GLACC supports Georgia Telework Week!
August 24, 2010
The Georgia governor Sonny Perdue has endorsed Georgia Telework Week, a week (starting Monday, August 23) devoted to encouraging employees to work from home. There are many economic, environmental, and social benefits associated with telecommuting. Reports show that over 500,000 Georgia workers already telecommute on occasion, and during Georgia Telework Week, an expected 250,000 more will join them. There is the potential for even more workers to be able to telecommute in the future, as Atlanta is one of the most “wired” areas in the country.
Promotions for Georgia Telework Week list a number of benefits for both employers and employees, which go far beyond just saving fuel. A few of them are shown below:
- You can save 56 cents for every mile you don’t drive. For a 40 mile round trip commute, telecommuting one day each week will save $1,100 in a year
- Every mile you don’t drive prevents 1 pound of pollution from entering the air we breathe.
- Workplaces where telecommuting is available tend to have higher office morale
- Telecommuting makes it easier for employees to create a successful work/life balance
- The state of Georgia offers tax credits to employers creating and maintaining telework options
The first official Telework Week comes at a much needed time. Georgia environmental officials plan to announce tighter air quality standards soon, which will push more areas in the state into nonattainment. There are six national criteria pollutants that are monitored because they have negative effects on human health. Three of these (particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides) are found in tailpipe emissions. A fourth criteria pollutant, ground level ozone, is created by chemical reactions in the atmosphere involving nitrogen oxides, and is therefore linked to tailpipe emissions. Telework may be a good strategy to meet these new standards and improve ambient air quality. Erin Clark from the Clean Air Campaign says:
When stricter air quality standards for the state are announced later this month, many areas will fail to meet air quality standards. Telework is a highly cost-effective pollution reduction strategy, as every mile driven adds a pound of pollutants to our air.
Georgia also offers tax credits to employers who have a teleworking option available to employees. There is a $20,000 credit available to cover start up costs of such a program and an additional $1,200 tax credit for each new teleworker added to the program. But hurry, the deadline to apply for these tax credit for the 2011 fiscal year is October 31, 2010. There have also been previous attempts to allow a federal tax credit option for telecommuting employees to cover expenses they incurred in setting up a home office; however, this was never passed into law. It seems that states will have to encourage telecommuting, and Georgia is taking a big step forward by instating Georgia Telework Week and supporting the Telework Tax Credits. GLACC wishes all of our friends in Georgia good luck with their very first Georgia Telework Week, and hopes Michigan can instate a similar event in the future.