eWorkPlace Success Stories: Highlighting Employer Results

eWorkPlace is a state-sponsored program for metro area employers. Its purpose is to reduce congestion on the highways in and around the Twin Cities by encouraging employers to offer employees the option to telework. Teleworking enables employees to work from home or a remote location and connect to the office, coworkers, and clients via the internet and other technology. The program goals are to recruit and retain over 2,700 participants and to reduce regional congestion by eliminating or shifting a minimum of 5,400 trips a week from the peak hours on our roads.

A secondary goal is to develop real-life examples that other employers can draw on when considering telework and/or changes to business practices. Telework not only has significant benefits to employers and employees, it has the potential to limit the need for expanded transportation infrastructure. Using electronic survey techniques, eWorkPlace is collecting information from  participants to assess reductions in vehicle miles traveled (VMT), emissions, and green house gas (GHG) produced, as well as estimate cost savings to businesses and individuals in the current economic environment.