Sturdy Roots Blog

According to a new Gallup poll, employers are overwhelmingly resistant to telecommuting and four-day work weeks.  In other words, (these) remain “rare perks” for company employees. 

From Gallup’s website:

Despite the recent spike in energy costs, only 12 percent of employers are offering telecommuting, while a slightly higher number – 16 percent – are allowing four-day work-weeks.

Other key findings:

• Telecommuting is favored twice as much by higher-salaried workers (earning $75k plus) than by those earning $30k to $74,999;
• Among survey respondents who telecommute, about one-third of them favor daytime telecommuting while 54% telecommute after regular business hours;
• 21 percent of workers who drive to work have telecommuting privileges, but aren’t opting-in.

While the poll doesn’t take into consideration work situations where telecommuting may not be suitable (such as jobs requiring high security-clearances), the key takeaway is that where telecommuting is offered, the rate of workforce acceptance remains relatively low (about 50 percent). And the higher rate of after-hours telecommuting shown in the poll may be less a reflection of greenness, more an indication of one’s desire to extend his or her productivity.

Clearly, to create a greener workforce, more companies must shed their resistance to telecommuting or four-day work weeks comprised of longer workdays. And once such practices are in place, hiring managers need to encourage their team members to take the plunge.