Telecommuting Could do More to Fight Terrorism than the War
A 2006 study said that 2% of the American workforce telecommutes full time while 9% do it at least part time. It went on to say that 25% of jobs could potentially be carried out at home and that the savings related to less commuting would be a whooping $3.9 BILLION. Since fuel prices have skyrocketed, it is safe to assume that the potential savings are much higher today.
George Bush asserted that reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil was an essential part of it’s plan for a more peaceful world. I think his angle was to press for more drilling in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico so his buddies could get richer. I don’t pretend to be an expert on US energy or environmental policies I just think he’s a weasel.
Governments could easily put legislation in place that would incentivize companies and employees to embrace telecommuting. They could probably glean the best strategies from companies like IBM.
October 5th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
The United States spends $700 billion per year on foriegn oil (which is enough to pay for the entire financial rescue package in one year). This does not include the cost of foriegn policy which is dictated by the need to protect foriegn oil supplies.
Telecommuting is probably the best (if not the only way) to substantially cut back on daily oil consumption in this country.
There are some issues with home telecommuting, since some people do not have adequate reliable facilities in their home and many workers feel isolated if they work at home every day.
Remote Office Centers offer a solution to many of the issues related to home telecommuting. Remote Office Centers lease individual offices, internet and phone systems to workers from different companies in shared centers located around the city and suburbs.
It makes more sense to go to work on the internet and leave the car in the garage, or optionally drive 1-2 miles to a remote office down the street.
The government should be providing tax incentives to companies who support remote work programs. The savings in gas and roadway costs would more than cover the cost of the tax incentives. Who knows, the savings in fuel might even cover the cost of the prime-mortage fiasco.
Remote Office Centers are fairly new, but can be found in many cities by searching the internet for “Remote Office Centers” in quotes.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I could do my job from home. I work in a call center. Most of the reason we are not at home workers is security. Thankfully, I only live a mile from work.