State of the Commute 2007 #2: Telework "Rising Dramatically" in D.C. Area

According to a just released survey of commuters from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) the percentage of commuters teleworking in the Washington, D.C. area has jumped from 13% to 19% in just three years. Following up on our story of a couple days ago (D.C. Region's Drive Alone Rate Goes Down!, July 18, 2007) comes more good news from the Preliminary Draft Commuter Connections State of the Commuter 2007 Survey Technical Report prepared for the MWCOG's Commuter Connections program by LDA Consulting with CIC Research.

According to COG's July 18 press release (PDF) that accompanied the report, the third "State of the Commute" survey reveals that 19 percent of commuters in the region have teleworked, or performed their regular office duties from home in 2007 and that this is a significant change from 2004, when 13 percent of respondents said they teleworked. Other telework highlights from the survey:

• Telecommuters worked from home for an average of 1.5 days per week.
• 24 percent of those who did not telecommute said they would choose to do so if employers were to give them the opportunity.
• 40 percent of those who do work from home said their employer offer formal programs - compared to 32 percent in 2004 and 27 percent in 2001.
• 16 percent of respondents who worked for federal agencies teleworked, compared to 12 percent in 2004 and 7 percent in 2001.
• 21% of private/non-profit employers teleworked compared to 15% in 2004
• Only 7% of State and local agency employees teleworked as compared to 6% in 2004.

The amazing number is that those 24 percent of non-teleworkers who wish they could represent 570,000 people. Imagine if they all telecommuted 1.5 days a week too?

Why are more people doing this? Our guess would be technology has allowed more and more people to do so and that more and more employers are getting comfortable with this over time. Other theories?

For more information on telework visit these resources:

• For employers
• For Individuals

We promise to bring you more information from the 100+ page State of the Commute 2007 survey over the coming weeks.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria