From Deseret News archives:
Telecommuters tout lifestyle as great for them and their employer
Then the phone rings. It's a co-worker from the mainland. Ready for the conference call?
It happened to Darlene Frudakis, president of PetAg Inc., a pet food maker based in Hampshire, Ill. Even more surprising was Frudakis' reaction.
"It was just a fabulous feeling," said Frudakis, a full-time telecommuter who is very comfortable blurring the line between work and play. She relishes the "freedom and creativity . . . to think outside the box" that comes with being physically detached from her company's headquarters whether that is at home in Novato, Calif., or on vacation and says that makes her more productive.
Still, there is a downside to a lifestyle in which the "office" is really a state of mind: "You can't leave," she said.
In 2005, 44 percent of U.S. companies offered at least some telecommuting options, according to a survey of 1,043 large employers by Mercer Human Resources Consulting. That is up from 32 percent in 2001.
In the post-9/11 era, corporate America views a work force that can function remotely as a strategic advantage, experts said.
"The reason I think it's gaining momentum is because of natural-disaster preparedness," said Ellen Galinsky, president of the New York-based Families and Work Institute, a nonprofit that researches work force trends for corporations. Galinsky said it was the less centralized companies that were up and running fastest in the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
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