Companies gain with teleworking

DETROIT — Alison Gleeson manages 1,100 employees nationwide, and she's doing it from a home office in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., for part of her work week.

Gleeson is a married mother of two elementary school-age kids, and works as a vice president of commercial sales for information technology giant Cisco Systems, based in San Jose, Calif.

A few weeks ago, she captained a meeting while sitting in her car at a T-ball game for her son.

Gleeson's experience mirrors that of some 2,000 Cisco employees, who participated in a recent survey that found that telecommuting generates multi million-dollar savings and contributes to employee satisfaction.

Gone are the days that career paths are limited by geography, says Gleeson. The number of companies and employees embracing telecommuting — also known as teleworking — is growing. People working at least 8 hours per week from home grew 2000-07 from 6 million to 12 million, according to market research firm Gartner Dataquest.

It has also gained ground in government. There are 381 telecommuting state of Michigan employees. Some 95,000 employees, or 7.6 percent of the federal workforce in 2007, were telecommuters. The feds view it as a recruitment and retention tool, and as a "green" initiative that cuts down energy and building costs, according to a U.S. Office of Personnel Management report.

"Young people are asking in their interviews how many days a week can they work at home. That's stunning to some managers, but good talent will go elsewhere if there isn't flexibility," said Debra Dinnocenzo, who authored "101 Tips for Telecommuters."