My home of Madison, Wis. is hardly a megatropolis. According to the U.S. census bureau, Wisconsin’s capital city has just over 240,000 residents. However, it feels like all 240,000 of them begin their daily commute when I do, bringing traffic on Madison’s freeway, known as the beltline, to a near halt. This problem is only magnified when there’s a fresh coating of fluffy white stuff on the ground prompting me to share my anxiety with the rest of the world by taking to the twitterverse.
When I became part of the BendBroadband family last September, the first thing I heard from the more than 260 local dogs in Central Oregon was that they had zero traffic. Zero. Turns out you have famously short commutes, the kind that make people pack up from Seattle, Portland, or San Francisco and move to Bend.
While some of those folks (and native Oregonians) are lucky enough to get a job near their home, many of them make the move work by telecommuting. Working remotely from home (or wherever you’d like) is becoming more popular every year. According to a recently published article in the New York Times telecommuting rose 79 percent between 2005 and 2012. Telecommuters account for about 2.6 percent of the American workforce, or about 3.2 million workers.
Not only does telecommuting save time and money for Central Oregonians, it may make you more productive. A recent telecommuting survey by PGi (Premiere Global Services, Inc.) found that 70 percent of respondents saw an improvement in their productivity. Eighty-two percent also say their stress level improved.
The Times article I mentioned earlier attributes the increase in telecommuting, in part, to better communications technology like VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Many Central Oregon ISPs offer VoIP and modern versions of traditional voice services with mobility features built right into the phones.
BendBroadband Business Services offers a Business Voice product with features like simultaneous ring, which rings multiple phones at the same time when a call is received by your desk phone and remote office, which allows you to make and receive calls to another phone as if it was your office phone. These features ensure you won’t miss any important communication if you’re away from your desk.
I’m not trying to claim that Central Oregon’s amazing quality of life is all thanks to local ISPs like BendBroadband Business Services. But, when people in Bend brag about their lack of a commute, I may just start saying, “You’re welcome.”
Of course, if you stop commuting there’s a chance you may miss out meeting some of these awesome people I found on the website awkwardtransit.com. The decision is yours.
Barclay Pollak is an award winning journalist and proud to be a member of the Corporate Communications team at BendBroadband. Follow on G+.
