Yet it is possible to convince your organization to let you work from home. Two million American businesses support telecommuting programs. Portland plans to expand the program to about 200 telecommuters within the next two years. Public and private organizations are adopting telecommuting as a smart business strategy. Global competition, 24-hour customer support, workers' desire for increased flexibility, and the need to reduce overhead are driving the trend.
Time is a scarce commodity in today's stressed-out society.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ranks stress among the top 10 reasons for missing work. Most households require two wage earners and with corporate downsizing and re-engineering, the remaining workers find themselves working longer hours than ever. It's estimated that the American worker spends an average of an hour a day commuting to and from work. Translated into yearly figures, that's the equivalent of almost six work-weeks. No surprise, then, that more and more workers are requesting flexible work options.