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When the Great Recession began, many companies were forced to reevaluate their business practices in order to save money and stay afloat, and as a result, many businesses turned to outsourcing, telecommuting freelancers or remote workers in order to cut their employee budget. While some may feel that this would have an isolating effect on the new employees that aren’t physically in the office every day, the technological leaps that have been made with VoIP enable many employees to feel just as connected as if they were on site at company headquarters.

VoIP allows remote employees more personal communication with other staff than other technology that has been available for longer, like e-mail or simple phone calls. This is because VoIP enables video conferencing, while still offering voice-only communication for those who prefer it. Through video conferencing, remote employees can participate in meetings or collaboration sessions just as much as they could if they were there in person.

By using video conferences and software that allows sharing of documents between different locations, employees at multiple locations can collaborate on their work in real-time, leading to improved productivity and a better-quality end result.

Perhaps due to its increased perception as allowing workers to be productive and in the loop, telecommuting isn’t just used for freelancers or employees in remote locations anymore. Many regular, fulltime employees who come in to the office are being offered the option of telecommuting some days. This allows employees to work on their own time, leading to a more stress-free environment and happier workers. It also has been linked with less absenteeism.

Although telecommuting has come a long way, it still isn’t right for every company. Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, famously banned the practice recently, citing that employees would feel disconnected from the company and its culture and be less productive. However, as technologies like VoIP continue to improve the telecommuting experience, chances are that more companies will jump on the trend and allow it.