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Views on Telecommuting

Staples conducted an online survey in March 2014 of 137 decision makers and 174 office workers at organizations of all sizes across the U.S. and Canada. The survey asked a series of questions about telecommuting programs, supplies and services provided, reimbursement and attitudes/behavior.

Interested in learning more about

how employers and their employees view telecommuting? The results might surprise you.

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Reasons for Telecommuting

Along with reporting a 32-minute commute on average, respondents named transportation savings (69 percent) and green benefits (47 percent) as two of the top reasons they want to telecommute.

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Geographical Preferences

More companies in the Northeast (61 percent) and Canada (67 percent) allow a

BYOD (“Bring Your Own Device”) approach to telecommuting than those in the

West (29 percent).

Telecommuters in the Northeast list transportation savings as the biggest reason for

wanting to telecommute (71 percent), while the South (73 percent), Midwest (86

percent) and West (83 percent) all say work/life balance is number one.

Millennials v. Gen X v. Baby Boomers

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56 percent of Millennials said “phone/mobile device” was their most indispensable

telecommuting device, compared to 28 percent of Gen X and 19 percent of

Boomers who each said “laptop” (62 percent and 66 percent respectively).

Baby Boomers’ top reason for wanting to telecommute is “transportations savings”

(77 percent) compared to Gen X and Millennials who each cited “work/life

balance” as their top reason (80 percent and 69 percent respectively).

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Telecommuting as a Recruiting Advantage

When asked if a telecommuting option is important when considering employment

with a new company – 71 percent of respondents said yes.

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Sacrifices to Keep Telecommuting

Workers are willing to reduce the following to keep the option to telecommute:

• Salary – 10 percent

• Vacation days/time off – 15 percent

• Other office perks – 67 percent

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Benefits of Telecommuting

Telecommuters say:

• 75 percent report a better work/life balance

• 69 percent report a less stressed day

Employers say:

• 65 percent report happier employees

• 33 percent report less absenteeism in the workforce

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Challenges of Telecommuting

Most workers named IT issues as their biggest challenge when working from home,

including:

• Only 25 percent of employees have been trained on data backup/security best

practices.

• 64 percent of employees name a poor VPN connection as their biggest tech

challenge when working from home.

• 58 percent of employers report that their telecommuters have connectivity

problems several times per month or more.

Need for Office Furniture

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Only 10 percent of employers offer furniture services to new telecommuters.

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For More Information

and Business Interiors by Staples.

For information about the tools and services

Staples offers to combat the challenges of telecommuting

identified in the survey, visit Staples Technology Solutions