Bill Encourages Telecommuting in USA
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 03.23.07
We all know that there are societal benefits to telecommuting: less pollution, less time wasted in traffic, more flexibility, etc. Some countries, like Japan, have offered tax incentives to employers who institute telework programs for a while now, but a bill recently introduced into the US Congress may give Americans the same opportunity.
The bill, introduced by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Representative Lee Terry (R-NE), is called the Parents’ Tax Relief Act of 2007. There are a few interesting parts, including a vastly simplified home office deduction ($2500 or the profit from your home-based business, whichever is lower), and a telecommuting tax credit for employers of up to $2400 per telecommuter. In addition, employers that provide computers and broadband access equipment can write it off, making such equipment tax-free. The bill hasn't passed yet, but there are high hopes.
Unfortunately, telecommuting reduces community, social interaction, and the ability of workers to organize. It's not necessary all that great of an idea.
when I saw the rss headline I thought "who's bill?" haha this looks awesome though I hope it passes. I do wonder what the employer would need to do to prove it though I work for a small employer and I telecommute I would think my company would qualify but they may turn this bill into one of those bills that only corporations have the resources to prove.
"Unfortunately, telecommuting reduces community, social interaction, and the ability of workers to organize. It's not necessary all that great of an idea."
Telecommuting has downsides just like regular commuting, but I don't think we should throw out the baby with the bathwater.
telecommuting can also mean spending more time with your family and loved ones, more time to do other things than sitting in a car stuck in traffic.
The goal would be to find solutions to the problems, such as create certain days when people who work together meet in the flesh to bond and exchange face to face.
High-quality, low cost video conferencing can probably also help a bit.
For people to actually telecommute the USA is going to need to finish building infrastructure capable of supporting it. If we really want Johnny to log into the call center from the farm every morning after he is done with the cows (so he can earn enough $$ to keep the farm) then somebody is going to have to get a reliable afforable landline broadband connection to him. This bill isn't likely to make a whole hey of a lot of difference from what I can tell as over 70% of the land mass of this country just isn't "set up" to take advantage of the possible benefits of telecommuting--and everyone else is too close to where they work to convince their bosses that it is a good idea.
It's true that work is an excellent place to meet great people. But, more and more, it's a good way to meet people that live dozens of miles away from you.
If you want a real community, it should be with people in your community, not people who live in that suburb on the south side of Atlanta. I'm a long-time telecommuter and, though I don't consider myself to be friends with clients and co-workers (not all of them anyway) I wouldn't say that my 'social interraction' has been reduced.
So, wait, because you have a long commute, you're suggesting that telecommuting is a solution? That's an urban planning issue that gets *worse* with telecommuting. If our city layout doesn't cause impacts in our work lives, that's just one less reason to do a better job of building transportation infrastructure and curbing sprawl.
"Unfortunately, telecommuting reduces community, social interaction, and the ability of workers to organize. It's not necessary all that great of an idea."
Unions are just going to have to sacrifice for the sake of the environment. It is not like they do much for labor today anyway, other than manage workforce and benefit reductions.
I've been a full time telecommuting software engineer for 9 years. In fact, all 12 of the people in my immediate manager's group have been telecommuting many years. NONE would trade back. Moreover, savings on corporate office cube space amount to about $16K per telecommuter, per year.
We daily interact with our corporate liaisons in several different cities in US and Canada. There has been no perceptible negative impact to the team's responsibilities and reliability.
Certainly, there is concern about being "out-of-sight-out-of-mind", so it's up to the individual to manage the discipline for continual growth, professional learning, nurturing of network, keeping a fresh resume, and performing his own system administration.