In their article, Workshifting Benefits:  The Bottom Line, The Telework Research Network gave compelling statistics about the benefits of employee telecommuting.  Telecommuting is a relatively new trend in business that allows employees to work from home, part to full-time.  With the current resources available through technology, it is likely feasible for 40% of the workforce and has benefits for the employer, employee and the community.  For the employer, more telecommuting employees means reduced real estate costs, turnover and higher productivity.  Telecommuting employees themselves will reap benefits such as saving money on gas, work related expenses and gaining back the time they used to spend commuting.  And, the overall community can benefit by the reduction of the overall use of oil, greenhouse gases, car accidents and highway maintenance.

Telecommuting or Alternative Workplace Strategy should be a consideration when conducting a facility needs analysis. Often times companies can achieve significant real estate cost savings by carefully evaluating whether adopting this strategy is something that works for their culture or workflows.