There are many good sources of demographic and statistical data that support telecommuting as a viable and beneficial work option. A few of these sources are listed in our Resources page. One representative paper was written recently and posted on the Web site of the American Electronics Association (AEA). You can view the full-text of the article on the AEA site, but for convenience, here are a few of the key statistics from that publication:
- 45 million workers telecommute at least once a week
- As of 2005, 44% of U.S. companies offered telework options
- About 50% of CFOs surveyed say telework is the second best way to attract talent (salary is number one) and one third listed it as the best way
- As much as 850 million gallons of fuel could be saved annually if all those who could telework did so at least one day a week
- Average savings per full-time teleworking employee is $10,000 annually (office space)
- IBM’s retention rate for teleworkers is much higher than for non-teleworkers and they are 10-20% more
productive than their office-bound peers.
More interesting data can be found in the 2005/06 National Technology Rediness Survey:
- Among those employed full-time, home internet access is 82% with 69% of these having high-speed access
- If all those who drove or carpooled who had the ability to telecommute actually did so, the time savings would be equal to 470,000 new jobs in the economy
- Of the 25% of the workforce that could telecommute, only 11%, or less than half, does so
And, from the The Status of Telework in the Federal Government 2005 paper:
- Benefits to the organization, including the increased ability to recruit and retain valuable employees, gain higher productivity, and experience boosted morale, are clearly documented.
