More Americans Telecommuting; Best Buy Joins Yahoo in Ending Practice
Published at
KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — More and more Americans are working from home, according to new census numbers — even though two high-profile companies are banning the practice, saying they want their employees to actually show up at work.
Ditching the commute is a workplace perk that 13.4 million Americans enjoyed at least one day a week in 2010. The census bureau says that’s 9.4 percent of the workforce, up from 7 percent in 1997.
Amine Khechfe, co-founder of Silicon Valley software company Endicia, says it helps productivity.
“They’re saving maybe two to three hours of commute time,” Khechfe says.
But it’s the subject of a new debate: struggling companies Yahoo and Best Buy are changing their rules, saying all employees now must physically come to work.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio