A big snow and ice storm swept across parts of the United States this week and I have friends from here to upstate New York that planned to work from home today. I drove to work with my husband and the parking lot was busier than I had expected - we got approximately 6 inches of snow. Other employees who commute from a distance got as far as the freeway and returned home. I'm glad because I want them making good decisions about driving in bad weather. The only factor that has more impact on work than bad weather is the holidays, however.The opportunity for telecommuting is a privilege and employee benefit that more and more employers offer - even if just in bad weather. Telecommuting jobs are difficult to find and telecommuting employees usually start out working at a company location. The employee's job might evolve to telecommuting because of a spouse's job change, family matters, or a change in job requirements.
In one of my meetings today, one of the VPs called in from his home. It was almost as if he was attending the meeting in person. Technology has enabled distance communication. Another friend did a conference call with another writer yesterday using Skype and a Logitech web cam. Bad weather certainly brings out the creativity in each of us so we can continue to get the job done.
Additionally, though, more and more employers are interviewing distant employees via online technology and an entire industry that creates video interviews is available to help you save candidate travel expenses and employee time in interviews. As skilled, educated employees become more difficult to recruit and retain, you can expect a lot of employers to emphasize telecommuting as an employee benefit and option.
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