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Gas Gouged? Try Telecommuting

Rising gas prices may make a winning case for telecommuting.

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CareerDiva

Welcome to CareerDiva, a blog maintained by Eve Tahmincioglu, journalist, author, and columnist.

As a career and workplace expert, Eve is also the author of From the Sandbox to the Corner Office: Lessons Learned on the Journey to the Top, and the Your Career columnist for MSNBC.com.

Eve further writes Your Biz, a small business and entrepreneurship blog for MSNBC.com.

More articles from this author:

• Stay “Miserable” or Change Your Career Already!
• How a Boss Feeds the Circle of Yelling
• Aggressive Job Hunting Skills for the Thick Skinned

Sean, a software engineer for a telecommunications company in Pennsylvania, has always wanted to telecommute but he didn’t push the issue with his boss even though other workers were telecommuting because of family obligations.

But gas prices finally drove him to the brink. He commutes 25 miles each way to work and recently saw his $45 a week gas expenditures jump to $60 a week.

“I figured guys in my office are already working from home for family reasons, so I thought I was entitled to work from home regardless, and couple that with $4 a gallon gas,” he says, “I figured I had a pretty good argument.”

Turns out he did. Sean, who didn’t want his full name used, approached his manager with his case last month and now telecommutes once a week.

“I’ve been watching gas prices fluctuate and I knew it was only going to get worse as we headed for the warmer months so I decided to ask if I could work from home,” he explains.

Like so many employees, Sean was reluctant to request telecommuting. “I don’t like to ask for a lot,” he admits. But, he adds, “If gas keeps going up I think I may have to ask for another work-from-home day.”

It’s time for workers across the country to stand up and demand their right to telecommute!

Since many companies are either laying people off or keeping a tight grip on the purse strings and wages in this economy, it’s harder for managers to argue against telecommuting as they see their employees and themselves hammered by escalating fuel prices.

And it seems employers are more receptive to the idea.

Last month, the House Speaker of the state of Georgia told state employees to start working from home one day a week as a way to fight high prices at the pump.

“Everyone’s concerned about gas prices right now,” says Clelia Davis, a spokeswoman for Speaker Glenn Richardson.

By telecommuting one day a week, employees can save 20 percent on their gas bill, she adds. The telecommuting will be done on a rolling basis during the week so that there’s always someone in the offices.

Gas prices hit a new record last week, closing in on $4 a gallon.