The traditional image of earning a living typically involves going to work, punching a time clock and bringing home an hourly wage. However, more and more often, professionals are telecommuting, or performing various types of computer work at home. Data entry professionals, freelance writers and editors, IT and tech support people, and people in many other career fields are increasingly reaping the benefits of telecommuting. In fact, according to Forbes.com, more than 22 million Americans regularly worked from a place other than a central office location at least once a week, and according to Kiplinger estimates, as many as 100 million U.S. employees could be telecommuting by 2010.
So what is it that makes doing computer work at home so attractive to all these payroll workers and the self-employed? Obviously, one of the biggest benefits is that telecommuting eliminates the need to commute to and from a place of employment. According to ITAC, a telecommuting advisory committee, individuals who use their PCs and other office equipment to work remotely save an average of 53 minutes of travel time for each working day. Not only does that allow them additional time to spend on leisure time or work projects, but it also will add up to a considerable reduction in annual fuel costs, particularly welcome during an era of high gas prices and recession economy.
An ironic benefit of doing computer work at home, closely associated to reduction in employee commuting, is the positive impact that performing work remotely has on the environment. A 2007 study from the Consumer Electronics Association found that telecommuting reduces American gasoline consumption by more than 800 million gallons while reducing CO2 emissions levels by some 14 million tons, or equivalent to taking two million cars off the road. So, while it may not be something that immediately comes to mind, doing computer work at home can actually help save the environment.
Of course, one of the main reasons many choose to telecommute is to spend more time with their family, for a variety of reasons. Some need to take care of young children, while others need to take care of relatives with special needs, their elderly parents, or so on. Working at home is, therefore, a tremendously attractive aspect to remote employment. For those with pre-school age children or home schooled students, a home office and some flexibility in their working hours is ideal.
For all of these reasons, and most likely several others, telecommuters have been found to have higher levels of job satisfaction than other employees do. According to a 2007 Reuters article discussing the results of a study by Penn State University, "Telecommuters reported that they were more satisfied with their jobs, were motivated to stay with the employer, experienced less stress, were able to balance work and family time better and got higher ratings from their bosses." Furthermore, statistics suggest that less than 1% of those who start telecommuting decide to stop. Clearly, then, the benefits of doing computer work at home, or performing remote work in any field for that matter, definitely has its advantages.
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