Commutes can be rough, just filled with obstacles. There's usually a mess in the kitchen that should be avoided at all cost, especially when the kids are in there, but never is. There's the laundry in the hallway, favorite hiding place of the ferocious family kitten that loves to bite feet and scratch legs. We won't even discuss the tie-ups that occur in the bathroom, especially when the kids are in there. Making your way to the workplace can be painstakingly difficult.

We're used to thinking about traffic congestion and people wasting their valuable time idling on the Beltway and road rage. It's no wonder. The vast majority of us still go to work the old fashioned way: we go to work. However, according to a study recently completed by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, more and more people in the region are letting work come to them.

The Baltimore Region Telecommuting Baseline Study, completed just a few months ago, shows that telecommuting or telework has hit the Baltimore region, and it is more popular than anyone had ever imagined.

Simply stated, teleworking is working from a nontraditional worksite, such as a home office or a telework center. Teleworkers use telephones, fax machines, and computers to accomplish their tasks. They may telework all the time or as little as one day a week.

The BMC study found that 3.6 percent of Baltimore area workers are now telecommuting. According to Earl Long, senior transportation planner and study project manager, " That figure is significantly higher than the 2 percent BMC expected to find." What that means is that approximately 50,000 people in our region work from home or a telecenter at least part of the time.

The study also concluded that these telecommuters and their employers are more than satisfied with their situations. Employees cited a reduction in stress, savings of both time and money, as well as an increased ability to care for dependents. Employers noted increases in productivity, profitability and employee retention, along with a reduction of business costs.

Telecommuting offers its share of community benefits, such as a reduction in traffic congestion and cleaner air. Baltimore telecommuters reduce the region's air pollution by 336 tons of volatile organic compounds and 887 tons of nitrogen oxides annually.

The study findings encourage increased teleworking in our region. There seems to be little reason why, in time, Baltimore's efforts cannot match those of Washington, DC, where 12 percent of employees telecommute.

"The Washington area has had an aggressive, well-funded outreach program for several years to promote the use of telecommuting to employers and employees. They have been very successful," notes Earl Long. "In the Baltimore region, we are just beginning to actively promote telecommuting with the assistance of a $300,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Transportation," he adds.

This grant was announced by Governor Glendening late last year and is the core of the Telework Partnership With Employers program. The program will allow BMC to help area employers set up and operate their own telecommuting programs. Under the program, BMC will provide, free of charge, the services of experienced, professional telework consultants to qualified businesses and organizations.

For further information about the Telework Partnership With Employers, log onto www.teleworksmart-md.org.