Teleworkers trade miles for smiles

LINDSEY WAGNON | Laker Weekly

Jack Stevens, a full-time telework employee for Hewlett Packard, said telecommuters need to be socially active since working from a home office can be isolating.

Courtesy of Pamela Shutters

Verizon Business employee Pamela Shutters often commutes from her laptop while en route to meetings.

Ever since "Star Trek" watchers heard Captain Kirk command: "Beam me up, Scotty," we've had our fingers crossed. Beaming from here to there by teleportation beats traffic jams, airport security and jet lag any day. It's a hope that helps preserve sanity in an age of congested highways.

As scientists wrestle to make Hollywood concepts a reality, a type of instantaneous travel is already revolutionizing the daily commute. Thanks to advanced technology, millions of workers are reporting to work without leaving home. Worldatwork.org, a global association for workforce preservation, reports that using technology to accomplish work remotely is an increasingly popular employment option.

"The number of Americans who worked from home or remotely at least one day per month for their employer increased from approximately 12.4 million in 2006 to 17.2 million in 2008," it said in a February 2009 survey brief by the organization.

Because Smith Mountain lake is miles from the closest corporate hubs in Roanoke and Lynchburg, telework can be an ideal solution for lake residents. Working from a home office is how Jack and Paula Stevens of Wirtz are employed. Both began telecommuting for technology company Hewlett-Packard six years ago.

"I am a project manager for HP, meaning I implement networks by coordinating engineers and contractors to deliver, install and activate networks in my client's locations. If my client needs a new location networked in Indiana, I can set that up for them," said Stevens. "Currently I have four telephone lines and DSL in my home. My work is done over the Internet and by telephone."

Stevens said many of his neighbors and acquaintances at SML have home offices and telework at least part time.

"Around here, [telecommuting] is very familiar. A lot of people have home offices and build their homes to accommodate home business," he said.

For Stevens, trading a daily commute to and from an office for a much more convenient walk downstairs to the home office is among the major benefits to telework.

"I don't have to pay to eat lunch, I can eat at home. If I don't have something going on, I don't have to be at 100 percent attention," he said. "A benefit to my client is that I am basically available 24 hours, seven days a week."

Pamela Shutters, who lives in Moneta, can relate. Having teleworked as a Corporate Account Manager for Verizon Business for 14 years, she can list its conveniences.

"It's less expensive. All of my responsibilities can be done from my home office. I've got the fax, the phone, the Internet. Whenever I go on appointments, my computer goes with me. I don't have to drive to work every day, which allows me more time to be in contact with my customer," she said.

It seems like a work scenario dream come true, but both employees note that telecommuting isn't always perfect. Shutters said she sometimes misses office camaraderie. Often, her only opportunity to speak with co-workers in person is during a once-per-week visit to Roanoke headquarters to submit work results and download new software. Another downside is the hours.

"You definitely work more," said Shutters. "I'm at my desk by 7 a.m. and stay there until about 6:30 p.m. I am office-bound. I don't allow myself a mobile phone. I don't wash dishes, don't wash clothes. You have to be self-disciplined to succeed."

Long and varied hours come with the territory in telecommuting, said Stevens.

"The work that I do, some of it goes on during the day and some of it during the night," she said. "I may put eight hours in during the day, then another four to five 5 hours at night. I'm available all the time; it isn't like you go into your office and work and leave it there."

Another aspect of telework in a rural area is the limited high-speed Internet service in some locations. Stevens said some areas of SML, including his own home, have only recently received good Internet service.

"The first five years, I had a very poor Internet connection," said Stevens. "The local Telco [Ethernet provider] has upgraded and I received DSL the first of this year. It took me five years of working with Telco to get that. Some of the technology is intermittent, some people had it long before I did and some people it will never be available to."

Still, both parties agree the benefits of telework outweigh the costs, a recognition shared by an increasing number of corporations. PCWorld.com reports large companies such as Cisco Systems, Inc. retain considerable savings from the hours their employees telecommute.

Cisco Promotes Telecommuting, a recent article on the Web site, states, "Cisco has revealed it has garnered more than $277 million in productivity savings by letting employees work from home using the company's own virtual office technology."

Stevens, who previously worked in the real estate department of a large company, said real estate savings is a major reason corporations urge telework.

"Second to employee compensation, the real estate costs of doing business -- having an office location, stocking the office with resources like coffee and paper products and other supplies -- is how companies save through telecommuting," he said.

In addition to cost cutting, the method seems to keep employees satisfied.

"Cisco also found that 91 percent of the nearly 2,000 respondents to a late 2008 survey believed the ability to telecommute is somewhat or very important to their overall satisfaction on the job, improving the vendor's talent retention rate," states Cisco Promotes Telecommuting.

For local telecommuters such as Stevens and Shutters, the ability to be productive without having to leave SML is a combination that satisfies.

"I've got everything I need right here," said Shutters. "Telecommuting is perfect."

ABOUT TELEWORK

• Two bills promoting telework were introduced to Congress in March. The S.707: Telework Enhancement Act of 2009 and H.R. 1722: Telework Improvements Act of 2009 both seek to implement more telework options for federal employees.
• Virginia implemented a statewide telework day on Aug. 3.
• Telework programs yield a 60 percent decrease in employee absenteeism.
• 20 percent of employees said they wish they could telework.

-- teleworkva.org, worldatwork.org,