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J.A. Montalbano: Day Four: Telecommuting offers freedom, convenience, some limitations

By J.A. Montalbano
Friday, May 25, 2007

On the fourth day, I rested.

After commuting by train, bus and bike this week, I worked from home Thursday.

I rose at 6:45 a.m. and planned a full day of reporting and writing this story; posting an entry or two at the "ABQ AV Club," The Tribune's film blog; and taking two hours midday to run errands on foot.

There is evidence that telecommuting is on the rise. World at Work, a nonprofit association that deals with human-resources issues, in the fall commissioned a phone survey of work habits.

The survey found that the number of people who said they worked from home at least one day a month rose from 9.9 million in 2005 to 12.5 million in 2006, a 26 percent increase (and a 63 percent increase over 2004). The group says that's about 8 percent of the American work force. The survey conducted by the Dieringer Research Group had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Some companies get creative. Sandia National Laboratories, for example, has only about 200 telecommuters among its 8,400 employees, mainly because of the sensitive nature of the work they do, said spokesman Michael Padilla. But Sandia offers the option of working nine days in a two-week period, meaning every other Friday off. That's 26 days a year that the SUV can stay in the driveway.

"Speaking on behalf of myself, that's a great benefit," Padilla said. "Especially after I just put 50 bucks' worth of gas in my car on Sunday."

On some reporting days, I can work from home, or from the road if I'm interviewing someone, and I don't have to stop at the office.

From home I can check my voice mail and e-mail. I have a company cell phone. If I were fully set up, I could also tap into the newsroom's editing program. As it is, I planned to file this story by e-mail late in the afternoon.

The biggest drawback Thursday was not being on hand to finalize the movie-review pages for today's paper. Normally, I would work with the designer to make everything fit on the page and help the copy desk proofread the stories. I can't do that from home.

But I can hang a load of laundry out on the line, cook pasta for lunch, play music and start out the day in my slippers if I want.

My midday agenda for Thursday was a haircut, a stop at my office at the University of New Mexico, a run to the video store and a run to the grocery store.

Within a 15-minute walk from my house I have: UNM, a barbershop, post office, FedEx Kinko's, Laundromat, grocery store, produce stand, liquor store, convenience store, newsstand, video stores, drugstore, flower shop, day care center, tattoo parlor, masseuse and two 24-hour restaurants.

Among the cuisines in that same radius: Middle Eastern, Greek, Mexican, various Asian, fast food, pizza, malt shop, sports bar, sub shop, yuppie sandwiches, vegan, and Ayurvedic, as well as Satellite and Winning coffee shops.

My neighbor Michele spotted me as I headed out, vowing to return with a backpack full of essentials. She says it's easier for a single, childless person like me to shop for groceries without a car. Families like hers buy heavy stuff, like milk and juice by the gallon.

An hour later, with my hair shorter and three videos in my backpack, I strolled down Harvard toward Coal.

A half block from Smith's, my cell phone rang, and it was workplace expert John Challenger of Chicago, returning my call. He was happy to chat idly for a minute until I could reach a shady tree to sit under and take notes.

"You have found the future of the workplace," Challenger said. "The future is on our backs and in our pockets. And not just because of rising energy costs. But also the sheer cost of real estate in a technology-driven world."

Challenger said most employers still have an old-fashioned mind-set, but a few are realizing they don't have to measure performance by when the office clock gets punched. They can look at results.

"Companies are tracking what we do in far more detailed fashion," he said. "They want to know what we do and the quality of what we do."

Still, he said, even die-hard telecommuters will put in appearances at the office.

"Organizations are communities of a kind," Challenger said. "And people need to get together and meet face-to-face."

When I got to Smith's, I saw a guy with a backpack ride off on a scooter and a woman navigating the aisles trailed by a small piece of luggage on a handcart for toting her purchase away on foot.

This is what I bought and stuffed into a backpack and cloth bag: a 64-ounce carton of juice, a 24-ounce carton of salsa, three cans of tuna, four bananas, a green pepper, a carrot, a carton of strawberries, a tube of toothpaste, a toothbrush and two sticks of deodorant. Normally, I would pounce on the opportunity to buy Coke in bulk (five 12-packs for $11), but not this time.

Because I used my own bag, Smith's gave me a nickel off. I can't imagine anyone older than 6 seeing that as an incentive.

It's a 10-minute walk home. Michele beeped as she drove by on Silver in her Land Rover. I took a quick detour and stopped in on Don Schrader, the simple-living guru who lives a few blocks away. We made plans for a walking excursion today.

You won't want to miss Saturday's dramatic conclusion of my week without a car.

Length of commute (compared with a 10-minute car ride): No time.

Cost: $0.

Reading done: I surfed the Web a bit, and at the barbershop I read quickie interviews with Jimmy Kimmel and Willie Nelson and the article "How to Buy a Samurai Sword" in the April edition of Stuff magazine.