Telecommuting will become the predominant way that people access work over traditional means within the next 10 years. Advances in technology, especially high-speed internet, have increased telecommuting opportunities significantly. Telecommuting provides environmental, economic, and quality of life benefits like reduced energy usage and traffic as well as increased productivity and job satisfaction. As these advantages address issues like cost reduction, work-life balance, and environmental sustainability, telecommuting will become the new standard for how most jobs are performed.

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Telecommuting
Author
Institution

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Abstract
Stimulated by information technology advancement, principally the increase of internet services,
telecommuting is the quickest intensifying mode of working. Assisted by persistent broadband
expansion, primarily high speed internet, telecommuting is poised to be more prominent way of
accessing work than traditional means. Telecommuting has the potential of reducing costs,
augmenting production, and increasing the supply of prospective workers. This growth potential
will bring significant environmental, economic, and quality of life advantages. This paper
discusses the advantages of telecommuting and includes the explanations why these advantages
will make telecommuting a new way of working in the next ten years.

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Telecommuting will be the new way that jobs are performed in the next ten years.
Introduction
Spurred by progresses in information technology, particularly the increase of internet
services, telecommuting is the quickest expanding mode of working. Facilitated by persistent
broadband expansion, principally high speed internet, telecommuting is poised to be more
prominent way of accessing work than other means of accessing work. For example, in United
States, the number of employment opportunities filled by telecommuters may increase to
nineteen million over the next twelve years. This growth will deliver considerable
environmental, economic, and quality of life advantages for the country. Telecommuting has the
potential to reduce costs, augment production, and increase the supply of prospective workers.
This mode of working is emerging as a normal business strategy for various organizations
(Amigoni & Gurvis, 2009).
Individuals may ask why telecommute instead of going to the office using traditional
means. Individuals provide different arguments regarding telecommuting. There are those
individuals who support telecommuting through citing its benefits whereas others oppose
telecommuting through citing its disadvantages. The following is a review of the advantages of
telecommuting along with explanations why these benefits will make telecommuting a new way
of working in the next ten years.
Telecommuting helps in preserving energy; although energy use will persist to augment
as a result of enhancement of standard of living and industrial expansion, efficient utilization of
energy will remain to be of prime significance. Through telecommuting to work as an alternative
of utilizing more traditional means, there is an enormous prospective to conserve energy. Energy

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may be conserved in the following areas; highway associated resources and materials, vehicle
associated resources and materials and office related resources and materials. The increasing
need of conserving energy for sustainable development will result to promotion of
telecommuting. Increase in telecommuting will reduce energy use in manufacturing and
maintenance of transportation equipment. Telecommuting will reduce fuel resources required to
operate these equipment and resources required for building and maintenance of transport
infrastructure. Telecommuting has the potential of providing solutions to the increasingly
demand for office space (Vega, 2003).
In 2008, when the prices of gas were at $4 a gallon, Tech Data Corporation senior
management were searching for ways of easing workers’ financial burdens. The senior
management offered 200 workers the chance of experimenting with telecommuting (Amigoni &
Gurvis, 2009). In 2010, the company extended telecommuting option to approximately 530
workers. There are other companies offering telecommuting options to workers. These
companies rapidly increasing these opportunities and the trend will result to telecommuting work
force in ten years time.
Telecommuting helps in preserving the environment; sustainable development requires
environmental, social and economic sustainability. This calls for environmental conservation,
especially through reduction of conservatory gases emissions. Sustainable development calls for
efficient use of scarce resources including land. In the next ten years, telecommuting will
become one of the ways of promoting sustainable development. Telecommuting has the capacity
of decreasing land use needs for parking lots and roads expansion. Telecommuting has the
capacity of reducing emissions from slow moving automobiles (Vega, 2003).

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Telecommuting helps in promoting safety; telecommuting has the capacity of reducing
traffic associated injuries and deaths through the reduction of the number of individuals using
roads while rushing to work. Every year, there are several cases of traffic related injuries and
deaths around the world. Most of the deaths and injuries occur while individuals are rushing to
and from work. Traffic accidents result to considerable loss of property. In order to reduce the
number of traffic accidents, public and private sectors may encourage and support
telecommuting. As a result, telecommuting will be recognized as a new way of working in future
(Amigoni & Gurvis, 2009).
Telecommuting helps in improving health; one may ask how telecommuting would help
in improving health. How many individuals experience challenges while attempting to balance
family and work time? It is evident that most individuals experience these challenges, but
women are the majority. Several respondents recognize the role played by telecommuting in
balancing between work and family time. According to Amigoni & Gurvis (2009),
telecommuting helps in reducing stress associated with compromises made between work and
family. Many individuals experience stress emanating from commuting to and from work.
Telecommuting provides a renewed chance for employees to rediscover the pleasure of working
from their residents. Reduction of stress leads to improvement of employees’ health. The
increasing need to motivate workers through the reduction of stress associated with work and
family will result to promotion of telecommuting.
Telecommuting permits close propinquity to and association with family. Functioning at
home provides individuals a greater chance to share quality moment with members of the
family, thus promoting family values and developing stronger family relations and unity.

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How many individuals agree with this argument? It is evident that almost everyone agrees
with this significant argument concerning family life. Time saved by telecommuting may be
spent fruitfully with family members through means, which will encourage resolution of
family troubles. Societal strength is derived from potency of individuals, and the potency of
individuals is frequently derived from the potency of their families. In order to address
family problems, family counselors may recommend telecommuting as one of the ways of
solving these problems. This will lead to promotion of telecommuting (Verbeke, 2008).
Telecommuting helps in improving productivity. According to Verbeke (2008),
telecommuting saves time and this time may be utilized to enhance productivity. How many
individuals agree with Verbeke argument? It is clear most of the individuals agree with this
argument. How does telecommuting saves time and improves productivity? When
individuals use conventional means of going to and from work, they tend to spend much
time on redundant activities. Through telecommuting, an individual will not need to be
always preparing for the travel. An individual will no longer be anxious if he or she is
appropriately groomed, if his or her clothes are elegant, or if the automobile will start.
Employees are also no longer interrupted by idle prattle that unavoidably occurs at the
central workplace. Some of the conversations may be beneficial for one’s work, but much of
it is unproductive. Telecommuting enables employees with health difficulties to work in
their homes, which is a more comforting than the working in the office.
In 2009, there were 34 million Americans who were telecommuting. These Americans
included 56% of United States homes with broadband. In 2016, the number of employees
telecommuting is expected to increase to 63 million representing 43% of the United States

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employees. Most of the employees worked occasionally from home. The managers and highly
influential workers represented the higher number of telecommuting employees (Amigoni &
Gurvis, 2009). This shows the increasing comfort of these employees while working from home.
Through telecommuting, these employees have the capacity to monitor and administer the
productivity of their subordinates.
Telecommuting increases employee liberty in selecting working environment and
reduces the rate of staff turnover. Telecommuting allows employee liberty to select an
environment, which is more appropriate, from economic and social perspective and reside in an
area with individuals of common interest. Individuals who have the capacity to telecommute do
not have to leave their employment and move when they establish that they are incompatible
with the current area of residence. Telecommuting has the capacity to reduce the rate of staff
turnover, thus reducing training costs. Several individuals change their employers, since they are
moving in a new location. Through telecommuting, individuals may relocate without losing their
employment. This would lead to reduction of training requirements within the firm. This would
result to an increase in worker productivity while retaining productive and loyal workers on
board. The increasing need to lower the rate of staff turnover and offer favorable work
environment would result to promotion of telecommuting (Verbeke, 2008).
Conclusion
In the next ten years, telecommuting will be the new way through which work is
performed. Telecommuting has the prospective to cut costs, augment production, and augment
the supply of prospective workers. The increasing need to conserve energy and environment will
result to promotion of telecommuting as one of the ways of preserving energy and environment.

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Telecommuting may be considered as one of the ways of reducing traffic accidents and
promoting safety. Workers motivation, job satisfaction and work environment are significant
determinants of their productivity. Telecommuting will increase workers motivation, job
satisfaction and will provide workers liberty in selecting favorable work environment. This
would result to increase in workers productivity.

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References
Amigoni, M. & Gurvis, S. (2009). Managing the Telecommuting Employees: Set Goals, Monitor
Progress, and Maximize Profit and Productivity. Avon: Adams Media.
Vega, G. (2003). Managing Teleworkers and Telecommuting Strategies. New York: Greenwood
Publishing Group.
Verbeke, A. (2008). Growing the Virtual Workplace: The Integrative Value Proposition for
Telework. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing.

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References
Amigoni, M. & Gurvis, S. (2009). Managing the Telecommuting Employees: Set Goals, Monitor
Progress, and Maximize Profit and Productivity. Avon: Adams Media.
Vega, G. (2003). Managing Teleworkers and Telecommuting Strategies. New York: Greenwood
Publishing Group.
Verbeke, A. (2008). Growing the Virtual Workplace: The Integrative Value Proposition for
Telework. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing.