We are available to help King County employers develop these programs. We have also been piloting, and now implementing for the last couple of years, a full Virtual Office program, which allows employees to work from home or other locations in order to reduce the commute or eliminate it altogether. We already have thousands of employees utilizing alternative schedules and expect to have thousands telecommuting within the next year. Other successful telework programs in the Puget Sound region include Washington Dental Service, Holland America Line, the City of Redmond and GTE Northwest, Christensen says. Telework uses a variety of schemes.
Some employees work one to three days a week at home, but some work almost entirely at home.
Christensen says compressed work programs typically lengthen the work day, allowing employees to eliminate work days. Boston Scientific, Red Dot, Frank Russell Co., and TCI Cable have excellent compressed work programs. Flex time doesn't eliminate commuting trips, but allows employees to commute outside of rush-hour periods, thus alleviating congestion. Christensen says SeaFirst and the Seattle Housing Authority have good flex time policies. Christensen notes that many larger organizations must meet mandatory Commute Trip Reduction Goals.