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>In an attempt to answer some of Hillary's questions...
>
>There is a lot of telecommuting (aka teleworking) reference material on the
>Web (URLs provided below). I've spent a significant amount of time the past
>few days studying this alternative work arrangement. I'm the Technical
>Publications Manager for a 300-employee company. One of the writers on my
>team wants to TC and I have been given the go-ahead to make a presentation to
>upper management. If our test program is successful, we will have the
>opportunity to establish the "template" for the entire operations group.
>
>Here's what I've learned so far (in a nutshell):
>* An estimated 9 million Americans telecommute and that number is growing at
>20% per year.
>* On average, employers realize an increase in productivity of 20%.
>* On average, telecommuters work at the home office 2-3 days per week.
>* On average, telecommuters work harder and longer hours than they normally
>would.
>* Employers realize a decline in sick leave from telecommuters.
>* Most information-based occupations, like technical writing, work well in
>the telecommuting environment.
>* Managers who manage "by walking around" must readjust to managing through
>well-defined project priorities and timelines. This is a good thing because,
>as a manager myself, I will become more effective and my team more
>productive.
>* The Clean Air Act is the major driving force behind telecommuting in large
>metro areas. Environmental impact will continue to "force" companies to
>consider and adopt telecommuting programs.
>* Any successful telecommuting program will require a paradigm shift in the
>whole organization, or at least within product development and others we
>technical writers deal with.
>* Not every employee should (or wants to) telecommute.
>
>Telecommuting URLs:
>
>http://www.knowledgetree.com/ata.html
>http://www.att.com/telecommuting/telecommuting.html
>http://www.telecommute.org
>http://www.telecommute.org/faq.html
>http://www.iabc.com/cw/news/o_n_d96/oct_796.htm
>http://www.microtimes.com/157/telecommuting.html
>http://www.dpa.ca.gov/jobsnpay/telework/telemain.htm
>
>
>Good luck!
>
>Dan Biby
>dbiby -at- prevuenet -dot- com
>
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