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Workers, managers laud telecommuting
Aug 01, 2009 (Richmond Times-Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Eighteen months ago, Janeen Shaffer moved to Mechanicsville to care for a sick parent, but the recruiting manager at Deloitte Federal Consulting didn't change jobs.
She just started telecommuting to her McLean office.
Her 45-minute commute is gone, and clients have barely noticed the change.
"I really feel like I can focus on my work," Shaffer said. "I can focus on me and I can focus on my family and I can do all that in a balanced way."
If teleworkers had a highway, Shaffer might find it clogged at the beginning of the week: Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has declared Monday as Telework Day and is encouraging state organizations and private business to take part in the green campaign.
About 4,000 employees and two dozen companies already have signed on to telework or are allowing employees to do so, said Gordon Hickey, the governor's press secretary.
The intent of Telework Day is to lighten the burden on highways and infrastructure, save on commuter costs, reduce energy usage and think green. Half of the organizations that have signed up are state agencies, Hickey said, though it was unclear how many people in the governor's office were participating.
"I have teleworked and it is not a day off and it is very productive," Hickey said.
For Hickey, that meant no commuting pollution or use of office resources such as water and lights.
"That sort of thing adds up," he said.
Telecommuting also helps with employee retention, loyalty, planning and efficiency, said Carl Cronin, a partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP in Richmond. Of the 100 or so employees in Richmond, about eight to 10 qualify to telework. Two of four managers that Cronin works with telecommute.
It's not unusual. Deloitte has promoted a flexible work environment for at least the past decade and that has included teleworking.
Ideal teleworkers need to be good communicators, organized and able to plan ahead. A teleworker's colleagues also need to be supportive and cover some of the on-site duties that the teleworker may not be able to accomplish, Cronin said.
"The folks who are successful are the ones who can adapt and engage," he said.
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Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or edooley@timesdispatch.com.
To see more of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go
to http://www.timesdispatch.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Richmond Times-Dispatch,
Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
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