Telework promoted as way to offset high gas costs

By leaving the car parked in the garage and working from home two days a week, federal employees could soften the blow from the recent increase in commuting expenses caused by rising gasoline prices, a study published Tuesday found.

With national fuel prices leveling off at just under $3 per gallon -- up from $2 per gallon in February 2005 -- federal employees are spending an average of $46.27 more each month on their commute, the study from the Alexandria, Va.-based Telework Exchange stated.

An average federal employee currently spends about $138 a month in gasoline, but teleworking two days a week would save workers an average of $55.52 per month, according to figures in the study.

John Townsend, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said market conditions are going to push fuel prices down, but it might take time as prices tend to "go up like a rocket and go down like a feather."

The online-based telework promoting organization figured that current fuel prices cost typical GS-7, Step 5 federal employees $138.80 a month, nearly 7 percent of their after-tax income. The organization's study, titled "Gas Fuels Telework," is based on a survey of 3,500 federal employees registered with the Telework Exchange Web site.

According to the Telework Exchange, rising fuel prices are putting pressure on agencies to comply with a federal law that requires certain agencies to let all employees eligible to work outside the office do so.

William Mularie, a longtime advocate for telework and chief executive officer of the federally sponsored Telework Consortium, said the study did not present the best argument for why federal agencies should encourage their employees to telework. Fuel expenses are only the fourth-largest expense of owning a car behind depreciation, licenses and fees, and maintenance, he said.

Continuity of operations planning for emergency situations, the strain on the public transportation infrastructure and employee retention are more significant factors, Mularie said.

"It doesn't matter if you are driving a car that gets 10 miles per gallon or 30 miles per gallon," Mularie said. "We need to step back and rethink this whole thing of distributing the workforce."

But Chuck Wilsker, president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Telework Coalition, said he believes the study minimized the true cost of the high fuel prices. He said rising gasoline prices could force people to quit jobs in order to work closer to home, but teleworking is an option that could keep employees from making that decision.

"If you want to save 20 percent [of your gasoline expenses] leave your car parked once a week. If you want to save 40 percent leave your car parked twice a week," Wilsker said. "I think more people are going to do it because of high gas prices."

Wilsker also predicted that as more people telework due to high fuel prices, they won't want to go back to working in an office five days a week once prices subside.