Research conducted by Pennsylvania State University suggests allowing employees to telecommute can offer business and employees ample benefits. Telecommuting can reduce business expenses significantly, and it can increase employee satisfaction. Here, are five reasons companies should consider allowing employees to telecommute on a regular basis:

Freedom & Flexibility
Employees working from home have more control over their work environments. Working from home can eliminate the headaches and hassles involved with traveling to work, and employees can invest more time in performing work-related activities without having to waste time on travel or conversing at the water cooler.

Good for Families
The Penn State study uncovered a startling fact: telecommuting does not blur boundaries between work and family. In fact, telecommuting reduces the conflicts that typically occur between work and family life. Employees call out of work less, and work continues to be accomplished at home at the same rate.

Does Not Harm Workplace Relations
Working from home has no effect on workplace relationships as long as management is on board and good communication practices are implemented. Employees who maintained regular communication with superiors and colleagues through email or phone experienced improved working relationships, according to the Penn State study.

Increases Productivity
Managers rated telecommuting employees as being more productive than their office based counterparts. Employees were still capable of demonstrating their value to managers and seemed to have increased incentive to do so. Additionally, telecommuting involved less travel time than traditional office work. Work commenced at a much faster rate for telecommuting employees because much of the time wasted on travel per day was eliminated.

Higher Levels of Satisfaction
Penn State researchers discovered a positive link between working from home and job satisfaction. Additionally, employees who are allowed to work from their homes are far less likely to quit. Happy employees are valuable employees.

Telecommuting is a smart business strategy, and a viable option for most organizations. Telecommuting offers businesses the opportunity to reduce costs and increase employee satisfaction. Telecommuting can offer a win-win situation for everyone involved.