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Teleworking
Teleworking,
Telecommuting and Virtual/Mobile Officing are all terms that
indicate that the employee is doing their job without
going to their normal office. Essentially, it is when an
employee is using a home or satellite office to complete work
tasks and avoids commute trips the main office. These alternate ways of
accomplishing work tasks also provide a variety of benefits
to organizations, workers, communities and the environment.
Teleworking/Telecommuting
is the use of telephones and/or computers
to enable an employee to work off-site, outside the traditional
workplace. Teleworking is typically working at home one to three
times a week. It can also involve a telework center, or
satellite office, that is closer to the
employee's home than the main worksite. Conference calls,
internet meetings, video conferencing, emailing, and instant
messaging are all examples of ways employees can complete work
tasks by Teleworking.
In
recent years, software has become available for employers
and employees to use so that users can access their work PC
desktop from any internet-ready computer. (e.g. GoToMyPC,
LogMeIn, VNC, etc.)
Teleworking/Telecommuting can result in higher
quality work at a lower cost, while also empowering
employees to work
independently. According to a 2001 Employment Policy
Foundation Study (www.epf.org),
25 million working Americans worked at home once a month and
19.8million (15%) of those workers worked at home once a
week. This and other studies show that a the number of
employees who telework is on the rise.
FlexScheduling
Increasingly,
innovative companies are discovering the benefits of
FlexScheduling, which typically includes Flextime and Compressed Work Weeks.
Flextime is when employers allow flexible or
staggered work hours for employees. This allows
employees to avoid commuting during peak traffic times, making
for a faster, less stressful commute. Employees enjoy an
easier commute, while employers can able to stretch work shifts and reduce
parking demand.
Compressed Work Weeks are weeks where employee can
work more hours per day, in order to work less days per
week. This allows employees to avoid commute trips all
together, typically, once a week. This would also reduce
parking demand for the employer during the week, while
providing the employee the benefit of an extra non-working day
during the week.
For more information on setting-up a telework or flextime
program for your business visit the Let's
Ride Program website!
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