Talking about the blurred line between home and work when I was writing about Twitter started me thinking about telecommuting. Writing about the recession and it affects on libraries got me thinking about telecommuting. Let’s talk about telecommuting, it seems to be something libraries have been slow to embrace. Yes, I know the old standard that we sit at the reference desk all day and read books, but anyone actually working a library knows that’s not true. Many libraries are short on space and funding and much could be done from home, at least one day a week, so why aren’t we looking more closely at telecommuting? Given the tough economic times and the reports that show telecommuting saves employers money and increases productivity it seems a good time to point to some information about it. Employers see savings in multiple areas and it helps to boost employee morale. According to Business Week Benefits of letting employees work from outside the office include keeping cars off the road, helping a company to bolster its green bona fides. But the practice can also foster employee retention, boost worker productivity, and slash real estate costs. There are some cons too, according to this
