Over the past year, there has been a large push by environmentalists, companies and individuals for people to telework for at least one day a week to save money, gas, and our environment. Yesterday, Monday March 5, marked the kick off to the second annual Telework Week, hosted by the Telework Exchange, a partnership focused on eliminating commuting gridlock and environmental impact; a week when participants telework for five full days.
This year, over 60,000 people have pledged to participate in Telework Week. And those 60,000 people, a low percentage of our country’s entire working population, are saving big time. In one week, over 5 million dollars will be saved in commuting costs and over 6 million pounds of pollutants will be saved from entering the environment. The Telework Exchange estimates that if the same amount of pledges teleworked for an entire year, over a quarter of a billion dollars would be saved in commuting costs. 
While we understand that many people don’t have the option to telework, there are many that do, and the Telework Exchange is doing a great job of publicizing the benefits. Studies have shown that teleworking increases overall sustainability, business continuity, individual productivity and retention, and improved employee work and life balance—all on top of increasing savings and reducing traffic, harmful emissions and depletion of infrastructure and public transportation.
And it’s not too late to sign up. Go to http://www.teleworkexchange.com/teleworkweek/ to pledge to telework for the remainder of the week. It’s also not too late to start the teleworking discussion in your office. We can’t imagine anything better than saving money and the environment at the same time.