Welcome to the eWorkPlace Blog!

So, I realized that although we showed this great little video at a conference we held over the summer (if you missed the conference, no worries, click here for the presentation materials!), we neglected to put the video up on the blog.

Enjoy:

Love it. Though it does hit on a serious issue with telework – how do you trust that your employees are actually doing their job while they telework? In case you missed it in our FAQ, you can start reading about managing teleworkers here.

If you have any personal experience/advice about this, we’d love to hear it!

Adeel Lari, M.B.A., P.E.
Director of Innovative Financing, Research Fellow, and Teleworker
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota

We have about one month, give or take, until the end of 2009. Like many people, when something is near its end, I often start thinking about new beginnings. I circle back and forth and around. I think about what became, what could have been, and what should be.

Take congestion, for example.

According to the Metropolitan Freeway System 2008 Congestion Report, Twin Cities freeways actually saw a substantial drop in congestion, from 20.9% in 2007 to 17.3%. I know that is difficult to swallow when you’re sitting in traffic after a long day’s work, but from the numbers alone it seems like we have been making some headway.

I suppose my worry is that people see this as good news and will become complacent in following years. So it is important to note that according to many experts, the reduction we saw in congestion was actually due to the economy.

Fewer jobs and less money = less traffic.

Like everybody, I would prefer the economy to grow and reduce congestion all at once.  

Will the 2009 Congestion Report show another drop? Will congestion because of the poor economy or because of proactive efforts like eWorkPlace? 

All I know is that we must actively continue working on lowering congestion in 2010. The eWorkPlace program cannot make congestion disappear, but it certainly helps to reduce the problem and raise the benefits. 

P.S. If you’re already taking advantage of our eWorkPlace program, you may find our instructional YouTube channel helpful. There you can learn about how to use the Commute Tool, Tracker, and Survey to help us measure the effects of our efforts.

P.P.S. Someone make me this shirt.

Adeel Lari, M.B.A., P.E.
Director of Innovative Financing, Research Fellow, and Teleworker
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota

Well, folks, it looks like it is already November. The fall season has gone by quickly and as I write this we are experiencing surprisingly good weather in Minnesota… let’s hope I didn’t jinx it just by saying that.

In the last couple months, we have experienced reason after reason to continue pushing telework here at eWorkPlace… at least if you view things through a “telework lens” the way I do. Any talk of H1N1 or “swine flu” for instance. Or economic troubles. A rainy day. Budgets and deficits. Particularly bad traffic. You get the idea.  

I don’t mean to say that telework can be a one size fits all solution to any problem, but too often it is viewed as a possible benefit to employees rather than as part of the equation to a solution for employees AND employers. While doing one of my regular searches, I found a telework quiz geared towards employees but why don’t I see more of these things geared towards employers?  

We need to change the way we talk about telework. Let’s start now. What are your thoughts?

Adeel Lari, M.B.A., P.E.
Director of Innovative Financing, Research Fellow, and Teleworker
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota