Welcome to the eWorkPlace Blog!

Lately, there seems to be rising interest from the public regarding who eWorkPlace participants are and how well the program is working for them. As such, gentle readers, the eWorkPlace blog will begin focusing on highlighting individual employers in forthcoming entries.

The rise in interest comes along as the telework debate heats up around the country and in D.C. A legislative representative from the National Treasury Employees Union, Kurt Vondran, recently stated that “no matter how many executive orders the White House issues, how many laws Congress passes, or how many well-meaning pronouncements from Cabinet officials, nothing will matter unless agency managers buy-in to the idea that telework is an operational advantage”.

Vondran has a point, of course. New reports consistently show the benefits of telework, with companies saving an average of $10,000 per employee a year for a total average of $400 billion a year. These savings take into consideration increased productivity, reduced facility costs, lowered absenteeism, and reduced turnover.

Our own preliminary eWorkPlace data has shown that participating employers have already expressed positive results in all the aforementioned areas. For example, Fairview Health Services noted a 50% decrease in overtime hours as a result of their telework program, saving the company a great deal of money.

50% is certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Now, what other companies have benefited from eWorkPlace’s assistance?

Stay tuned.

Adeel Lari, M.B.A., P.E.
Director of Innovative Financing, Research Fellow, and Teleworker
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota

The most innovative companies tend to be those that create new cultural norms that touch us everyday. Think the light bulb. The telephone. The automobile. The Internet. ..social networking? … teleworking?

Some of these are inventions of physical objects that have changed the way we work and some are abstract processes. But what connects all of these examples is how important they are and how we are not going backwards. We may move forward with more efficient light sources, smaller phones, electric cars, faster connections, but no way are we reverting to days of candles, buggies, or telegrams.

This is no different when it comes to telework. And it seems crystal clear by now that telework is becoming less of a luxury option and more of a necessary norm. Some predict that 43% of U.S. workers will telework at least occasionally by 2016.

The benefits of telework are being recognized rapidly as we seek financial solutions during the recession and as high achieving employees seek out companies that offer telework. A recent study found that telework is desirable in all fields, with a focus on federal workers seeking more telework opportunities.

Companies must take note. At this point, it may not be about staying ahead of the curve, but also about keeping up with the curve, about not falling behind the curve. Telework is here to stay and grow.

Adeel Lari, M.B.A., P.E.
Director of Innovative Financing, Research Fellow, and Teleworker
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota