Virtual Office Resource

If you have a career that you are passionate about, and can work virtually, then why does it matter how much time you spend in the office?

According to a workforce.com article, Cisco (News - Alert) Systems Inc. employee Brian Christensen doesn’t think the amount of time an employee spends in the office affects the person’s career success. Christensen started working at a computer networking firm 18 years ago. As he was working 10-hour days, there wasn't a timely way other than driving to make the almost 90-minute, traffic-clogged commute. Today, Christensen is a director of information systems for Cisco and he is responsible for home and mobile-service offerings for the $43 billion company.

About 90 percent of a random sampling of employees Christensen recently surveyed reported working from home at least one day a week. He works from home several days per week and encourages his co-workers and clients to telecommute as well. Telecommuting doesn’t need to be perceived as a perk, but instead, a way to globalize businesses operations, attract high-quality workers, and boost employee productivity.

"The results from Cisco's move toward teleworking has really been about empowerment," Christensen said. "We're making sure employees are empowered to be successful in their jobs, and that's not measured by the hours they're in the office. It's based more on their results."

National Telework Week took place last week with Cisco being the lead sponsor of the event. The event's organizer is the Telework Exchange, a Virginia-based public-private partnership that promotes teleworking. By pledging to work remotely, each employee can save about $60 a week or about $3,000 per year.

Telework Exchange leaders said that if all full-time, salaried workers telework just two days per week, they'd save $215 billion and spare the environment 143 million tons of pollutants. Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. adult working population teleworked in 2010, meaning they worked from home or another remote location for at least an entire day a month.

Since Telework Exchange General Manger Cindy Auten co-founded her group in 2005, she's worked with scores of federal agencies to identify teleworking cost savings. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office documented more than $19 million in savings since moving its employees to a telework model more than 14 years ago, according to Auten. The savings came from reduced real estate costs, transportation expenses, and reductions in employee turnover.

Companies that have shifted to teleworking strategies say it is not easy to get everyone on board. At Ryan LLC, a global tax-services firm, many middle managers balked at a flexible work policy introduced in 2007, said Delta Emerson (News - Alert), senior vice president and chief organizational development officer at the Dallas-based firm.

"Some managers adapt to it really quickly and easily, but others feel like, 'If I can't see you, you're not working’, but more managers are on board now that they see the results,” she said.