"When asked [the employees] about their interest in working from home, only 21% said they were not at all interested".

I have been teleworking for about 20 years. It took a while to discipline myself to work efficiently at home. It took longer for my family to get used to my being around most of the time. I appreciate the teleworking benefits but sometimes I miss the office environment and the social interactions.

I do not necessarily fit the profile of the typical teleworker. I am not a Boomer. I do not embrace some of the new technologies, they tend to distract me and consume my time. I started teleworking because I moved 200 miles from my office.

Not all employees can take advantage of teleworking. Some must always be present at the workplace. According to a survey, WorldatWork Telework Trendlines 2009, "When asked [the employees] about their interest in working from home, only 21% said they were not at all interested".

Based on the latest American Community Survey data for 2007 to 2008, just over 2.18% of the U.S. employee workforce (2.8 million people, not including the self employed or unpaid volunteers) considers home their primary place of work. (Kate Lister, Text that's linkedTelework Research Network) This is up from 1.86% for 2005 to 2006.

The number of employees that telecommute at least one day a week has risen from 12.4 million in 2006 to 17.2 million in 2008. Occasional teleworking has risen faster than full time teleworking. About 29% of employers are offering telecommuting as a way to improve staff retention rates. (2008 Robert Half International Survey)

I searched for some information on the profiles of the common teleworker. The website, "Undress for Success and the Telework Research Network" has an interesting post that provides a number of statistics on teleworkers:

"The vast majority of workers in the United States commute to work, with 70 percent reporting they commute all the time to work. Among the other 30 percent: 9% telecommute part time and travel to their jobs the rest of the time; half of these individuals telecommute just one or two days a week; 2% telecommute full time; 8% have home-based businesses, and therefore do not need to commute; 12% have jobs that do not involve a traditional commute [likely road warriors / mobile workers] (2005/2006 National Technology Readiness Survey, Rockridge Associates)."

"Estimates of how many people telecommute and how often they do it vary widely. Based on all the research we've done, our estimate is that 20 to 30 million people currently work from home at least one day a week. 15 to 20 million are road warriors / mobile workers; 10 to 15 million are home businesses; 15 to 20 million work at home part time (with about half doing so 1-2 days a week; and about 3 million are based at home full time (including self-employed). (Kate Lister, Telework Research Network)"

The Teleworker Profile including self employed and road warriors (from WorldatWork Telework Trendlines 2009) looks like this:

Gender
61% male, 39% female

Age
18-34 = 42%
35-54 = 48%
55+ = 8% (this is where I fit in)
Mean Age = 40.3, Median Age = 38

Education:
High School or less = 23%
Some College or Vocational Training = 28%
College Graduate = 50%
Post Graduate Degree = 15%

Household Income
Under $40,000 = 10%
$40-75,000 = 32%
>$75,000 = 52%

Let’s look at the attractions of teleworking. These comments are also part of the "Undress for Success and the Telework Research Network" post.

Telecommuting saves employees money--Employees save on gas, clothes, food, parking, and in some cases, daycare (provided they can flex their hours to eliminate the need). The average savings is $1,600 to $6,800/year per person for half-time telework. It allows them to live in places where the cost of living is lower. Employees can save over $7,000/year for every $100,000 reduction in home value.

Telecommuting increases leisure time

Telecommuting reduces stress, illness, and injury-- 80% of diseases show that stress is a trigger. Because telework reduces stressful commutes and alleviates caregiver separation issues, teleworkers are likely to suffer fewer stress-related illnesses. A quarter of telework employers report improvements in employee health.

When the employee considers teleworking, there are both financial and qualitative benefits. The actual benefits accrued by the employee will depend on:

* Their organization's policies
* The organization's information security policies
* The management style of their immediate superiors
* The social interactions that the employee desires
* The employee work ethic

It took me a while to fully operate as a teleworker. I slowly changed my work and social habits over a period of a year. Some employees will find the first few months of teleworking require self discipline that may not have been necessary when at the office.