Monday morning, for most commuters, means its time to fill up the gas tank, hit the road and fight heavy traffic to and from the office in order to make a living, and hit “repeat” until Friday. For telecommuters, their commute is a bit different – it’s only a short walk from their bedroom to their desk.
Recently, TeamViewer, a provider of remote control and online meetings software, shared the findings of its survey of 500 American adults ages 18 and older who work from home either full time or part time, conducted online by uSamp. The survey found that 50 percent of telecommuters say they feel more productive working from home, with 23 percent saying that they are much more productive.
“With an increasing number of employees requesting flexibility in the workplace, telecommuting has become inevitable,” said Holger Felgner, general manager at TeamViewer, in a statement.
Additionally, the survey found that 45 percent of Americans believe the average telecommuter saves themselves from traveling 21-50 miles per day. Further, the survey revealed 80 percent of Americans say that saving money on gas and having no commute are among the biggest benefits of working from home.
For TechZone360 Assignment Desk Editor Stefania Vicusci, who works from home part time, telecommuting is most beneficial for someone who has a commute as far as hers (40 miles +). “Waking up hours in advance of the work day to head into a heavily congested roadway not only reduces the time spent actually working, but causes frustration and stress that can take away from quality of work while also putting one’s health at risk,” she explained.
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- The survey showed further benefits of telecommuting including:
- Improved work/life balance – 53.56 percent
- Lower stress and better health – 51.98 percent
- Ability to complete household chores while working – 50.4 percent
- No involvement in office gossip – 37.55 percent
- Ability to be near children during the daytime – 25.49 percent
“The benefits of not having to waste gas, put wear and tear on your vehicle, throw in an extra load of laundry on lunch break, etc. are perks to consider,” said Viscusi.
When asked what advanced technologies Americans expect from telecommuting solutions, 45 percent said remote control of their computer desktops at work followed by mobile access to my files both at work and at home (43.48 percent), ability to participate in office meetings as if you were in the same room (40.32 percent), ability to print remotely (39.92 percent), ability to work through screen-sharing (37.55 percent) and face to face video communication (37.15 percent).
“Working from home also involves a level of trust from the employer and a certain discipline to not be distracted by other forces that occur around you outside of the office walls. Once you have that trust, you can produce valuable work from home,” she continued.
On the other hand, there are some downsides to telecommuting. “Things can get really quiet. The office water cooler small talk, even just to keep you in the loop or clear your thoughts for a moment, is missed when you are working from home,” said Viscusi.
Edited by
Rachel Ramsey
