I’ve been thinking about this for about a year now and I think it’s time to just put it out on the interwebs. I did a little research and found that a few people already have, but the more the merrier, I say.
We need an act of Congress, or a national movement, or some sort of gentlemen’s agreement to have a weekly Work From Home Day.
Actually, it wouldn’t have to be the same day for everyone. And clearly there are jobs that are just not suited to this option. But as our work becomes more knowledge-based and technology allows for more remote working options, we should make it an actual, um, THING. This would cut down on fuel consumption. Will it solve the energy crisis? No. But it will help slow the crisis down, and will also help reduce pollution.
I know a fair amount of people are already working on a similar sort of arrangement. But to make a real impact, I believe there will need to be a concerted effort, to encourage companies that are reluctant to try it. Maybe that means tax breaks to companies that adopt the program. Maybe it means tax breaks to individuals. Maybe both. I don’t have any idea of the scale something like this would take, or how to make this get any bigger than me and maybe a small circle of friends so let me know in comments if you have any ideas.
Relevant Links:
Here are some tips for getting started on your own telecommuting day:
http://stellacommute.blogspot.com/2008/02/4-tips-for-inching-into-telecommuting.html
MSN had an article about this as well:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24543843/
The UK is already doing something like this but it appears to be one day a year:
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2216362/uk-prepares-skip-commute
Houston is trying something like this:
http://blog.fastcompany.com/experts/cwyost/2007/11/worklife_houstons_flex_in_the.html#more
One of the Fast Company bloggers posted something about this last month:
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog-post/10-gas-national-work-life-flex-strategy-0
USCD’s Department of Sociology has regular “All Staff Telecommute Day”:
http://sociology.ucsd.edu/admini/administ.htm
And, just for fun, while looking to see if there were any bills like this already, I found this little guy:
some people in my neck of the woods are suggesting a 4 days work week with 10 hour days. I think it would be fantastic for similar reasons- it would cut back on driving, and if more and more companies came on board with this, people would be able to actually access business and doctor's offices and banks and so on without having to take time off. I mean, if I were off on Monday I could get to all these things. Additionally, if I work until 7 on Wednesday night someone could come to my business if they have a regular work day. I like it. I realize this is not about your blog post, but I think we need more creativity to help people out.
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