Sorry Yahoo!, But Telecommuting Makes Employees Happier

Sometimes the best place to work is in your home, or, as I am doing now, a cafe.

With the rise of easy and cheap telecommunications it is much easier to be connected to the office while working from home or another location. Telecommuting and working remotely not only makes people happier by reducing their commute time, but also makes companies more productive since employees are happier which improves the bottom line.

An article by the Wall Street Journal points out that:

“Some 13.4 million people, or 9.4% of U.S. workers, labored at least one day at home per week in 2010, compared with 9.2 million people, or 7% of U.S. workers in 1997.”

So the trend is definitely increasing even though some companies, like Yahoo!, have made a splash about canceling their remote working arrangements. I believe they had to take drastic actions to help turn the company around; however, many more companies are moving towards remote working arrangements. That’s a similar viewpoint that a Forbes article took on the Yahoo! decision when it said: “telecommuting is the future of work.”

Much depends on your company and your position in the organization chart, but  however, more companies and employees will find ways to work remotely at least one day a week as it increases productivity and employee happiness. The Wall Street Journal article mentions that Cisco did a survey that showed the quality of life increased for their employees who did remote working arrangements and they suggested it might be because their travel times were reduced.

We can all agree that being stuck in traffic is not a pleasant way to spend your time. Could you do a remote working arrangement with your company? Or do you already have one? Let me know in the comments section what is your opinion on this topic and how you see the future of work evolving.