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Telework is a growing work option for companies of all sizes and types. According to the Telework Advisory Group for WorldatWork (ITAC: www.workingfromanywhere.org), there are more than 23.5 million Americans employed by a company who are working from home at least part-time. Just ten years ago in 1999, that figure was 19.6 million — and in 1990, there were just 3.4 million teleworkers in the United States.

Telecommuting can’t happen without the support of businesses, but employees themselves are certainly driving the process. Studies show that more and more companies are offering telecommuting and other flexible options as a means of attracting, retaining, and motivating employees.

SHRM’s “2008 Employee Job Satisfaction” report indicates that many companies offer nontraditional scheduling options to employees to help them balance their work and personal lives. Fifty-nine percent of Human Resources (HR) professionals indicated their organizations offered flextime, which allowed employees to select their work hours within limits established by the employer. In addition to flextime, 57 percent of HR professionals indicated that their organizations offered some form of telecommuting: Forty-seven percent of respondents reported that their organizations offered telecommuting on an ad-hoc basis, 35 percent on a part-time basis, and 21 percent on a full-time basis. Thirty-seven percent of HR professionals said their organizations offered compressed workweeks, where full-time employees are allowed to work longer days for part of a week or pay period in exchange for shorter days or a day off during that week or pay period. Eighteen percent of HR professionals reported that their organizations offered job sharing, in which two employees share the responsibilities, accountability, and compensation of one full-time job. These types of flexible scheduling benefits allow organizations to recruit and retain motivated workers who may not be able or willing to work a traditional nine-to-five schedule.

A 2009 study by WorldatWork also indicated an increase in telework. The number of US employees who worked remotely (i.e., telecommuted) at least one day per month increased by 39 percent over the past two years, from approximately 12.4 million in 2006 to 17.2 million in 2008. In its survey brief, Telework Trendlines™ 2009, WorldatWork reports that the sum of all teleworkers — employees, contractors, and business owners — has risen by 17 percent, from 28.7 million in 2006 to 33.7 million in 2008.