Americans Can Work From Anywhere

In a press release, ITAC, the Telework Advisory Group for WorldatWork, reports that, overall, 26.1 million people work from home at least once a month, and 22.2 million work from home at least once a week. But, home was not the only out-of-office location cited when respondents were asked to check locations they have worked in the past month from a list of 13.

According to the release, out of 135.4 million American workers, the survey found that:

• 45.1 million worked from home
• 24.3 million worked from a client’s or customer’s place of business
• 20.6 million worked from their car
• 16.3 million worked while on vacation
• 15.1 million worked from a park or other outdoor location
• 7.8 million worked on a train or airplane.

Of the 45.1 million who worked from home, the average number of locations they reported working from was 3.4.

Not surprisingly, ITAC attributes the increase in out-of-office work locations to portable computers and high-speed communication technologies. Robert Smith from ITAC said in the news release, “For example, the use of broadband in the home by teleworkers increased by over 60% during the past year resulting in 25.6 million home-based teleworkers with high-speed access.”

The survey found a 30% increase in employee telecommuters in the past year, while self-employed telecommuters decreased by 2%, showing an increasing acceptance of telecommuting by employers, ITAC said.

ITAC members can receive additional analysis of the research. Their Web site is www.workingfromanywhere.org .