The Nation would:

– Save 289 million barrels of oil—equivalent to 37% of our Persian Gulf imports
– Reduce greenhouse gases by 53 million tons/year—27% of the President’s 2020 goal
– Reduce road travel by 115 billion miles/year saving $2 billion in road maintenance
– Reduce road congestion thereby increasing productivity for non-telecommuters as well
– Save 100,000 people from traffic-related injury or death
– Improve emergency responsiveness

Businesses would:

– Increase productivity by over $235 billion
– Save $124 billion in real estate, electricity, and related costs
– Save $46 billion in absenteeism
– Save $31 billion in employee turnover

Individuals would:

– Achieve a better work-life balance
– Recoup 2-3 weeks of free time per year—time they’d have otherwise spent commuting
– Save $2,000-$7,000/year
– Save $15 billion at the pumps

These arent’ just pie-in-the sky numbers. At the TeleworkResearchNetwork we’ve synthesized over 250 studies on telecommuting and related topics. Our research has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and dozens of other publications.

Using the latest Census data, and assumptions from dozens of government and private sector sources, we’ve developed a model to quantify the economic, environmental, and societal potential of telecommuting for every, city, county, Congressional District, and state in the U.S. and for the U.K. and Canada. It’s available free on the web at http://teleworkresearchnetwork.com along with a model that allows companies and communities to quantify their own potential telecommuting savings.
It’s time we made the road less traveled the way to work.™

Kate Lister, Principal Researcher
TeleworkResearchNetwork.com