Telecommuting - Telecommuting and Telework Statistics

Telecommuting and Telework Statistics

Estimates suggest that over fifty million U.S. workers (about 40% of the working population) could work from home at least part of the time, but in 2008 only 2.5 million employees (not including the self-employed) considered their home their primary place of business.

Very few companies employ large numbers of home-based full-time staff. The call center industry is one notable exception: several U.S. call centers employ thousands of home-based workers. For many employees the option to work from home is available as an employee benefit but most participants only do so part of the time.

In 2009 the United States Office of Personnel Management reported that approximately 103,000 Federal employees telework. However less than 14,000 were teleworking three or more days per week.

In January 2012, Reuters, drawing from an Ipsos/Reuters poll, predicted that telecommuting "is a trend that has grown and one which looks like it will continue with 34 percent of connected workers saying they would be very likely to telecommute on a full-time basis if they could."

On December 9, 2010, the U.S. Federal Government passed the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 in order to improve Continuity of Operations and ensure essential Federal functions are maintained during emergency situations; to promote management effectiveness when telework is used to achieve reductions in organizational and transit costs and environmental impacts; and to enhance the work-life balance of workers. For example, telework allows employees to better manage their work and family obligations and thus helps retain a more resilient Federal workforce that is better able to meet agency goals.