Photo by Mark Rhodes AT&T says it has saved $500 million since 1992 by letting Prince William resident Sandy Holland - and about 30,000 other employees - work from the comfort of home.

Put Away the Pumps
Federal legislation could make telecommuting more widespread
by giving businesses credit for cutting down on commuting.

By MARK Di VINCENZO

Sandy Holland is sales director of AT&T's government markets division. It's is a pretty important job. Like so many people in important jobs, she often has to look good. She has to have nice suits and shoes for meetings and business lunches.

So why is Holland, who lives in Prince William County, wearing overalls to work on a recent Friday afternoon? This isn't a story about businesses allowing their employees to dress down on Fridays. Sometimes Holland reports to work wrapped in her bathrobe, but no one talks behind her back because no one can see her back. Or any other part of her, for that matter.

"You wouldn't want to see what I look like at 7:15 in the morning when my husband and two kids walk out the door and I start my work day," she says.

She is one of millions of Americans — called teleworkers or telecommuters — who work from their homes at least occasionally. Most businesses don't encourage telecommuting, but those that do say it has more pros than cons. For one thing, it helps them attract and keep the best workers because they can offer the best, most flexible work schedules. It increases productivity — in some cases by as much as 35 percent — because telecommuters are working when others are driving to and from the office. And it saves businesses a lot of money in real estate costs because they don't need to buy or lease as much office space.

If they're not driving to work, they're not adding to traffic messes, and their cars are polluting the air less often. It's these benefits that caused U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, a Republican representing Virginia's 10th district, to introduce a bill to help companies in the nation's most traffic-congested regions — including metropolitan Washington, D.C.

Companies in these regions would receive incentives for allowing their employees to work from home. The bill, called the National Telecommuting and Air Quality Act, would dole out pollution credits that companies could buy, sell or trade. It would work like the nation's acid rain reduction program, which gives credits to companies that cut acid rain emissions. Last year, nearly 10 million credits were sold at about $150 each, making it a $1.5 billion business.

"There's nothing magic about strapping yourself into a metal box, driving to an office and sitting in front of a computer screen when you can do that at home," Wolf says. "Work is what you do. Work isn't where you go." Wolf says he hasn't heard a single negative comment about the bill since July, when he announced plans to introduce it. Even so, he can't predict when — or if — the bill will become law.

With the potential for so much money to be made, it's no wonder that a lot of companies are saying wonderful things about Wolf's bill. AT&T, Litton Industries and America Online, among others, support the legislation.

Congress has never before voted on a telecommuting pollution credit bill, but telecommuting is nothing new. People have been doing it for at least 25 years, and their numbers are soaring. In 1995, about 8.5 million people sometimes worked from home. That number rose to 11 million in 1997. More than 15 million people telecommute today. Studies show that 40 percent of the American work force have jobs that allow them to telecommute once in a while.

Although 15 million telecommuters sounds like a lot, the National Environmental Policy Institute reports that most businesses have not caught on. The institute, which would work with federal agencies to develop the telecommuting pollution credit program, hopes passage of the bill would cause businesses to encourage more employees to work from home occasionally. AT&T and Litton, to name two, say it probably would prompt them to do just that.

"Telecommuting is a non-coercive, cost-effective way for corporations to help achieve environmental goals and improve quality of life while addressing the bottom line," says Don Ritter, the institute's chairman and a former congressman from Pennsylvania.

Even if businesses never have the chance to sell or trade telecommuting pollution credits, they say telecommuting has helped their bottom lines. AT&T, one of the few companies to have studied the benefits of telecommuting, says more than 55 percent of its 57,000 managers telecommute at least once a month, and 29 percent do so at least once a week. These managers often share office space with their colleagues, and the company reports that it has saved $500 million since 1992 by not having to rent or buy as much space.

Holland telecommutes two or three days a week. She started in 1994, when her office moved from Fairfax County to Washington, D.C. She was offered the chance to work from home, and she grabbed it. She thought it would allow her to spend more time with her family — and it has. But more than anything else, she says, it has made her a more productive worker. On the days she telecommutes, she works during the three hours she would otherwise spend getting to and from the office.

In fact, she says, "One of the biggest challenges is knowing when to mark the end of your day."

During a recent workday she had seven conference calls, not including this interview, which a New Jersey-based AT&T spokesman listened in on.

In her home office, she has a laptop computer and four phone lines. She no longer uses videoconferencing technology, making her appearance during work hours even less of an issue. She says it's not unusual for her to wear her bathrobe until noon.

But she has learned to be flexible. About once a month a client calls and wants to meet with her right away, and she must sprint to her closet for a suit and pumps. And when one of her kids gets sick, she sometimes must pick them up at day care in the middle of the work day.

Holland says she loves telecommuting, though, and is far from burning out on it. "I want to keep doing this," she says. "I don't like rush-hour traffic."