Just a few short years ago, telecommuting was a rare benefit for a select few. Employers were reluctant to give up the belief that employees needed watching, and that working from home really meant a day of watching soap operas, devouring chocolates, and catching up on the laundry. The traditional 9-to-5 in the office was the accepted standard for assuring that employees were where they were supposed to be and doing what they were supposed to do. For most, proof of productivity was measured by hours in the office, rather than by results.



However, with the help of laptops, PDAs, and high-speed internet, the practice of measuring productivity with time seems to be taking a few hits. More and more employers have begun to realize the benefits of telecommuting: lower overhead, less infrastructure, more productive employees, and greater retention. Some who already had programs in place for a few are expanding the programs they have to include more employees. Large employers such as the federal government are setting new standards for telecommuting by embracing the concept rather than rejecting it. There's even a new term for it now that covers not just those working from home, but those working on the road, or from satellite or client offices ? "telework."

The government leads the way

Telework is viewed favorably enough that the federal government, through its Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the General Services Administration (GSA), conducts an annual survey of its own agencies to ensure that telework opportunities are offered to employees as appropriate, and that the number of employees allowed to telework continues to rise. Telework Centers are maintained as satellite office space for teleworkers, and there are extensive policies governing the use of telework as a work option. Both agencies joined together to create a joint website dedicated to their telework programs. The willingness of the OPM and the GSA to accept and utilize teleworking seems to be successful, too - the number of federal employees allowed to telework at least part time has increased by nearly 40 percent since the surveys began in 2001.

The federal government is often the forerunner in adopting new insights on the American workforce, and with the Fed setting the pace for making telework an acceptable means of conducting business, it's logical to conclude that the American workplace as a whole may adopt the same outlook. For some industries, it could mean a whole new definition of what it means to "go to work."

Telework isn't for everyone

As appealing as it may sound, however, there are those who find telework to be less than they had hoped for. Interestingly enough, this dissatisfaction isn't coming from the employers, but from employees who find themselves lonely and feeling disconnected from the office culture. Granted, it's not a majority, but for some, telework brings a sense of feeling "left out," perhaps to the extent of missing opportunities for advancement, or to influence the opinions of others with a viable presence in the office. For a few, they just miss the structure of an office and find working at home to be more distracting than inspiring. Some employers willingly welcome these folks back into the fold, while others address this by providing resources, support, and training to their telework forces that help them adapt to working from home, enable them to make better use of technology, and learn how to interact effectively and productively in an electronic environment.

The changing workplace

Today, there are more than 12 million Americans who telework full-time, and another 10 million who telework part-time. However, given the diverse nature of the workplace, telework won't be an option for many types of businesses but certainly, it's becoming a much more viable option for jobs that entail computer work, thinking, or perhaps working with numbers. You won't see manufacturers sending their product assemblers home to put things together, but you may see their accountants working at home a few days a month'or a week. Telework isn't such a foreign concept anymore. It may have once been thought of as an ineffective approach to managing work/life balance, but modern workplaces now know that happy, less-stressed employees means employees that stay longer and get more done ? and cost them less in the long run.