One in Three U.S. Workers Have "Telecommuted" to Work
Public believes telecommuters just as productive as office workers
by Jeffrey M. Jones
Gallup news service
PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's annual Work and Education Poll finds about one in three U.S. workers have telecommuted to their job at some time, with the average worker telecommuting two days each month. Telecommuters are somewhat more likely to telecommute outside of regular business hours than to log on during business hours instead of going to the office. A majority of Americans think that those who work at home are just as productive as those who go into the office, but those who have telecommuted are twice as likely to say telecommuters are more productive rather than less productive when they work from home.
The Aug. 7-10, 2006, poll finds that 32% of U.S. adults who are employed full or part time have telecommuted to work. That represents a sharp increase from 9% in 1995, when the same question was asked in a Gallup poll conducted for U.S. News and World Report and CNN.
The likelihood that one would telecommute to work increases with educational attainment. Fifty-seven percent of U.S. workers with post-graduate education say they have telecommuted, compared with 44% of those who hold a four-year college degree, 28% of those who attended college but did not finish, and just 15% of those who did not attend college.