You get up on Monday, you go to work for something in the neighborhood of 8 hours, you drive home again…and: repeat, four more times, until the weekend. But is this the way it HAS to be? Technology has plugged us in wherever we are, to the point where we can put a presentation together at the breakfast table and participate in a teleconference on the way to the grocery store. Could working from home be the way of the future?
Join moderator Steve Seel and special guests Frank Douma and Carver County Commissioner Randy Maluchnik for our next Policy and a Pint, when we’ll look at how telecommuting is turning the idea of the five-day work week at the office upside down. Our guests will discuss how this just might make us MORE productive and even happier, and how more companies are catching on.
And read more about the Twin Cities’ eWorkPlace initiative. A $3.2 million investment in telecommuting though eWorkPlace produced a 2:1 return on investment in vehicle, time and emissions savings (over $6.6 million in savings); employers reported greater productivity, lower costs, and better retention; and employees reported better work-life balance. When they were surveyed, 93% of participating employers planned to continue or expand their telecommuting programs.
About the speakers:
Frank Douma is the Associate Director of the State and Local Policy Program at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a Research Scholar at the Center for Transportation Studies, both located at the University of Minnesota. He manages research projects related to several different areas of transportation policy, including telecommunications and urban corridor development.
Commissioner Randy Maluchnik represents the third district on the Carver County Board of Commissioners which includes the cities of Victoria, Carver and portions of Chaska. Randy was elected to the Carver County Board in 2006. Commissioner Maluchnik was recently elected to serve as the first vice president of the Association of Minnesota Counties.
Maluchnik has a long history of advocating for teleworking programs and was a key voice in making Carver County one of the first employers to implement eWorkplace in 2009. Carver County collaborated with eWorkPlace to plan and implement a Telework Pilot Program in March of 2010 with 24 participants. 20 of the original 24 Pilot Teleworkers continue to Telework on a regular basis (ranging from 1-5 days per week) and an additional 49 employees Telework on an occasional basis.
