Atlanta the most tele-work friendly city in the U.S. (contractor, title)

[ATL_II_DMV]

Glad I read this, I'll be teleworking when (God-willing) I move back down

[atltechdude]

Originally Posted by cabasse

my quality of work is fine, i wouldn't still be doing it otherwise. the lack of social interaction is what's the killer, and being in the same structure for work and sleep (2/3rds of your day!) has really started to get to me over the past year or so. like cqhold put it - cabin fever.

Yes it feels like you are always at work, even when you stop working. Also sometimes it is hard to keep set hours so it feels like you are working all day.

[arjay57]

Another advantage to tele-working is that it enables a lot of people to hold jobs who otherwise wouldn't be in the workforce.

[bu2]

Atlanta has 7% teleworking according to a USA today article a year or two ago.

[researchnerd]

Originally Posted by atltechdude

Yes it feels like you are always at work, even when you stop working. Also sometimes it is hard to keep set hours so it feels like you are working all day.

You have to create structure for yourself if that's an issue. I work at home 1-2 days a week, and I have an office set up in an extra bedroom so I can keep life separate. I do tend to work an extra hour or three, just because I don't have to get dressed up and drive to work, but sometimes I will take a break and go outside with the dog, or go pick up a quick take-out lunch. I make it a point to sit at the kitchen table for lunch, not at my desk. Sometimes I will set a timer to go off around the time I'd normally leave the office, so I'm reminded to wrap things up. When I'm done for the day, I close the door to the office so I have a physical and visual barrier.

[berkeleylake]

Originally Posted by bu2

Atlanta has 7% teleworking according to a USA today article a year or two ago.

Does this percentage include part-time teleworkers or all full time? Just curious.

[atltechdude]

Originally Posted by researchnerd

You have to create structure for yourself if that's an issue. I work at home 1-2 days a week, and I have an office set up in an extra bedroom so I can keep life separate. I do tend to work an extra hour or three, just because I don't have to get dressed up and drive to work, but sometimes I will take a break and go outside with the dog, or go pick up a quick take-out lunch. I make it a point to sit at the kitchen table for lunch, not at my desk. Sometimes I will set a timer to go off around the time I'd normally leave the office, so I'm reminded to wrap things up. When I'm done for the day, I close the door to the office so I have a physical and visual barrier.

I do have the separate space, and it might be easier for me if I was only doing 1-2 days a week, since I would be used to a regular day routine in an office setting as well, but doing 100% from home for 5 years has gotten to me a little bit.

[researchnerd]

I hear ya. I'm a natural introvert, but I was sick recently and stuck at home for a week -- and I actually looked forward to going back to the office. Apparently I do enjoy some interaction with my coworkers.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by berkeleylake

Does this percentage include part-time teleworkers or all full time? Just curious.

The article broke down how people got to work, so I presume it was full time equivalent.

I don't still have the USA Today article, but it was roughly
82-84% drive by self
7% telecommute
4% mass transit
5-7% other (walk, bike, car pool)

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by bu2

The article broke down how people got to work, so I presume it was full time equivalent.

I don't still have the USA Today article, but it was roughly
82-84% drive by self
7% telecommute
4% mass transit
5-7% other (walk, bike, car pool)

Interesting, so almost twice as many people telework as take mass transit. So that means if you increase teleworking by 50%, you can have almost as much impact on traffic as doubling transit capacity. Of course that assumes that if transit capacity was doubled that the same number of people would get out of their cars and ride it.

Let me say that again...if you increase teleworking by 50%, you have as much impact on commutes as doubling transit capacity. How much would it cost taxpayers to double transit capacity? How much would it cost taxpayers to increase telecommuting by 50%?