promises, and dangerous scams.
Fortunately, Lister and Harnish explain how to avoid losing your shirt as you undress for success.
• If you’re an employee, you’ll discover how to successfully pitch a work-at-home program to your boss or find a new employer who loves the idea.
• If you want to freelance, UNDRESS FOR SUCCESS offers a guide for how to find, price, and be paid for your work.
• If you want to run a home-based business, it reveals the motivations, talents, and resources you’ll need to start; identifies best-bet home businesses; and offers true stories about what it’s like to work where you sleep.
• If you’re an employer or government leader, you’ll find a fascinating look at how telecommuting can save billions of dollars, increase productivity, curb traffic jams, and even slow global warming.
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About the Authors Their third business book, the authors are the undisputed experts on this subject. Their research has been used by legislators and community leaders to promote telework throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Kate Lister is an authority on small business marketing, finance, management, and growth. She has owned and operated three successful home-based ventures, including a consulting business that helped hundreds of entrepreneurs raise millions of dollars and an aviation business with seven aircraft and twenty-five pilots.
Tom Harnish is an expert on the technologies that make home-based jobs possible. As a consultant, company president, and business owner he learned what it takes to make money with computers from over thirty years of successful and not-so-successful business development in fields as diverse as health care, home banking, and electronic publishing.
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Telecommuting Could Save the Economy, Environment & More
In addition to providing a comprehensive real-world, step-by-step guide on how to earn a living as a home-based employee, freelancer, or entrepreneur, Kate Lister and Tom Harnish, authors of Undress For Success—The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home, make a compelling case for a strong national telework program.
Telecommuting would save individuals, companies, and communities almost than $560 billion dollars, while increasing U.S. productivity by over $200 billion per year. Telework—a more efficient and more productive business model—would dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and help slow global warming. It would allow employees to lead more fulfilled lives with less stress and more family time. It would enable companies to save money, keep their best people, and gain access to a more qualified workforce.
For all these reasons, for the first time in history, telework has surfaced as part of the national political agenda. Based on the authors’ synthesis of over 250 telework studies, interviews with dozens of telework enthusiasts and challengers, researchers, venture capitalists who invest in the remote work model, Fortune 500 executives, virtual employers, and dozens of home-based workers in wide variety of professions, the benefits of a work-at-home population are staggering. Telework offers a simple, inexpensive solution to some of the world’s most vexing problems:
- • Environmentalists applaud telework because it significantly reduces greenhouse gases.
• Work-life experts endorse telework because it addresses the needs of families, parents, and senior caregivers.
• Workforce planners see telework as away to avoid the ‘brain drain’ effect of retiring boomers.
• Baby Boomers find telework offers a flexible alternative to full retirement.
• Gen Y’ers see telework as a way to work on their own terms.
• Disabled workers, rural residents, and military families find home-based work to offer an answer to their special needs.
• Urban planners realize telecommuting can reduce traffic and revitalize cities.
• Governments see telework as a way to reduce highway wear and tear and alleviate the strain on our crumbling transportation infrastructure.
• Organizations rely on telework to ensure continuity of operations in the event of a disaster or pandemic. By law, all federal workers are required to telecommute to the maximum extent possible for just this reason.
Currently only 4% of the U.S. workforce currently works from home, but 40% hold jobs that could be done from home. If those employees who wanted to work from home teleworked just half of the time (roughly the national average), as a nation we would:
NOTE INFORMATION IS DATED - PLEASE CALL FOR AN UPDATE
- • Save businesses $194 billion in real estate, electricity, absenteeism, and turnover a year.
• Save employees between $2,500 and $11,000 in transportation and work-related costs. In addition, many would also be able to cut daycare and eldercare costs.
• Save consumers $31 billion a year at the pumps (based on $3.50/gallon).
• Save 453 million barrels of oil (57% of Gulf oil imports) valued at over $19 billion per year.
• Reduce wear and tear on our highways by 180 billion miles a year saving communities over $3 billion in highway maintenance.
• Reduce greenhouse gases by 84 million tons—the equivalent of taking 15 million cars off the road for a year.
• Save over 150,000 people a year from traffic-related injury or death.
• Reduce accident-related costs by $18 billion a year.
• Increase national productivity by 6.2 million man-years or $200 billion worth of work each year.
• Give employees the equivalent of an extra 2.5 weeks worth of vacation time per year—time they’d have otherwise spent commuting.
ADVANTAGES OF TELECOMMUTING FOR COMPANIES
• Increases productivity - American Express, Best Buy, British Telecom, Compaq, Dow Chemical, JD Edwards, and many others have found that teleworkers are 35-40% more productive. In fact, over two-thirds of employers report increased productivity among their telecommuters. - Sun Microsystems’ experience suggests that employees spend 60% of the commuting time they save performing work for the company. - Teleworkers typically continue to work when they’re sick without infecting others. Teleworkers return to work more quickly following surgery or medical issues. Flexible hours allow teleworkers to run errands or schedule appointments without losing a full day. - Studies have shown that teleworkers spend about 60% of their newfound leisure time working, being more productive • Improves employee satisfaction - Two thirds of people want to work from home. 36% would choose it over a pay raise. - A poll of 1,500 technology professionals revealed that thirty-seven percent would take a pay cut of 10% if they could work from home. - Gen Y’ers are more difficult to recruit as reported by 56% of hiring managers, and to retain as reported by 64% of hiring managers. But they are particularly attracted to flexible work arrangements. - 80% of employees consider telework a job perk.
• Reduce attrition and unscheduled absences - 14% of Americans have changed jobs to shorten the commute. Two-thirds of employees would take another job to ease the commute. - 78% of employees who call in sick, really aren’t. They do so because of family issues, personal needs, and stress. Unscheduled absences cost employers $1,800/employee per year. - The American Management Association found that organizations that implemented a telework program realized a 63% reduction in unscheduled absences.
• Expands the talent pool and provides new employment opportunities - Last year over 40% of employers reported that they were feeling the labor pinch; that will worsen as Baby-Boomers retire. - More than twelve percent of the working age population is disabled (16 million). Three quarters of unemployed workers with disabilities cite discrimination in the workplace and lack of transportation as major factors that prevent them from working. - 75% of retirees want to continue to work—but they want the flexibility to enjoy their retirement. 71% of retired workers who later decided to go back to work, originally retired because of a desire for more flexibility than their job offered.
• Companies save and earn more money - Alpine Access remote agents close 30% more sales than traditional agents. - Customer complaints decreased by 90%. And turnover decreased by 88%. - Average real estate savings with full-time telework is $10,000 per employee per year.
ADVANTAGES OF TELECOMMUTING FOR EMPLOYEES
• Reduces stress, illness, and injury - 80% of diseases show that stress is a trigger. Because telework reduces stressful commutes and alleviates caregiver separation issues, teleworkers are likely to suffer fewer stress-related illnesses. - Teleworkers are exposed to fewer occupational and environmental hazards at home. - Teleworkers suffer fewer airborne illnesses because of lack of contact with sick co-workers. - Teleworkers report being able to make more time for exercise.
• Eliminating a commute saves money - Employees save on gas, clothes, food, parking, and in some cases, daycare (provided they can flex their hours to eliminate the need). Average savings is $2,300 to $11,000/year per person for half time telework. - Cumulatively that equals $125 to $155 billion in consumer savings each year.
NOTE INFORMATION IS DATED - PLEASE CALL FOR AN UPDATE
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March 10, 2009 NOTE INFORMATION IS DATED - PLEASE CALL FOR AN UPDATE
CONTACT: Kate Lister or Tom Harnish Undress4Success.com
Telephone: (seven-six-zero)703-0377 or (seven-six-zero)473-2574
New Research Puts Telecommuting Savings at Over $750 Billion a Year:
Consumers and Companies Share in the Savings
San Diego, CA (USA), March 10, 2009— A new Telework Savings Calculator© shows that U.S. companies could add over $390 billion a year to their bottom line, and consumers each could stash away $11,000 a year. Even Uncle Sam would benefit. How? By sending people home. The calculator results are based on new research conducted by telecommuting advocates, Kate Lister and Tom Harnish, authors of Undress For Success—The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home (Wiley, March 2009).
Using the latest U.S. Census American Community Survey figures and data from over a dozen authoritative studies, the calculator to quantifies what every city, county, region, Congressional District, and State in the nation could save through telework/work-from-home initiatives. The calculator is now available free for public, corporate and government use at http://undress4success.com/research/calculator. A customize option allows users to modify the model to fit their particular company or community situation.
Calculations show that if the 50 million people who want to work from home currently hold telework-compatible jobs. If they telecommuted just half of the time (roughly the national average for those who already do), businesses could save over $788,000 for every 100 new telecommuters. Thanks to telework:
• Sun Microsystems saves $70 million a year in real estate alone
• McKesson saves $2 million a year in real estate and other expenses
• Dow Chemical saved a third of its non-real estate costs through telework Fortune 500 companies and others find that teleworkers are 25-40% more productive than traditional office workers. So 50 million new teleworkers, could add over 6.2 million man-years worth of incremental productivity each year.
Kate Lister and Tom Harnish have synthesized over 250 studies on telecommuting and related topics. They’ve interviewed dozens of telework advocates and challengers including the top researchers, venture capitalists who support the remote work model, Fortune 500 executives, virtual employers, job board executives and users, and dozens of home-based workers in wide variety of professions. Their research has been used by companies and government agencies to promote telework programs. Undress4Sucess.com offers individuals, companies, and researchers a wide range of resources on telecommuting, freelancing, and home-based businesses.
For more information contact Kate Lister or Tom Harnish at Telephone: (seven-six-zero)703-0377 or (seven-six-zero)473-2574 or via email at info (at) undress4success (dot) com.
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November 23rd, 2010 at 9:32 am
[...] from a 2006 study by the U.S. General Services Administration (conducted by Booz Allen), the Telework Research Network estimates that that if those eligible employees who wanted to work from home (79 percent according [...]