What benefits can an employee expect from a telework arrangement?
Improved Health
- Employees who telework one or more days per week report marked decreases in commuting-related stress. Did you know that eliminating even one day of commuting a week can add up to six days of time to your year? Imagine what you could do with an additional six days!
- Reduced commuters translates into fewer vehicular accidents
- Reduced exposure to airborne illness, or “sick building” syndrome, leading to less work absences and trips to the doctor
Increased Wealth
- Employees who telework save money on food, fuel, clothing, dry cleaning, parking and car insurance
- By teleworking just two days a week, the average employee will drive 5,000 fewer kilometres, eliminate 1,000 kilograms of CO2 emissions and save about $430 in gas each year (Source: David Suzuki Foundation: Small Steps)
A Better Career: Can telework help you recession-proof your job?
Popular media would have you believe that teleworking can impede your career success or security during an economic downturn; that being out of sight means being out of mind. However, consider the following:
- More with less: telework programs increase employee productivity by up to 40%. This means you are doing more in less time, freeing you up for additional projects and responsibility - good job insurance in economic downturns!
- Innovation: as a manager, consider the ways you can add value to your organization by implementing a formal telework arrangement within your team: cut costs by eliminating the need for dedicated work space and demonstrate innovation and leadership by managing people through objective setting not by line of sight!
