There's good news and there's bad news about the price of gas. First, the good news is, according to the Lundberg Survey of thousands of service stations across the nation, the price of regular unleaded gasoline as of June 6, 2007, was DOWN to $3.11/gallon. The bad news is just that - gas is $3.11/gallon. We Americans love to drive. We just can't seem to decrease our need (or want) to drive our vehicles.
A recent CNN.com article, "Gas prices drive workers - and bosses
- to telecommute", caught my eye. John Thorner leads the staff at
the National Recreation and Park Association. He recently required all
staff at his office to avoid commuting at least one day a week, either
by working four long days and taking the fifth one off, or by working
from home on the fifth day. With 70 people in his office driving an average
of 30 miles a day, he figures his efforts are saving 100 gallons a week.
Not a huge amount, but he is saving his employees 20% on their weekly
gas expense. It adds up. Thorner commented, "It's an economic issue
for our employees. It's also an environmental one for us as an organization.
Conservation is part of our mission."
"When gas prices go up, it makes people more conscious of how
expensive it is to commute," says Lonnie Golden, a labor economist
at Penn State Abington who researches flexible work arrangements. "It's
encouraging to think that something good will come out of rising gas
prices."
Telecommuting is a topic we have explored in depth at Boomtown Institute.
With today's technology, and a computer with high-speed internet access,
employees can often do their job from home, and save time and money.
Have you thought about this for your office? Would this benefit your employees?