County Is Moving Closer to Work-From-Home Plan

The county Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to work toward having county employees “telecommute”--work at home rather than in the office by using telecommunications technology--to reduce the number of commuters and help ease traffic congestion.

The proliferation of high-technology equipment, such as computers, modems and facsimile machines, allows employees to link up with a main office without being there, telecommuting advocates say.

As a result, private companies and public agencies are increasingly encouraging employees to do their work at home--and to keep their cars parked--to help alleviate bumper-to-bumper traffic that often clogs the nation’s highways, particularly in Southern California.

The telecommuting proposal, co-authored by supervisors John MacDonald and George Bailey, directs county staff to identify personnel and specific jobs suitable for telecommuting, and, if applicable, develop policies to have as many of the county’s 14,000 employees as possible work periodically from home. The five-member board unanimously approved the proposal. The staff is to report back within six months.

As one of the region’s largest employers, Bailey said he wants the county to add telecommuting to its traffic-management plan, which already includes flexible working hours, car-pooling and subsidized mass-transit passes, to send a message to the private sector.

“It’s my hope that the private companies in the county will follow our example,” Bailey said.

In addition to reducing traffic and air pollution, advocates say that telecommuting, which long has been identified by futurists such as Alvin Toffler as a coming life-style trend, increases morale and allows workers to be more productive. Less need for office and parking space has also been cited as a benefit.

“Telecommuting is more than just traffic management,” MacDonald said. “Telecommuting could produce several beneficial side effects. . . . We may be able to assist the single parent with the very difficult problem of child care.”