Green Hands USA: America Volunteers

If your company lets you work at home half of the time, you will save as much $6,800 per year, and your company will save $10,000 per year. That's the word from a study by the Telework Research Network.

This is a bit of a generalization. Companies might not have the same benefits if they only let one or two employees telecommute, since the study looked at corporations that let 100 or more workers telecommute. But those numbers are still pretty impressive.

The savings for the employee come from multiple areas: gas (obviously), wear and tear on vehicles, food (fewer restaurant lunches), clothing (you don't need to wear expensive suits to work at home), etc.

(Teleworkers do have to use more of their own electricity, though, which this study doesn't seem to count.)

As for employers, they save on real estate, parking, electricity (see above), furniture, and other physical costs. TRN says companies will also benefit from lower turnover rates (telecommuting employees are happy employees) and fewer sick days (or other days lost, such as when an employee has to stay home to wait for a repair man).

TRN also points out that teleworkers are, by all accounts, more productive.

So are you telecommuting yet? Are your employees and co-workers? If not, it might be time to make the case.