The 'naked truth' about telecommuting
By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | ∞
Global warming often has been cited as another reason ---- besides traffic congestion and air pollution ----- for joining a car pool, taking mass transit to the office or working closer to home.
Now it is being cited as a reason for working at home.
"This is a very inexpensive tool ---- and a very easy tool ---- for reducing global warming," said Kate Lister of Carlsbad in a telephone interview last week.
Lister and husband, Tom Harnish, are big fans of telecommuting. They have done it for years. And they are trying to get many people to follow suit ---- or rather, to take off their suits.
They maintain a Web site (undress4success.com) that espouses the advantages of working at home. (No, it's not a porn site.) And they plan to publish a book on the topic in early 2009 titled: "Undress 4 Success ---- The Naked Truth About Making Money From Home."
Of course, the title is a play on the time-worn slogan, "Dress for Success." But Lister said it also reflects one of the advantages of working at home.
"This all started because we wanted to find a way to work in our underwear," she said.
Telecommuting hasn't exactly taken the nation by storm. But locally many have found a way to work in casual clothes in the comfort of their own houses.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey, 6.5 percent of San Diego County workers and 4.6 percent of Riverside County workers telecommute. That compares to a national average of 3.9 percent.
It's great the area is doing better than the nation as a whole, Lister said. But she contended that, with so much of the economy becoming service- and communications-oriented, many more people could work from home ---- as many as 40 percent of the regional work force.
Imagine, for a second, the implications of that. Instead of 90,000 people staying at home in San Diego County, there would be nearly a half million working from home offices. And the existing 40,000 stay-at-home employees in Riverside County would swell to more than 310,000.
The incidental benefits would be enormous.
Besides the obvious relief on the freeways, Lister estimated commuters in the two counties would save 183 million gallons of fuel and $642 million ---- and avoid pumping 1.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
"On an individual basis, they would save over five work weeks a year ----- one hell of a vacation," she said.
For most of us, we can only imagine that.
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Gee you mean wrote on Mar 17, 2008 6:36 AM:Gore, the one who is getting hauled into court for Financial Fraud regarding Global Warming, could of Telecommute with the other defendants instead of flying private jets to Bali for the Global Warming meeting?
Telecommuter wrote on Mar 17, 2008 10:34 AM:I haven't left my house to work in going on about 5 years and it's absolutely great! Certainly one of the best decisions I've ever made!
Very nice wrote on Mar 17, 2008 3:06 PM:if you can get it! Tell me what types of jobs are out there to allow one to telecommute? Every job I have ever had required my presence.
aDAMANT wrote on Mar 17, 2008 8:57 PM:Stop worrying about the "theory" of global warming. This man-made idea is one of the biggest hoaxes of all time. Thanks to the liberal media for trying to make this theory a true one. Man will be fine. Global Warming. hahahahahahahahahahaha. Give me a break!
Vista Resident wrote on Mar 17, 2008 10:08 PM:"The 4-Hour Work Week" is a book that I picked up over at Barnes & Nobles recently. This book has all kinds of neat ideas for those who want to work remotely.
I can tell you from personal experience, though, that it does take quite a bit of inner discipline to work at home. So, I prefer working onsite when it is convenient to do so.
VPN and LogMeIn make working remotely via computer totally feasible. So, if you have a job that you can mostly do on the computer computer and/or by phone, then you may be able to arrange to work from home.
The Dark Side wrote on Mar 18, 2008 9:50 AM:My husband works from home more hours than he is at the office. What they don't tell you is that the company you work for is transferring some of their costs of operation to you and you don't get reimbursed for that. You pay the electricity to run the laptop and/or desktop computer, the copy machine, the scanner and the fax or other office equipment. Your electric bill increases as a result. His company did provide the laptop and cell phone, but all of the rest of the equipment he uses were purchases we made. We also heat and cool, provide the lighting, furniture and storage he requires to work from home. I would rather have him work from home, but there are some uncompensated expenses that are a direct cost to us. In addition, I would say he works many more hours from home because it is so easy for him to check his email and handle issues that come up 24/7 just by walking into the room that serves as his office. No, he doesn't get compensated to work 12-15 hour days, be available in the middle of the night or on weekends. Working in your jammies does have some disadvantages, too.
Walt wrote on Mar 20, 2008 7:38 AM:Certainly we should telecommute where feasible. But remember communication, and travel are not end products. They are important elements in the productivity of the overall enterprise to provide goods & services society needs. Hopefully the enterprises will be able to decide where telecommuting is allowable, rather than be subject to politicized regulation. State of Washington is considering a law that would reduce vehicle travel w/o considering impacts upon economic viability, or personal lifestyles.
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