DATE: Tuesday, October 21, 1997             TAG: 9710210207

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   72 lines

TELECOMMUTING MAY CLEAR ROADBLOCKS TO PRODUCTION

When was the last time you got stuck in traffic and arrived at the office late?

Have you missed a full workday to nurse a sick child?

Ever bust a deadline because of constant interruptions?

Some of these working dilemmas can be solved by telecommuting, area employers learned Monday at the first Hampton Roads Telecommuting Conference in Hampton.

Telecommuting or telework - working outside a traditional office one or more days a week - is a growing business trend fueled by increasing congestion, corporate cost-cutting, telecommunications advancements and greater family demands.

More than 11 million Americans telecommute from home, telework centers and satellite offices this year. That's an increase of 30 percent since 1995, according to the public-private telecommuting advocacy group Telecommute America. One in four Fortune 1,000 companies have telecommuting programs.

No figures are available for Hampton Roads, which is just beginning to explore the concept.

``It's happening and it's going to continue to happen,'' said David Fleming, of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California and co-owner of Fleming Ltd., a telecommuting information and consulting service.

``Telework improves the costs and quality and quantity of work,'' Fleming said. ``But our barrier is human nature and resistance to change.''

The free full-day conference was sponsored by TRAFFIX, a regional public agency that promotes transportation alternatives as a means of minimizing congestion.

Doug Wagner, who works in personnel services for the U.S. Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic in Norfolk, was gathering tips for implementing a telecommuting program at his office. The Coast Guard recently declared that 3 percent to 5 percent of its civilian employees and an unspecified number of Coast Guard members may telecommute.

Fleming said studies have shown that telecommuters are 10 percent to 50 percent more productive than traditional office workers.

That's because telecommuters have fewer interruptions and are not tempted to waste time chit-chatting with colleagues over a cup of coffee, Fleming said.

And employees who skip commuting aggravations are generally in a better frame of mind and therefore more productive. ``People who come in from a stressful commute can take 30 minutes to an hour to decompress,'' Fleming said.

The city of Hampton's information services division is considering telecommuting options to save money. ``Reduction of overhead is the biggest thing,'' said John Eagle, Hampton's data manager.

Providing office space, office equipment and parking is a big expense for employers. Fleming said it costs a private sector business about $8,000 a year to provide an office or cubicle for an employee.

While telework appears to have some benefits for both employers and employees, many companies are reluctant, Fleming said.

``There is a fear of a loss of control,'' he said. ``But how much control do they really have right now?''

The key, Fleming said, is to select the right employees for telework, who are not likely to abuse the privilege, and to establish measures for productivity. He also suggested starting small with a handful of employees.

In most telecommuting arrangements, employees work away from the office one to three days a week. Telecommuting is also used on a periodic basis when a project lends itself to off-site work.

While telecommuting is generally home-based, it also encompasses telework centers that are set up by a private or public entity for lease by multiple employers, and satellite work centers established by individual companies.

Hampton Roads has no telework centers. However TRAFFIX is talking to the Virginia Department of Transportation about creating one at the new park-and-ride that will open later this year in Virginia Beach at Holland Road and South Independence Boulevard.

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