You could call me one lucky fellow. That’s what lots of people say when they find out that I telecommute to work every day. Over the years, I have been able to manage to find a way to provide valuable IT services to clients by working from my own home office. But I am far from being the trendsetter in this industry. Ever since the early 90s dotcom boom, companies have been more and more leaning towards telecommute workers.
There are many benefits to both the company and the worker when a telecommuting possibility arises. In fact, workers tend to be far more productive when working from home than they are in any corporate environment. Well just about any, as there are some places to work at, like Google, that are some of the top jobs in the world—where you can wear what you want to work, pull pranks on your boss and enjoy gourmet eats in the cafeteria once you have finished playing a game of billiards in the recreation center.
But for the rest of us people – those who don’t get the illustrious offerings of a Tier 1 workplace, such as Google offers – telecommuting from home is a sultry option. Now keep in mind that some people need that boss cracking the whip over their back or they just won’t work. But for guys like me, I crack my own whip and am able to enjoy such prospects.
So how much more effective are at-home workers?
Quite a bit, according to a white paper that was published by Ralph D. Westfall, entitled, “Does Telecommuting Really Increase Productivity?”
Citing from the article, Westfall notes that, “I scanned articles published in 1999 or later. Most mentioned productivity gains in general, and some mentioned numerical estimates including “15% to 40%” (IBM) and “as much as 40%” (USWest).”
Westfall devised an algorithm to measure this effectiveness, too.
It consists of this: Output = Hours x Intensity x Efficiency x Adjustments
The mathematical variant is: O = a x Hb x Ic x Ed x Ae
Translated to a chart here’s the real scoop, according to Westfall.
The chart reflects a 20% gain in productivity. Factor this with reduced overhead costs (office space, utilities, parking, etc.), and you have pretty tasty telecommuting cookie for businesses and employees.