how does the telecommuting affect society?

"Telecommuting"refers to workers doing their jobs from home for part of each week and communicating with their office using computer technology. Telecommuting is growing in many countries and is expected to be common for most office workers in the coming decades.

Public Comments

1. While there are probably studies you could google on this, I would approach it from a personal point of view. Think about what telecommuting changes for an individual.

Positive things that stem from not having to commute might be that it's cheaper, creates less pollution, doesn't waste time commuting, doesn't wear out the car, is less dangerous than driving, reduces congestion on the roads, etc.

On the flip side, a person is physically isolated, can't interact as easily, can't receive or deliver physical objects quickly, may not have access to as many office machines, has to maintain an office in part of their house, has to obtain and maintain a certain amount of equipment, etc.

You also could look at secondary effects such as less money being spent on mass transit fares, lunches, after work drinks and dinners, gasoline, car insurance, etc.

2. Car travel: depends on distance driven, fuel efficiency, and number of passengers per vehicle.
Air travel: depends on distance and number of flights. Take-off and landing use large amounts of fuel, so two short flights produce more carbon than one long flight of comparative distance.
Other motorised transport such as bus or train: normally counts for less per person than either car or air travel.
Electricity use, if provided by non-renewable resources. Some calculators ask for figures from utility bills, while others estimate the amount from size of household and usage patterns (such as whether you leave equipment on standby overnight).
Home heating: depends on fuel source and amount used.
Food miles: how much food you buy from non-local sources.