Governments, Companies See Benefits of Work From Home Jobs
It is cool to work from home. And those lucky enough to have jobs that allow them to be free to work from home should know they are part of a growing population. Not only are people realizing the benefits of working from home, it’s become a way to live green—and even municipalities are getting in on this trend.
According to the Associated Press, Minnesota state officials are promoting the idea of working from home as a way to reduce traffic. The result is less congestion on the highways and less car emissions in the air. This idea isn’t new. When gas prices sky-rocketed to more than $4 per gallon recently, companies and governments took a hard look at ways to help the consumer while helping the environment. Tele-commuting suddenly seemed like more than a solution to help people work from home, it was a way to save the world—and the pocketbook.
In Minnesota, the state launched a public awareness campaigned called the Workplace, to promote the idea of working from home. Its goal is for 2,700 people to sign up to telecommute at least once per week for a year. While the only goal of this campaign is to cut down on traffic, it also gives side benefits to employees. One happy bit of information that both governments and companies are learning is that people are happier and more productive when they have the opportunity to work at home.
Calgary, Canada initiated a similar program and found that its employees who worked from home were actually more productive than those who did not participate in the work at home initiative. And it’s not a small difference. Data showed that people who worked from home were 15 to 40 more productive than those same workers who stayed in the office. Companies are finding they can attract better job candidates when they give workers the choice of working from home, there is better retention, and overall better production from this group of employees.
All over, individuals and corporations are realizing that the old myth that people will not be productive if they are not in the office is false. Working from home, say experts, is likely an idea that will continue to grow and flourish. Perhaps the only downside is that the office water cooler may start getting a bit lonely.
