Encourage Telecommuting!

I said to mark my words.

I think in the next 10-15 years we will see a great trend in encouraging people to create home offices and work from their houses (at least part of the week). [Source]

Companies are already coming on board!

The [U.S. Patent and Trademark Office] has proposed a telecommuting program whereby its employees would be permitted to telecommute up to four days per week from an approved designated alternative work site–usually the employees’ homes. The agency believes that this program will improve work force recruitment and retention, reduce traffic congestion and pollution in the Washington, D.C., area, and deliver substantial cost savings. It expects to have 3,300 employees participating in this program by 2011. [Source]

They will reimburse high speed Internet connectivity 50-100%. To assure productivity is not sacrificed, the program will only be offered to employees that rated "fully successful" on their most recent performance review.

The location of an employee is not as important as the employee’s performance. Employee performance and productivity can be measured. So long as an employee is performing his or her job functions well from home, those functions should be supported. Internet access in this day and age is critical support, and the employer cost of reimbursing such access is nominal when compared with the cost of maintaining an employee in an office at the employer’s premises. [Source]

They note some of the same benefits I have said of telecommuting.

There are great conveniences for the employee who no longer has to travel to and from work. And there are societal benefits, such as reduced traffic, congestion and pollution. [Source]