Telecommuting

From 1994 through 1996, the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources and the Massachusetts Highway Department undertook a project to study what specific impacts telecommuting has on companies, individuals and society. The following is the Executive Summary of that project.

Telecommuting, the act of working from home rather than traveling back and forth to a workplace, is thought to produce benefits for the companies and individuals involved and intangible benefits for the rest of society. During 1994 the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources and the Massachusetts Highway Department undertook a project to study what specific impacts telecommuting has on companies, individuals and society. Funding for the project was provided by the Federal Highway Administration and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

In brief, this study found that telecommuters were:

• as productive as, or more productive than, their non-telecommuting workers,
• happier, more dedicated employees,
• better able to balance the pressures of their work and family lives, and
• reduced vehicular air pollution, highway congestion and transportation fuel use.

In addition, the results of this study contradict widespread assertions that the major obstacle to implementing telecommuting programs is the fear of middle managers that telecommuting does not allow line supervisors to exercise constant, close supervision of their employees to insure maintenance of productivity standards. Interviews and performance data in this study showed otherwise. Instead, the major obstacle to implementation of telecommuting appears to be the lack of information about, and experience with, the benefits of telecommuting on the part of those managers.

This study was designed and conducted by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute for the Division of Energy Resources. This Executive Summary discusses the approach and findings of their work.

Contents

I. Background

The Massachusetts Telecommuting Initiative was created to study the impacts of telecommuting on a sample of Massachusetts employees. Over 300 respondents from 50 employers participated in this study.

The scope of the study addressed a number of aspects of telecommuting:

1. Organizational approaches: telecommuting agreements, institutional barriers and the types of telecommuting programs.
2. Operational impacts: supervision, job performance.
3. The impact on home and quality of life of telecommuters.
4. Societal Impacts: vehicular emissions, traffic congestion and fuel use.

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II. Research Design

The research for the Initiative consisted of a series of surveys and interviews. Five different populations were surveyed:

• Telecommuters,
• Non-telecommuting coworkers of telecommuters,
• Supervisors of telecommuters,
• Individuals responsible for the administration of the telecommuting programs,
• Non-participating organizations.

The first research instrument was a mailed questionnaire that addressed demographics, basic commuting patterns, work experiences, home life, and general perceptions of telecommuting. The second instrument was a telephone interview de-signed to capture similar information. Both telecommuters and non-telecommuters were also asked to complete seasonal travel logs. Supervisors of telecommuters completed a survey that captured information about their experience supervising telecommuters and their perceptions of telecommuter performance. Organizational representatives were interviewed to provide information about the history and nature of their telecommuting programs, including their policies and telecommuter selection procedures. Representatives from non-participating organizations were also interviewed.

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III. Findings

The analysis of the data from the study yielded the results outlined below.

ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACTS

Telecommuting appears to facilitate an improvement in worker productivity. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of telecommuters from the 1995 written survey and 82.6% from the 1996 telephone survey reported improved productivity and overall work performance over the prior year. Supervisors reported improved or sustained productivity (100%) and improved overall performance (96.7%) for telecommuters over the prior year.

During the 1996 telephone interviews a majority (72.8%) of telecommuters reported that they were more effective working away from the office. Even more (86.6%) reported that they had enough informal contact with their coworkers and most (88.7%) reported they had more flexibility in their professional lives as a result of telecommuting.

The supervisors also indicated that telecommuting had a minimal impact on their unit's operating budgets -- Sixty percent reported no change in their expenditures and 17% reported an increase.

In addition to improved productivity, organizations reported other benefits as direct results of their telecommuting programs. These benefits included:

• improved employee morale,
• reduced overhead expenses, and
• improved employee attraction and retention.

Telecommuting surveys conducted in the past by other organizations have noted a resistance by management to offer a telecommuting work option. The results of the Massachusetts Telecommuting Initiative had opposite results. Responses from supervisors did not support the notion that telecommuting is resisted by management. For example, very few supervisors agreed that telecommuters required more frequent interaction (6.7%), were difficult to evaluate (16.7%), or needed to be closely monitored (6.6%).

When asked about telecommuting benefits, supervisors indicated that the best aspects were happier employees, more productive employees, reduced costs, flexibility and improved employee retention and attraction. When asked about the least attractive aspects, the potential for a reduced interaction with co-workers was a concern.

Telecommuters indicated that the most attractive aspects of telecommuting were schedule flexibility, less travel, fewer distractions/greater productivity, and more time to spend with their families.

PERSONAL IMPACTS

Most telecommuters (86.8%) reported that their work arrangement had a positive impact on their home life. Telecommuters indicated that telecommuting improved their ability to meet household needs (87.8%), run personal errands (75.2%) and reduce the stress associated with commuting (94.8%). A majority of telecommuters (86.6%) reported that their family is supportive of their telecommuting.

Nearly all of the telecommuters (96.5%) and two-thirds (73.5%) of the non-telecommuters reported that if it were solely up to them, they would telecommute at least one day each week. Most telecommuters (83.7%) and half of the non-telecommuters reported that if it were their decision, they would telecommute two or more days per week.

SOCIETAL IMPACTS

Data from the combined summer and winter travel logs indicates that telecommuters drove an average of 31.5 fewer miles on the days they telecommuted than on days they commuted. They also averaged 24.5 fewer daily miles than non-telecommuters. Thus, the average reduction in the number of miles driven per day while telecommuting (from the combined travel logs) was 28.

Of those responding to the initial survey, 124 telecommuters reported telecommuting an average of 2.26 days per week. Utilizing the 28 average fewer miles per telecommuting day, a total of 7847 miles per week were "saved." This translates to approximately 400,000 fewer miles driven per year, an average of 3,226 per telecommuter/per year.

According to 1994 U.S. Department of Transportation calculations, the average passenger vehicle has a fuel efficiency of 21.48 miles per gallon. Based on this national average, it is estimated that the telecommuters participating in this study saved roughly 18,600 gallons of fuel per year. At today's average price for regular unleaded gasoline ($1.29/gal), this represents an average total dollar savings of $194 per telecommuter/per year.

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IV. Conclusions

The following are specific conclusions drawn from the research for the Massachusetts Telecommuting Initiative:

1. Supervisors indicated that telecommuting does not negatively affect worker performance and, in many cases, facilitates improvements in productivity.
2. The vast majority of employees, both telecommuters and non-telecommuters, would telecommute at least one or two days/week if given the option.
3. Telecommuters were enthusiastic in their praise of virtually all aspects of telecommuting.
4. Telecommuting provides an opportunity for employees to work during events such as bad weather which otherwise would prevent workplace access.
5. Telecommuting reduces vehicle miles traveled and, therefore, can provides benefits in terms of reduced energy consumption and reduced energy expenditures for telecommuters.
6. The residents of the Commonwealth benefit from the societal impacts of telecommuting through improved air quality and reduced highway congestion that result from the increased telecommuting.
7. Telecommuting seems likely to grow as a management strategy to:

• Facilitate increased worker and organizational productivity
• Maintain or improve attractiveness as an employer to current and prospective employees
• Improve the ability to retain competent staff
• Limit overhead and other operating expenses

8. Successful telecommuting programs appear to have the following components:

• Telecommuting is adopted as a "formal" program
• Telecommuting is voluntary Organizations facilitate communications with telecommuters (through e-mail, call-forwarding, etc.)
• Performance measures are understood and agreed to by both supervisors and telecommuters before telecommuting commences
• Telecommuters are granted the flexibility to schedule their work during their most productive periods
• Provisions are made to include telecommuters in both social and professional interactions (e.g., meetings are scheduled in order that telecommuters have the opportunity to attend)

Recommendations

The positive impacts of telecommuting accrue to all residents. Both public and private sector organizations in Massachusetts stand to benefit from an increased adoption of telecommuting policies and should take advantage of these opportunities. State government should consider programs such as California's State Employee Telecommuting Program. Private sector organizations are encouraged to examine telecommuting possibilities for their employees. The establishment of formal guidelines that describe the general requirements and procedures for managing telecommuters will assist both private and public organizations with their efforts to introduce telecommuting as a workplace option.

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