Key risks you should address:

• Employees’ potential lack of availability during business hours
• Telecommuters’ inability to participate in office meetings
• Maintaining data security
• Disability risks (e.g., lack of ergonomic standards for home-based workers) 
• Avoiding distractions at home
• Ensuring accountability

Of course, if the potential risks outweigh the  advantages, telecommuting isn’t right for your company. But many companies that thought telecommuting couldn’t work have found that it’s well worth the time and effort to address the aforementioned concerns.  

Companies  with telecommuting programs often discover the following advantages:

• The company can cut overhead expenses from office space and administrative expenses.
• Employees who work from home often have greater salary satisfaction because they don’t incur commuting-related expenses such as gas or public-transit transpasses.
• Allowing employees to telecommute can develop a renewed loyalty to the company and encourage high performance.
• Telecommuting can reduce employee stress, fatigue and absenteeism.
• Employees may exhibit increased efficiency because they are able to work at their most productive times.

A growing number are willing, according to one analysis of Department of Labor stats.

Female employees in favor of the tradeoff greatly outnumber males. Approximately 10 % of women would prefer working fewer hours, compared to 5.6% of men.

The big reason, analysts say, is that full-time female employees are more likely to get caught in a work-life balance crunch.

In the typical U.S. family, women still perform a disproportionate share of the household tasks. Women who reported having a child under the age of 3 were the most likely to want work cutbacks.

On the flip side, 23% of employees say they want to pick up more hours to make more money. These trends make work-life benefit and flex-time opportunities easier for you to offer, while also cutting overtime costs for your non-exempt workers through work hour-pooling programs.