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Guest Opinion To Local Media: “Ready Or Not, It’s Time To Telecommute”

TMA News | March 17th, 2020

Our executive director Steve Noll has provided a guest opinion to the Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer: “Ready or not, it’s time to telecommute.”

Check out the article HERE or read below:

Timing can be everything. For telecommuting, the time is now.

The uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus has forced businesses and companies to go beyond simply evaluating the idea of employees working from home and finally implementing it. The elephant in the room doesn’t seem so large now. Why? Because timing is everything.

TMA Bucks has championed telecommuting for years to ease congestion on busy Bucks County roads and improve air quality through reduced vehicle emissions. To us, telecommuting has always been a winner.

The benefits of telecommuting go beyond congestion and the environment. According to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, companies that implement telecommuting policies not only help reduce single occupancy vehicle travel to the work site, but also save on office space and overhead. Studies have shown that employees who telecommute even occasionally are more likely to fulfill workday time commitments, take fewer sick days, and report higher morale. Offering this type of flexibility can also increase employee retention and attract new employees.

Technology allows this concept to become a reality. We are already glued to our phones checking emails all hours of the day. In this respect we are telecommuting and don’t even realize it. But why not, here and there, ditch the long commute and start your day by hopping on your computer rather than be stuck at a traffic light?

If easing congestion and improving air quality weren’t enough, a world with the coronavirus is finally getting us to react and finally getting us to look at telecommuting as a way to be productive and also safer — a win-win.

We’ve already heard from residents in Bucks County that their commutes have been a little faster recently. Companies are being forced to adapt to the coronavirus each and every day. Those that are implementing telecommuting are doing their best to keep their employees safe, maintaining uninterruptedness of operations as best they can, and getting ahead of a reality where buildings may be closed off. Some companies already had telecommuting options in place and were more prepared for this unfortunate situation.

We understand that not every position or company can perform its duties remotely, but the benefits for those that can are plentiful. Finding a silver lining in the coronavirus cloud may seem strange, but perhaps this surge in telecommuting is it. Maybe the increase in remote work and the less-congested roads that come with it can last beyond the coronavirus, as business leaders and workers come to realize that companies will continue to function and flourish while employee morale and productivity grow.