One quarter of the United States workforce could do their jobs from home, according to a report by the National Technology Readiness Survey, but only two percent telecommute full time, and only nine percent do so part time, according to a Reuters story.
P.K. Kannan, professor at the University of Maryland business school, which co-sponsored the survey of 1,015 U.S. adults, conjectured that people still like “face time” at the office as well as the social interaction of the office. Also, he observed, the average 20-minute commute each way really isn’t so bad.
If the average commute isn’t so bad, maybe the hue and cry over traffic congestion is overblown.
On the other hand, the survey deals in national averages, which may be meaningless. What is the telework participation rate in New Urban Regions, like Washington, where traffic congestion is more burdensome?
(Hat tip to Robert Jackson for pointing out the Reuters article.)