The number of new teleworkers in the US has increased by an impressive 2.8 million, projections estimate as many as 30 million teleworkers by the end of 2004, and more employers are embracing telework programs and cite an 89 percent increase in productivity, according to national research findings released by the International Telework Association & Council (ITAC). The study was the topic of a conference held on ITAC’s Telework America Day on October 24, 2000. It explored solutions to traffic congestion, air quality, and attracting and retaining a skilled workforce through the use of telework.
The Telework America research survey, sponsored by AT&T, indicates that while more than half of the teleworkers surveyed have been working remotely for at least three years, 2.8 million are new, with one year or less experience in teleworking.
The research findings this year showed significant growth in the teleworker population by 20.6 percent over last year. However, ITAC emphasizes differences between the 1999 and the 2000 studies. The teleworker sample in 1999 included people who were regularly – as well as occasionally – employed and did some work at home, while this year (2000) the study delved deeper to focus on regularly employed teleworkers. Utilizing the growth rate found in the 2000 study, and applying it to the total number of teleworkers found in the 1999 study, the new findings imply a total of 23.6 million teleworkers nationwide.
The 2000 survey was based on a more rigorous definition of teleworking to be able to further study the potential impacts of working remotely including effects on employees, employers, the environment, and traffic congestion. This year’s study found there were 16.5 million regularly employed teleworkers in the U.S. Results also showed an increasing desire to telework-a clear indication of a pent-up demand to telework, which supports the projection in the study that estimates as many as 30 million teleworkers by the end of 2004.
When considering implementation of a telework program, many employers look for bottom line impact including productivity improvements, space savings and employee retention and/or recruiting. The survey found that 12 percent of teleworkers share their workspace with at least one other person, which equates to an equivalent saving in office space.
Telework fosters increased productivity according to the survey. The self-reported productivity improvement of home-based teleworkers averages 15 percent, while telework-center-based employees reported a 30 percent improvement. Management of teleworkers ranges from supervisors located in the same city to those across the country. Three of every five teleworkers have local supervisors, while nearly one of five were supervised by someone out of state.
On average, both home-based and center-based teleworkers work remotely about 20 hours per week. While there are teleworkers in every region of the U.S., the highest per capita proportions are in the New England, Mountain and Pacific states. According to the survey, 39 percent of the workers who do not currently work remotely are interested in teleworking-and 13 percent of those workers would consider the ability to telework an important influence when making a decision to accept another job.
An analysis of the demographics of teleworkers, which was an integral part of the research study, is described in FMLink section Surveys, Benchmarks, Trends.
ITAC can be reached at www.telecommute.org.
