Telework from the Broadband Provider Pespective

Last week I attended the Minnesota Telecom Alliance (MTA) Industry Showcase. I was particularly interested in their telework tract, especially after talking to Dave Bickettfrom Park Region/Otter Tail Telecom about their Fergus Falls telework initiative at the MTA Annual Conference in the spring. Dave was presenting at the Industry Showcase this time – and was kind enough to share his presentation.

It was nice to get an update on what’s happening in Fergus Falls – but also instructive for any community interested in pursuing telework in their area too. There was a lot of talk from attendees about how telework provides opportunities for local residents but also provides great draw for folks looking to relocate. As several people pointed out – you no longer have to wait to retire to move to beautiful areas outside the Twin Cities (or Chicago or Tokyo!).

At the conference we also heard from Walt Stolrzyk, who has teleworked for several years now. He gave some pros:

• Less travel
• Less sickness
• Less
• Cost
• Productivity in emergencies (no more fire drills, stay home with sick kids)

And he gave some cons:

• Different distractions
• More dependent on technology
• Limited to local provider
• Need back up when technology fails

He clearly was a big fan of teleworking and it had worked well for him and for his company.

We also heard from Larry Kugler from Olsen Thielen. He was sort of the exception that proved the rule. He was very negative about teleworking. He seemed to think that workers wouldn’t work as well or as collaboratively from home. He said the key was communication and seemed to feel that only face-to-face communication would suffice. Then he made some comparison to a football game from 1967, which I have to admit was wasted on me – because I’m not a football fan and I definitely wouldn’t recall anything from a football game from 1967. So maybe his presentation did indicate that telework may not be for everyone – but I don’t think the issue is the technology, it’s the people.

Also for those of us who are proponents of telework, it was heartening to see the audience defend telework. At least a third of the room had a story to share of successful telework initiatives in their office and several were clearly taken aback with his take on telework.

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Is Telecommuting Right for Your Business?

Technology has reached the point where many employees can work from their home offices just as effectively as they can from the company office. While certain businesses and jobs require a staffed office, it may surprise you to learn just how many jobs can be done remotely. Larger companies generally have roles, such as call center representative or inside sales agents, whose work can be performed outside of the office.

Take Jet Blue for example, where 1,800 of its 2,100 Customer Support crewmembers work from their Salt Lake City-based homes (read more here ). The work-from-home model, created during JetBlue’s earliest days as a company, works well for those who seek flexible schedules and the comfort of working from home, and allows the company to ramp up or down quickly depending on operational needs.

Telecommuting is now listed as a “Best Perks” category in Fortune’s list of Top 100 Companies to Work For . Industry giants like Cisco lead the way with 90% of their workforce telecommuting and telecommuting is becoming more common in big businesses for a few reasons.  The underlying technology that enables telecommuting has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years. The ubiquity of high-speed internet, as well as a host of online collaboration tools has made it easy to be very productive regardless of geography. But it is not just the technology; it is the new generation of employees as well. Generation Y (and to a great extent, X) have grown up in a connected world where the internet is pervasive and they are used to working with the net-connected “smart” devices.

Benefits of a Telecommuting Workforce

Savings

Having employees work from their homes helps to reduces overhead expenses such as leased office space, utilities, and other shared costs. While there may be an initial technology investment required to get employees up and running from home offices, the long-term operational cost savings typically offset these set-up costs. Employees also realize personal time savings as a result of eliminated commute to and from the office.

Efficiency

A surprising find is that telecommuters often experience boosts in productivity. This goes along with the saying “a happy worker is a productive worker” and this theory works on a few levels. Employees feel that their managers trust them to work remotely and achieve their defined business objectives, and this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Jet Blue claims that after switching to home based customer service agents the company saw an immediate 25% increase in productivity .

Teamwork is Easier than Ever

Online collaboration tools have made it very easy to work remotely.  Software such as Google Docs allows multiple users to work on a variety of documents at the same time; Dropbox allows sharing of files and folders among computers and mobile devices; GoToMeeting enables users to share their desktops to share information live and co-create. With the addition of a webcam, real-time face-to-face collaboration is still possible with your manager, team, and clients.

Potential Challenges of a Telecommuting Workforce

Less Control

Telecommuting requires managers to relinquish some of their control. There is no chance for a manager to stroll the halls to check on employees and this lack of control can be unsettling to some. Telecommuters can also be harder to reach if problems arise. Even with the improved technology, users still have to rely on it as an intermediary and it’s no substitute for an informal drop-in to an office to hash out a problem.

Telecommuting Requires the Right Fit

Not every employee is suited for telecommuting. A recent study of telecommuting trends by the Monthly Labor Review shows that the highest percentage of telecommuters have a B.A. or higher. One might infer that these college graduates tend to be more driven and passionate about their work, and they can ultimately be more trusted to produce quality work from wherever they are. While many jobs can be worked from home, the right fit needs to be found with the employee.

Performance Monitoring Can be Difficult

Employees working from home generally do not adhere to a classic 9-5 schedule, and tracking the number of hours worked for non-exempt employees can be a challenge. For this reason, salaried workers tend to make up a large percentage of telecommuting jobs. While time tracking software is available to monitor workers’ activities and to ensure that they are staying on task, this type of “big brother” tracking infringes on the autonomy and flexibility that most telecommuters are seeking. Inside sales that are commission-based is a good example of a telecommuting job where performance can be easily monitored without time tracking.

Telecommuting is only going to become more popular as technologies continue to improve and tech-savvy professionals become the norm. There are economic and intangible benefits to both the employer and the employee. However, there are some potential drawbacks that need to be carefully considered when determining whether telecommuting is a good option or not. The pros and cons should be weighed before a business begins moving positions to a telecommuting arrangement.

Guest authored by Miles Hall , who loves writing about the business world. He contributes to businessbroker.net, and is primarily interested in businesses for sale .

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Tags: emergent , flexible work arrangement , flexible workforce , jesse jacoby ,jetblue , miles hall , remote work force , telecommuting , work from home

Tips for Telecommuting

Tips for Telecommuting
October 3rd, 2012
With today’s focus on the environment, conserving energy, and maintaining a work-life balance, more and more Employers are offering telecommuting as an option for Employees. Not only does working remotely save money on gas and other vehicle-related expenses, it lessens automobile emissions and cuts down on traffic accidents. Telecommuters also report a reduction in stress caused by compromises between family and work life. So what’s not to like? According to Lakeshore Branch Captain, Dana Martin, there are great benefits to working remotely, and there are a few things to keep in mind to make your telecommuting experience even more successful.

“It’s important to keep yourself on a schedule and maintain a professional attitude,” states Martin. Get up at the same time every day and get yourself mentally prepared for “the office” even if your computer is set up in the bedroom. Martin suggests you stay accountable to your team by staying connected and making yourself available to them. “Sometimes telecommuters are seen as ‘privileged’ by other employees and that can cause resentment,” she says, “so make sure you are responsible and respectful of those who are at the office.”

Another necessary requirement for telecommuting is the ability to “close the door” on household chores, the TV, and other distractions. “Prioritizing your work is imperative,” states Martin. In other words, folding laundry while participating in a conference call won’t be using anyone’s time effectively.

One of the downfalls of telecommuting is a lack of connectedness. Martin emphasizes that it’s important to maintain professional and personal connections even if your base is at home. She suggests going to the office for meetings and scheduling lunches with co-workers to maintain camaraderie, get caught up on information, and to keep networking opportunities available.

We invite you to visit one of our Lakeshore offices to discuss your career goals. Work environment is an important consideration when embarking on a job search, and we’re here to get you moving in the right direction–whether we benefit directly or not. Whether you want to collaborate with a high energy team downtown or plug into your laptop at home with a hot cup of coffee, we’re here to provide you with an “I Love Lakeshore!” Experience!

How to Get Your Teammates on Board with Your Telecommuting » The Glass Hammer

By Robin Madell (San Francisco)

If you use flex time at work or telecommute, you may find, like Rodney Dangerfield, that you “don’t get no respect.” A report by The Center for Work & Family notes that a primary challenge for organizations that use telecommuting is the “perceived difficulty in monitoring employee performance and measuring employee productivity.” In other words, many office-bound managers and colleagues think flex workers aren’t pulling their weight.

Yet ample research has proven otherwise. A July 2012 study by Stanford University [PDF] researchers found that employees with flexible work arrangements are actually more productive than their office-bound counterparts, despite skepticism over its effectiveness suggested by phrases like “shirking from home.” In the study, telecommuters took 15 percent more calls, worked 11 percent more hours, and had 4 percent higher overall productivity than office colleagues.

In her book Innovations in Office Design: The Critical Influence Approach to Effective Work Environments , author Diane Stegmeier reported on a wide range of studies that echo Stanford’s findings:

• American Express found telecommuting can increase employee productivity by as much as 45 percent.
• AT&T found teleworkers spend an additional hour working per day on average.
• Future Foundation found teleworkers saved their employers up to 10 hours weekly in the United Kingdom.
• The Telework Coalition found telecommuting can increase employee productivity more than 20 percent.

Seeking Peace

Not only do flex work options like telecommuting result in greater productivity for employers, but there are also good reasons behind why many employees want to use them. A new study conducted by FlexJobs found that the top reason job seekers want flexible jobs is work-life balance (cited by nearly 80 percent of respondents), followed by family, commute stress, health, environmental, and exercise.

Ironically, the number-one reason that many prefer to work from home in particular is to avoid interruptions from colleagues. A whopping 82 percent of those surveyed said intrusive coworkers make it difficult to get their job done efficiently in the office, along with office politics (73 percent) and overall distractions (71 percent). So while some office workers worry that remote workers will be more distracted at home, the reverse is actually true.

Homeward Bound

With so much evidence to support it, you might expect that employers would jump at the chance to have their workers telecommute or use flextime—and some companies do. Marketing executive Lori A. Freemire 
of software maker and distributor Micromine says that with marketing responsibilities for 22 offices around the world and myriad time zone differences, work flexibility is a must. As a result, she works up to 15 hours a week flexibly offsite, depending on workplace demands.

“I have conference calls when I’m at home in the evenings since the head office is at work,” explains Freemire. “Arriving to the office at diverse times of the day is ‘normal’ for our office, which makes it nice for parents who need to get to kids’ sports events, school meetings, or doctor appointments. We hold product demonstrations that may include three continents. I regularly work on Sunday evenings since the other offices are ‘in’ at that time and it makes me more efficient and responsive.”

Freemire adds that all team members are equipped with laptops and smartphones to work from home as needed in winter weather—and as a result, she believes teams are more productive. In fact, with everyone working flexibly, she sometimes feels teams are too accessible. “I don’t turn off my phone or have an auto ‘not in the office’ reply for my e-mail, but I do manage my time and priorities so that the emails/texts/calls don’t run me,” she says. “I check messages at set times—definitely not during meals or when I’m with my family.”

She credits her company’s management team for the productivity results. “Our management recognizes that there is no ‘9 to 5’ in our world, so rigidity is impractical,” says Freemire. “Do I have to work weekends on occasion? Yes, but knowing that my company and management allow me to work a more flexible schedule, I get what has to be done when it has to be done.

Convincing Colleagues

Here are some strategies for corporate women to use when trying to convince their colleagues that flexible work arrangements are productive:

Set expectations. Create a proposal or set of guidelines that gives structure to your flexible work arrangement, suggests Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of FlexJobs. Consider what forms of flexibility you will use (telecommuting, flexible schedule, alternative work hours, part-time hours, job sharing, etc.), as well as what your schedule will be, and how and when you will be reachable when out of the office.

Halley Bock, CEO and president of Fierce, Inc. , agrees that setting expectations is critical in a remote environment: “Define what adequate communication actually is: will we check in with each other once a day? Or once a week?”

Stay in contact. Create specific times and modes of communication to stay in continuous contact with your colleagues if you’re working away from the office. Fell advises using different ways to communicate, such as phone, IM, email, message boards, conference calls, and regular check-in meetings with your supervisors and close peers. “It’s up to you to maintain contact and remind people that you’re still a key colleague and team player,” says Fell.

“Having open, honest communication is the most important thing, even in remote work environments,” adds Bock. “Sometimes it can be face-to-face, and sometimes it has to be Skype. The key is to come together, whatever that looks like.”

Lionel P. Robert Jr., assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Information , adds that research has shown silence from remote team members is often interpreted as a bad thing. “In the absence of information, co-workers of remote employees normally assume the worst,” says Robert. To counter this, Robert makes the following recommendations for communicating while telecommuting:

• Send status updates. Keep coworkers posted on what you are doing and what you have done, suggests Robert. You may also want to keep coworkers aware of personal issues you feel comfortable disclosing. “Whether we like it or not, office gossip has positives,” says Robert. “When coworkers know that you are going through difficult times, they tend to be more forgiving and understanding.”
• Reply quickly to emails. Teammates who work regular business hours in the office may develop resentments toward remote workers if they believe they are not actively engaged in their work. To avoid that tendency, Robert recommends responding quickly to emails so that they know you, like them, are actively engaged with work.
• Virtually hang out. Consider using a chat application like Yammer or Chatter that allows teams to interact in chat rooms, allowing coworkers a window on your world. “Research has shown that ultimately these water cooler communications are what promote team cohesion,” says Robert. “Remote working relationships often suffer from a lack of these informal communications.” But don’t rely on virtual contact for everything—you can still come together periodically as a group, or have a conference call, to cover details and delve into deeper issues if necessary.

Track it. Track your own productivity, and provide regular reports to your team. Consider what metrics are really key to your success, and keep a daily log of these metrics and your accomplishments—extrapolate that into weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly accomplishments as time goes on. Fell recommends comparing this information to your previous years’ accomplishments or performance reviews to see where your productivity has benefited the most.

Have a sterling record. You can’t argue with success. Freemire advises women who strive for flexibility to first have a solid track record of cooperation and workplace productivity. When Freemire was pregnant with her first child, there was no Internet or teleconferencing. She managed Latin America sales and marketing for an engineering firm and was the only employee who could speak Spanish.

“My absence would have been detrimental to our sales and marketing efforts,” says Freemire. “Knowing this and caring about my territory, I proposed working from home with a fax machine and computer to prepare communications and to have the company cover any phone costs. Because I had built good interoffice relationships and worked hard to that point, my proposal was quickly accepted.”

Freemire adds that the “experiment” worked so well that she successfully repeated the same process two years later with her second child, and two other women were allowed to work from home as well. “It takes small steps to effect change,” she says.

Set an example. Freemire also recommends finding other respected people in the company, such as a mentor or other champion, to speak with about flex work. “Find out the views of leadership from the HR department as well to see if this has been done,” she advises. “Sometimes a company has had a bad experience and is gun-shy. With today’s technology, it is possible to better manage your priorities.” Freemire suggests that if you have a long commute, take the time to show how working from home one day a week allows you to be more productive.

While some colleagues and managers may continue to worry about creating a cohesive company culture in a remote environment despite your best efforts to prove the contrary, you can find ways to create opportunities for communication and continue to make the effort. “Determine the culture you want and its attributes, and then apply those attributes to conversations,” says Bock.

And a last word to the wise? “Drop by the office if possible,” says Robert—“especially for important meetings or office parties.”

Six Ways Telecommuting Is Better Than Business Travel

I have had the fortunate pleasure to be someone who works from home for many years now. I gave up the idea of an office when I realized that most of the people who work for me don't live in the same city as I do and setting up an office space just for myself seemed a little sad and depressing. Plus, my business is technology, so my clients don't really care if I do my work from a coffee shop, an office or the top of the Empire State Building (do they have wi-fi up there?) so long as it gets done.But I do know quite a few people who telecommute, at least part of the time. And, recently, businesses have begun to pass on business travel in favor of e-mail and teleconferencing. It cuts down on costs -- if your travel is of the international variety, the costs savings can be dramatic -- and anyone who doesn't require a face-to-face meeting with a colleague or client doesn't have to waste time traveling.
Here are six other ways, besides cost and time, telecommuting is simply superior to business travel.
6. No luggage.
Let's face it. Luggage sucks. No one likes carrying it around and it is even more annoying when some jackass tries to cram a suitcase into the carry on space that clearly isn't big enough. You know who you are.
5. Planes, trains and automobiles can kill you.
Sure, you are more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to be in a plane crash. And train derailments are even less likely. But, cars are freaking dangerous. Why risk any of it when you can commute safely from your bedroom to your desk, which reminds me...
4. No traffic.
Whether you are going to work or heading to the airport, traffic is going to be a problem. It might be actual vehicular traffic or it may be people standing side-by-side on the moving platforms despite signs saying "stationary individuals keep right." Logjams come in all shapes and sizes.
3. Technology is cool.
Getting to hang by your computer all day means plenty of time to surf the Internet and catch the latest video of a girl's fish getting snatched off her line by an 8-foot bull shark . Now, that's cool.
2. Limited real people interaction.
I like people as much as the next person, but when you are crammed into a tiny plane or a cubicle with people you didn't choose to be with, things can get dicey. Lounging at home, the only problem is your family and, well, I can't help you there, buddy.
1. You can work in your underwear.
I have long hated the concept of a dress code. When I was working for others, I cut every corner of the dress code to be more comfortable or save money on clothes. Shirt with a collar? Hello, polo! Black pants? Black jeans will do. With telecommuting, your options are substantially greater and as long as the potentially offending items are out of the video camera's field of vision, feel free to prance around your house wearing nothing if you like. We won't tell.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2012/07/six_ways_telecommuting_is_bett.php

Advice to those Seeking Telecommuting Jobs

Relative to the type of person that you are, telecommuting can provide a new and positive type of working environment, or can be a difficult transition from the typical working environment. Either way, it is imperative that each employee understand the pros and cons of telecommuting to determine your ability to be productive under such circumstances.

It is no surprise that the commute to work can add an enormous amount of stress to your life even before your work day begins. This type of stress can hinder your productivity at work as precious energy is exerted towards a timely commute. Telecommuting can rid the time and energy you spend on traveling to work completely, allowing you to either get extra time to rest, or begin your day at work earlier. Other benefits of telecommuting revolve around having a more flexible schedule which may be necessary for you depending on your own personal situation, such as supporting and providing for a family. Telecommuting is therefore beneficial in providing a more balanced work and personal life since you are not restrained to a particular place, providing you with more comfort to work in the manner that best suites you.
Although telecommuting seems to have many benefits, for some, it can provide a less comfortable environment. The lack of structure and direct communication with colleagues can be isolating. Telecommuting can make it much more difficult to collaborate with team members or discuss particular issues with managers or executives. This can make one feel less a part of the team and may contribute to their lack of enthusiasm for team projects and assignments.
Telecommuting can therefore be either a positive or negative addition to ones working environment. The key is to identify which position you are most likely to be most productive in relative to the importance of particular working environment traits. Check listing the most important aspects of your working environment may help you identify whether or not telecommuting is beneficial to you.

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Telecommuting grows as companies cut office costs

Laura McNutt.

Work-at-home employers

Chattanooga's biggest users of telecommute employees include:

• BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, 1,000 workers.

• Unum Corp., more than 1,000 workers nationwide, including 409 in Chattanooga

• Cigna Corp., 700 in the Chattanooga area.

Telework advantages

• Cuts office and parking expenses for employers

• Cuts travel time and expenses for employees

• Cuts energy use, pollution and traffic congestion for community

Telework disadvantages

• Limits personal relationships among workers

• Less direct, line-of-sight management, coaching by employers

• Limits demand for and construction of offices, stores and roads

Heather Bridgeman lives nearly 20 miles from the downtown headquarters of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, but the BlueCross customer service expert still walks to her job every day.

The daily commute for Bridgeman involves walking upstairs to the office she set up in her husband's former "man cave." Using a BlueCross telephone, computer and desk, she talks with customers, health care providers and other BlueCross employees without ever leaving her residence.

"I'm a people person so at first I wondered if I would miss going downtown and working beside my colleagues," said Bridgeman, who began working at BlueCross five years ago and shifted her workspace from the Cameron Hill corporate campus to her Hixson home two years ago. "But I quickly found out I'm able to communicate with others via computer or the telephone just as much as when I was in the office all the time. I really think my productivity has improved, and it's also nice to avoid the drive back and forth to work every day."

In just five years, the Tennessee BlueCross plan has shifted one of every six workers to such work-at-home jobs. Other Chattanooga insurers, including Unum and Cigna, employ more than 10 percent of their workers in telecommuting jobs.

Across Tennessee, a new study estimates 489,000 adults worked from home instead of commuting to work last year, two and a half times more than just four years ago. Connected Tennessee, a statewide advocacy group for broadband Internet services, said the number of telecommuting workers could more than double again if broadband connections are improved and more companies allow their employees to work at home.

According to statewide surveys by Connected Tennessee, nearly 1.2 million Tennesseans, or 44 percent of employed Tennesseans, said they would be willing to work at home if given the opportunity by their employers. An additional 586,000 Tennessee adults who do not currently work say they would be willing to do so if they were allowed to telework.

"We continue to see significant growth in telecommute jobs, but there is potential for far more, especially in rural areas where many higher-paying jobs were not available in the past," said Corey Johns, executive director for Connected Tennessee.

Overall, Tennessee is slightly below the U.S. average in the share of telecommuting workers in the Volunteer State. But Johns said Chattanooga's gigabit-per-second Internet speeds via EPB fiber optics open up more jobs such as tele-medicine to those wanting to work from home.

"While some Tennesseans may only take advantage of limited telework opportunities merely requiring basic broadband speeds, Chattanooga clearly has access to the full spectrum of telework opportunities and that is certainly a competitive advantage for those working to advance local economic development," he said.

Connected Tennessee's study found that a typical Nashville telecommuter saves $2,300 a year in transportation expenses and cuts his or her carbon footprint by 9,500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by working from home.

"There are clear economic, market and environmental advantages in promoting telecommuting," Johns said.

Homework PITS and Potential

Working at home is clearly not for everyone. Most jobs require workers to serve customers in hospitality or store settings or to produce products or to raise crops at designated work sites.

BlueCross and other employers promoting telecommuting in Chattanooga also say they screen workers picked for at-home jobs to ensure they are self-starters and work effectively on their own.

Global Workplace Analytics, formerly the Telework Research Network, estimates that less than 2 percent of U.S. employees work from home the majority of the time, excluding self-employed workers.

But the trade group for telecommute workers estimates 40 percent of employees hold jobs that are compatible with telecommuting.

Working at home could reduce the demand for new offices, stores and highway additions. But Global Workplace Analytics estimates the savings would more than offset the reduced demand for new construction.

If workers who could work from home spent just half of their work time telecommuting from their residences, experts project they and their employers and communities would save up to $650 billion a year in energy, road, car, office and other expenses.

Forrester Research recently projected that 63 million U.S. workers will telecommute at least part-time by 2016, up from about 46 million today.

"We're well on our way to hitting that mark," T.J. Keitt, a senior analyst with Forrester, said in a recent report. "To cope with a more mobile workforce, many organizations have bolstered deployments of laptop computers, smartphones, and collaboration software."

Office space savings

Jeff Wakefield, a human resources director at BlueCross, said the insurer began offering employees the chance to work at home when the company consolidated its Chattanooga staff, once housed in a dozen office building around Chattanooga, into its $300 million corporate campus on Cameron Hill in 2008.

"Initially, we wanted to reduce the footprint of the number of people housed here at Cameron Hill because we simply didn't have enough room for everybody," he said. "We've found over time that having telecommute workers has also helped us to be able to maintain services during inclement weather and to reduce our carbon footprint by reducing the amount of travel by our employees."

Last month, the Chattanooga-based BlueCross added its 1,000th telecommute employee.

"We reached that milestone much earlier than I had anticipated, but these work-at-home programs have really worked out very well," Wakefield said.

Despite initial concerns about the lack of "line of sight" management of telecommute workers, technology allows managers to evaluate performance and communicate regularly with workers no matter where they are stationed.

Distant work

BlueCross workers are in homes in 20 states as far away as Alaska and California.

Karen Eilers helps coach, train and oversee other BlueCross customer service specialists from her home in Panama City, Fla.

The technical team leader joined BlueCross in 2006 and initially thought she would never want to work away from the company's home office in Chattanooga.

But when her father-in-law died and her husband had to take over the Florida business, she discovered a major advantage of telecommuting. From her Panama City home more than 400 miles away from BlueCross' headquarters, Eilers is able to teach and review work by other Unum employees via shared computer screens, instant messaging, telephone calls and other electronic connections.

"It was really a great transition and by working at home myself I think I am better able to understand the concerns of other telecommuters," she said. "It's been a real godsend for me."

Unum Corp., and its predecessor, Provident Life and Accident Insurance Co., have used telecommuting workers for the past decade. Company spokeswoman M.C. Guenther said more than 1,000 Unum employees now work primarily from home, including 409 in Chattanooga.

Traci Wilson, a Unum customer service representative who lives near Red Bank, says she took advantage of the at-home work option six years ago and appreciates the chance to spend more time at home with her two children.

Her daily commute to work is only 20 feet to a first-floor office in her home.

"With my work schedule, I can get dinner or the laundry started during my breaks and I don't have to spend any time getting back and forth to work," she said.

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jul/08/home-is-where-the-work-is-telecommuting-grows-as/