Telecommuting/Telework [View all]

I've wondered if this topic ever comes up around here, so I started a thread just for it

One of my "future fantasies" is that telework becomes the primary way that office workers do their work. There's almost nothing in cubefarm and office work that requires in-person face-to-face existence. All can be done on the computer via video conferencing and other messaging systems.

However, part of this "fantasy" is that cities shrink a bit and people spread out more, to smaller cities and towns. This would be more feasible if we had a good passenger rail system to go with it. I don't know when that kind of thing will happen, what with how our "elected" officials think these days. Telework is growing now and being implemented now, so it's not like it will just disappear overnight due to someone buying up and pulling out the fiber optic network

I had a brief conversation with another DUer on this topic last year, and one thing we discovered that could be a major drawback has to do with the levying of fuel taxes. With fewer people driving their daily hour-long (and one-way) commutes to work, less fuel is sold, and so less taxes received. Less money for the roads means either the taxes go up, or more tollways are created (which is the same thing.) I figure that this factor may be one reason why we don't see telecommuting and/or teleworking being promoted, whether by local governments or the feds. The federal government has implemented telework for their agencies, but not beyond that.

I've never had the opportunity to telework, despite seeing how most of the IT guys did it for themselves pretty much all the time. I'd love to have that choice. I have the space for a home office, so I could do it easily.

So, what are y'all's opinions on this and how do you see it fitting in with smart growth?