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MORNING

Before You Go Go

8:45 a.m.

Telecommuting

To Leave or Not to Leave

ON THOSE MINUS 30 DEGREE Albertan winter days, Patricia Green is thankful she can work from home. The director of the Telus telecommuting program lives and often works from her house in St. Albert, a suburb of Edmonton. But then again, she could also be in Vancouver at a meeting or picking up her mail from her base office in Edmonton. In 2009, Telus rolled out the telework program to 18,000 staff members across Canada. Now, employees arrange schedules around life and work. For some, this could be as little as once a week in the office; others may follow a more traditional schedule. It saves energy (417, 216 kg of CO2 in its first year!) and all those daily human costs of commuting. For Patricia, there’s no more stressing about finishing work in time to make dinner for her two teenage boys. Now, returning to the 9-to-5 schedule would be the real grind.This is the first generation in history that doesn’t see showing up at the office as essential to our jobs. Everyone from Margaret Atwood to Alice Munro are using the aid of trusty devices, such as the so-called LongPen invention, to avoid climbing on yet another pollution-spewing airplane for a book tour. And today’s online tools, such as Skype and Google, make this set-up accessible to everyone. One caveat though before you go phoning it in: telecommuting isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Before you begin working in your pajamas, build a solid team base with face-to-face meetings, staff hang-outs and regular appearances at the office. This way you can have the best of both worlds: strong connections with your co-workers and a lighter carbon conscience.

THE NEW WORLD OF WORKGive your time management skills a work out in your home office.Make your house workspace distraction-free, clear of cell phones, pets and kids.Prepare lunches the night before, the same way you would going into the office, so you don’t waste time prepping meals.Create time to meet informally with colleagues and build strong work relationships.When in the office, make the most of your presence by touching base with all team members.With an intense deadline looming, put a work-from-home arrangement on hold and assist your team.

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Living Me To We | Morning

MORNING

Before You Go Go

8:45 a.m.

THE WORK-FROM-HOME BALANCE

prosA worldwide survey found that 80% of teleworkers were as or more productive than their office counterparts.33% of Canadians would take a work-from-home arrangement over a raise!Telework can be an option for those on maternity leave, a differently abled employee or one forced to relocate.

consWorking from home can increase feelings of isolation, while face-to-face interactions strengthen team member bonds.Studies show that non-teleworkers can feel a diminished sense of camaraderie with their telecommuting co-workers.

DID YOU KNOW...?

IF ONE MILLION CANADIANS WORKED FROM HOME JUST ONE DAY A YEAR, WE WOULD SAVE 250 MILLION KILOGRAMS OF CO2 EMISSIONS AND 100 MILLION LITRES OF FUEL.

GO TO PAGE 156 FOR MORE TIPS AND INFORMATION

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Morning | Living Me To We