Teleworkers commute less, which saves them time and money and helps to preserve air quality in crowded cities. They spend less money on office attire. And they can be up to 30 per cent more productive working far from typical workplace disruptions. There are downsides, too. Not all jobs, employees or managers are suited to teleworking.
Some workers perform better at the office, where they can interact and socialize with co-workers.
Some managers with a Jurassic Park mindset feel a need to have their workers in sight at all times. While some employers, including the Alberta government, have adopted formal policies for teleworking agreements, informal arrangements are more common. Most of the telework that's going on is of an informal variety where the boss and employee agree together that the employee will telework every Wednesday, for example. The Alberta government has produced a booklet called Home on the Job, which describes its telecommuting guidelines. It answers frequently asked questions and gives tips on how to make telecommuting work.