New Study Says Telecommuting Makes Employees Happy

According to a new study conducted at Brigham Young University, telecommuting makes for happier and healthier workers.  Professor E. Jeffrey of BYU’s School of Family and Life just completed a study of 24,000 IBM employees.  He found that those who were permitted to telecommute at least twice a week experienced less burnout and less “work-life” conflict.  The results of the study, which will be published in the June issue of the Journal of Family Psychology, found that employees who worked a traditional 8 to 5 reached burnout after 38 hours.  Workers who had a more flexible schedule that included telecommuting worked 57 hours before experiencing work-life conflict.

“When you have that sense of autonomy…in where or when you’re going to work, then the natural outgrowth is job satisfaction,” says Hill.  Hill can personally testify to the benefits of telecommuting.  Before his tenure at BYU, he was one of the first IBM employees to telecommute.  He found that working from home allowed him to be more productive and gave him more time to spend with his family.  Staci Boswell can also testify to the positive effects of telecommuting.  An IT analyst for ARUP laboratories, Boswell works from her home office two days a week.  Her flexible schedule allows her to get more work done and still spend time with her baby daughter.  “I love telecommuting, and I think more companies should offer it,” Boswell said.  “It provides a lot of cost savings and make for happier, less-stressed employees.”

Hill’s study is part of an attempt to make IBM a more family-friendly corporation.  As a result of efforts to increase telecommuting and flexible working schedules, IBM is getting more out of their employees.  They are increasing efficiency while decreasing operation costs.  “The evidence is clear that IBM has more productive employees and spends less on real estate,” says Hill.  “It’s a win-win.”