Telecommuting is good for relieving traffic congestion, of course. That's the main reason why government would care about promoting it. Reason offers a conservative take on how to encourage telecommuting. The suggestions include: loosen zoning laws to allow office-like activities in residential neighborhoods; don't tax internet access, VoIP, and internet sales; loosen medical licensing laws to allow interstate competition on telemedicine; and keep OSHA out of your home office.
The report also notes that governments are among the least likely to allow their own employees to telecommute. Why is that? Is government simply behind the times? Jet Blue's reservation agents famously work from home. At IBM, about one in four employees works from home sometimes (my dad was one of them until he retired a few months ago).
Even Governing has tinkered with telecommuting (yours truly was the first tinkeree a couple of years ago--a one-man NYC bureau-in-a-living room). My own experience: I was probably more productive at home. Or is that just the lie I tell my bosses? No, really, I probably spent less time emptying the dishwasher at home than I do now chatting with my co-workers on the 13th floor. On the other hand, I also like those office distractions. Working at home was a bit lonely.
