Two Thirds of Workers Expect To Be Virtual Workers By 2020

By Steve Anderson, Contributing TMCnet Writer

In the past, telecommuting has been an idea that hasn’t completely caught on due to office politics and concerns. Now, thanks to advancements in virtualization, telecommuting has become more productive and more profitable.

Wreke recently surveyed 1,000 companies, which in turn yielded unexpected results. Fully 83 percent of the respondents said they spent at least some time working outside the office, and nearly half (43 percent) said they work outside the office more than they did in the past.

With exactly half the executives polled saying that they work outside of the office, the trend is likely to gain ground among rank-and-file as well. Two thirds of workers expect their offices will be fully virtual in the next several years. Most respondents agreed on the top three benefits including savings in time, increased productivity, and the ability to focus on work lead most respondents' lists.

Challenges, however, were present as 37 percent cited lack of communication as a problem, 21 percent noted data accessibility problems, and fully 19 percent mentioned a lack of knowledge about what their co-workers were doing. Still, employees like working out of the office, with 89 percent calling it a valuable fringe benefit, and most employees willing to give up something to get or keep telecommuting. Most telling of all was that 31 percent, almost a third of respondents were prepared to surrender some of their paid vacation, and even a quarter would take a salary cut for it.

There are plenty of other benefits including power consumption, office maintenance, property taxes or rent, Redundancies fall through the floor, and only the necessary employees are kept on hand to produce at any given time. Tracking and measuring performance is a quick look at an inbox away. Think about that for a minute. A quarter of respondents would get their pay cut to get or keep telecommuting, while one third said they would give up paid vacation time. The cost savings to the employee like gas and commuting expenses make a pay cut seem worthwhile.