, telecommuting promotes safety by reducing high way use by peoplerushing to get to work. There are thousands of traffic-related deaths everyyear and thousands more people severely injured trying to get to work. Inaddition there is substantial property loss associated with traffic accidentsthat occur as people take chances in order to make the mad dash from home to theoffice. Often times people have mad the trip so often that they are not reallyalert, often falling asleep and frequently becoming frustrated by the insistencethat they come into the office every day, when, in fact, most, if not all oftheir work could be accomplished from their home or sites much closer to theirhome.Telecommuting, however does have its disadvantages. The most obviousdisadvantage is the overwhelming cost of starting a telecommuting program. Astudy by Forrester Research, Inc. reveals "that it costs $30,000 to $45,000 ahead to" train prospective telecommuters. After the first year, however, "per-user spending [is] cut to about $4,000", also, "employees are starting to seetelecommuting policies as a benefit, and companies offering it will be morecompetitive." Another disadvantage is the psychological impact is may have onemployees. "Executives who have labored for years to win such corporate statussymbols as secretaries and luxurious corner offices are reluctant to shed theirhard-won perks." Some employees also complain that their "creativity... hasbeen dampened" by lack of interaction with their co-workers.Despite the disadvantages, though, telecommuting is a viable option toany future plan to preserve and protect our environment from encroachment andpollution caused by auto emissions and the consumption of land by enlargedhighways and an increasing area for parking. A telecommuting program can be putin place by following a few tips from Mindy Blodgett in her article "Lower costsspur move to more telecommuting": "Form a telecommuting team that inclu...
