by Alexa Penne,
Work-at-home.org

Whether you work at home as a virtual human resources director or you're the CFO of a traditional brick and mortar company, you may find both intrigue and inspiration in the results of the work at home programs of one of America's largest and most profitable companies.

Over 150 million dollars in benefit in one year alone. That's the financial benefit realized by AT&T for its work at home or teleworking program(s) in 2003. And each year more and more employees become work at home employees for AT&T.

Work at home programs of smaller companies may realize a much smaller but far more far-reaching and dramatic benefit.

According to AT&T, who is a work at home or telecommuting pioneer and has been conducting virtual employment/telecommuting research since 1992, there are many benefits to employers who offer work at home jobs, as well as numerous and important benefits to families and society as a whole. There are also benefits to AT&T, a global networking company, if more and more companies convert to networked virtual or work at home employment environments.

What reductions in overhead costs, you ask? The list is long. Work at home employees do not occupy company real estate space. Work at home employees do not consumer company-paid utilities. Employees who work at home may be working on their own office equipment, such as PC, internet access, phone and/or fax, although some employers do provide and/or pay for these expenses. Employees who work at home are less likely to quit so recruiting and training costs and greatly reduced. Employees who work at home are more productive so fewer employees are needed to achieve the same results. Employees who are highly motivated to work at home, such as work at home moms and dads, may work for less salary if they're allowed to stay at home, and working at home also costs employees less. Companies who find themselves frequently paying for relocation costs of existing and/or new employees will find that these costs virtually disappear into smoke when they convert these jobs into work at home jobs.

Creating such work at home job opportunities is indeed a win-win-win situation for employers, employees and society as a whole.

Companies who allow their employees to work at home on computer networks instead of brick and mortar offices realize many other benefits as well. Companies who allow employees to telecommute or offer work at home jobs can recruit from virtually anywhere and have no relocation costs associated with employees who do not live within commuting distance to a traditional brick and mortar office. Additionally, companies can recruit employees who are not willing to relocate.

Networks also allow the dissemination of core information that can help eliminate gaps in communication and productivity and allow companies to operate outside of the 9 to 5 rut.

AT&T states, "Our experience and data suggest than an organization organized around a network is more efficient, effective, flexible and resilient organization."

In its studies AT&T considers virtual offices to include work at home jobs, and/or telecommuting work that is performed from shared offices, customer locations and/or hotels.

We would add that, as we somberly remember the events of September 11, 2001 during which whole companies were wiped out because they were centrally located, it is noteworthy that companies who are not centrally located and who employ a full or partially home-based work at home workforce are safer from such types of attacks. Similarly one must consider the extreme and destructive losses in productivity in the America Media offices in Florida during their anthrax attack when the entire building had to be closed for many days. Similar interruptions in productivity occurred in government and other buildings and could occur virtually anytime in any building in America. From this perspective companies and employees are far safer and potentially far more productive if they work at home.

69% of employees who work at home or from virtual locations for AT&T say that they consider it a major advantage that their employer allows them to work at home and that this shows that the company cares about them and the issues that are important to them. 74% cite another major advantage of their work at home job is balancing their work and family.

Having more time with family is the most common reason people want to work at home.

Few are the companies who can realize a $150 million benefit to any change in their business models, but the benefits of creating work at home job opportunities are many and they are clear.

Allowing your employees to work at home is good for business and it's just plain good.