The Effect of Gas Prices on the Tech Job Market

Fortunately, for tech workers, there are more employers making the 4-day work week available, especially for tech workers.

Technology is one area where people can work from their computers. Telephone, laptop, portable storage device, Web, and VoIP make it possible for people to:

• Carry a laptop and portable external storage device to transport work
• Use the Web to access an organizations Intranet to do work
• Conduct work from anywhere using the Web
• Use software to access their work computer
• Talk to associates on the phone
• Co-share or no on-site work space

Many of the IT services and solutions firms have jobs for people to work a 4-day work week and or telecommute.

The National Association of Computer Consulting Businesses (NACCB) reports that, while the overall employment market will continue to deteriorate this year, these kinds of tech jobs are on the rise.

These IT Staffing and Solutions firms and their employees are creating a new paradigm for the flexible workforce, with flexible workweek and work locations. These firms are driving the 21st Century economy. They provide IT project management, IT staff augmentation, IT solutions, and IT consulting services to America's businesses, with on-site and telecommuting options for employers and tech workers.

Despite a macroeconomic slowdown now taking us into recession, job market growth continues to emerge in technology. There are tech jobs in every U.S. State and City, according to an American Electronics Association Cybercities 2008 and Cyberstates 2008 Reports. Electronic downloads from Info Tech Employment provide IT staffing and solutions firms in every U.S. State and City with flexible work hours and work locations.

The private sector is also moving aggressively toward telecommuting. Sherri Sirotzky, senior managing consultant at Human Capital Management, a division of IBM has said, "It used to be confined to IT [information technology] companies and financial services. Now you're seeing it everywhere," Sirotzky said. "Environmental issues, the cost of gasoline ... and the lengths of commutes are pushing a lot of companies over the edge."

At Sun Microsystems, more than half of its 19,000 employees telecommute at least part time, with each telecommuting worker saving, on average, 104 hours a year-the equivalent of 2-1/2 weeks of vacation, reports Eric Chabrow of CIO Magazine. SUN saved nearly $1,800 annually in gasoline costs and wear and tear on their cars. Having fewer employees working in offices provides additional savings to employers. Sun didn't have to find office space for 7,215 workers in 2006 because of its telecommuting program, saving the company nearly $68 million that year. Sun estimates that its telecommuting and related programs eliminate nearly 30,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year-the equivalent of permanently removing 6,700 cars from the road each year.

Nortel Networks Inc., has given telecommuting as an option for 15 years. Nortel director of workplace planning, innovation and construction David Dunn says employees "have been voting with their feet in terms of making choices about where and when and how to work." Advances in Internet telephony and a proliferation of mobile devices have given them more choices, he adds. Even though only 30 percent of employees are registered as home-based or mobile workers, about 50 percent accesses the network remotely every day.

The Bank of America has started telecommuting options to save space costs. A completely outfitted cubicle costs about $10,000 a year, a manager at Bank of America, Ben Nicholls says.

The savings on energy usage for a 4-day work week for tech and other employees is a biggie. It not only saves the employee on gas. It takes billions of pounds of carbon dioxide pollution with it. The biggest advantage of telecommuting the work it does to reduce global warming. Gov. Jon Huntsman Of Utah told USA Today that the 40-day work week for Utah state employees will help Utah reach its goal of reducing energy use by 20 percent by 2015 and is expected to save the state millions in energy costs.

Turning off the lights, the heat, and the air conditioning on Fridays in 1,000 of 3,000 government buildings will save about $3 million a year out of a state budget of $11 billion, according to the governor's spokesperson, Lisa Roskelley. The state will also save on gasoline used by official vehicles.

Jacqueline Byers, director of research at the National Association of Counties, reported to USA Today that the four-day work week is also gaining popularity among other county governments. Marion County, Fla., has a mandatory four-day work week for employees; Oconee County, S.C., and Walworth County, Wis., have it for road work crews, while Will County, Ill., has it for the auditor's office. Oakland County, Mich., is seeking volunteers for a four-day work week, and Miami-Dade County, Fla., and Suffolk County, N.Y., are moving toward it, she said.

Other cities offering employees condensed work weeks include Coconut Creek, Fla., Birmingham, Ala., and Avondale, Ariz., according to the National League of Cities. In Maricopa County in Arizona, more than 20 percent of the state workforce now participates in a teleworking program. As a result, 5.25 million miles are not driven, 175,000 pounds of air pollution are avoided, and 181,000 hours of driving time are saved.

On top of that, an estimated 1.35 billion gallons of gasoline would be conserved yearly if every U.S. worker who has the ability to telecommute did so 1.6 days per week, according to the American Electronics Association, and 26 billion pounds of carbon dioxide wouldn't be released into the environment, reports the Environmental Protection Agency.

There is a plan for a bill in the U.S. Congress weighing the return of the widely loathed national 55-m.p.h. speed limit. These are adjustments and not solutions in reaction to gas prices.

IT executives that allow workers to telecommute will see benefits beyond what meets the eye. Soaring fuel prices that take a bite out of employees' wallets create dissatisfaction with pay. CIO's can find and retain good tech employees by making a 4day work week part of the hiring package. Being an employer of choice ensures a company it can retain a great workforce. This is the same whether the company argues for the for a salary bump - "You are saving on gasoline; we are saving on emissions; it's a win-win."

A tech worker going to make the argument to an employer who doesn't have a 4-day work week or telecommuting can find plenty of resources how to do it. The website www.telework.gov, managed by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration, tells about telecommuting in Federal government. Another good resource is the World Environmental Organization's Web site, which includes a list of the top telecommuting-related sites.

Information Technology Jobs in America, in electronic download and print, lists IT services and solutions employers with flexible work hours and work locations.