Many workers in the U.S. now have the opportunity if not the responsibility to work outside the office. They are working in the car, at little league practice and coffee shops. An ever increasing number of workers are also telecommuting and never entering the “office.”
- Average worker telecommutes two days per month
- 46% of telecommuters do so during the workday
- Most say telecommuters are just as productive as other employees
Gallup thinks the implications of more telecommuting are dynamic.
“Tech giant Yahoo made news in 2013 when CEO Marissa Mayer changed company policy to require all workers to work in a corporate office. Yahoo’s policy aside, an increasing number of employers allow workers the flexibility to do their job remotely if it is feasible for their position. More American workers, though still a minority, now say they have telecommuted than said so in three prior Gallup surveys. However, the growth of the practice appears to be slowing.
Moreover, those who telecommute do not do so on a very frequent basis, averaging six days per month with only about one in four telecommuters — the equivalent of one in 11 employed Americans — working remotely from home instead of going to the office on most workdays.”
Employers need to recognize the cultural changes of a possible increase in telecommuting as well as mobile working. Many workers may work primarily in the office but answer emails and take phone calls while outside the workplace.
Jennifer Rubin covered these dynamic changes in a recent video post.
