Home-working: it's the green thing to do

One of the benefits of working with web-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools such as BIW is that you don't always need to be in the office to access information. This is just as well, as there will be occasions when users need to access information outside of normal office hours, but it can also help company staff work more flexibly - perhaps combining office, site and home-working - or even making the complete transition to being home-based.

At TechRepublic, in 10 ways to convince your boss to let you work from home, Susan Harkins has given a 10-point justification of home-working that highlights (point 7) that it's the green thing to do (saving office energy use, commuting fuel costs and eliminating time wasted due to commuter congestion). The full list:

1. Your place is cheaper than theirs
2. Your productivity will increase
3. Employee retention will go up
4. You’ll increase your billable hours
5. You’ll be running with the crowd
6. Your relationships will improve
7. It’s the green thing to do
8. Politicking will go down
9. You’ll be more accessible
10. It’s a weather-proof arrangement

It is worth pointing out that some of the other points also have strong green aspects. Point 1, for instance, focuses on the cost of office space, claiming that organisations can eliminate one office for every three telecommuters. Look at this from the property angle, and you can quickly manage your business from smaller offices which, in turn, require less materials to build, etc.

And if you extend your definition of sustainability to include the adoption of more sustainable employment practices (think corporate social responsibility, CSR, here, too), then point 3 is relevant. Susan focuses on the retention or recruitment of valued employees for whom frequent commuting is a significant challenge or who dislike office atmospheres and/or politics. I would add demographic challenges to this point. At different stages in their lives, employees may have to care for young, sick or elderly relatives, or to structure their days around, say, school start and finish times. Enabling people to work from home and to fit work in before, in between and after other activities can help them maintain a good work-life balance and remain loyal and enthusiastic workers.