SCD IST 110H

In a recent article in Computer World, telecommuting is found to boost morale and decrease stress. In an analysis of 46 studies on telecommuting, researchers found that working away from the office by using computers, cell phones or other electronic equipment can have more pluses than negatives for people and the companies that employ them. "Our results show that telecommuting has an overall beneficial effect because the arrangement provides employees with more control over how they do their work," said Ravi Gajendran of Pennsylvania State University. "Telecommuting seems to have some mildly positive effects on employee morale, on work-family balance and on stress," he added in an interview. Gajendran and David Harrison, who reported their findings in the Journal of Applied Psychology, studied data on 12,833 telecommuters who spend time working away from the office. Telecommuting has been a growing trend in the U.S. since about 2000. Last year, an estimated 45 million Americans telecommuted, an increase of 4 million from 2003, according to WorldatWork magazine.

I believe that telecommuting every once in a while can be a good thing. For example, some days in my classes I could have easily done in my dorm room what I did in class that day. For those "some days" in the world of work, telecommuting is great. It is also interesting that research at Penn State is being done on this matter. We are Penn State!