It’s apparently Georgia Telework Week and I’m seeing all kinds of coverage of it like it’s the first time this has occurred to people that fewer cars on the road and more flexible work options could be a good idea. Keep in mind I am the person who was hired to write the suite of materials for the Atlanta Regional Commission to encourage employers to offer commute options during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games here in Atlanta (during which time the roads were literally empty). That was 23 years ago, folks. This ain’t brain surgery.
I also worked at the corporate headquarters of MetLife in New York City back in the 1980s and we had flextime then. My father worked there for more than thirty years before me and enjoyed flextime as well. That’s how he got to be home for 5:30 PM dinner every night and coached my brother’s and my sports teams. He and I are, in fact, doing his old commute there — via train and foot — this week!
Speaking of feet, we’re kind of dragging our feet on this stuff as a society, don’t you think?
By the way, lack of any willingness to be flexible was why I ultimately left my corporate job at the global headquarters of UPS here in Atlanta the year before the Olympics when my older daughter was four months old. No regrets — I went on to have a fruitful freelance career for years, and got to write books and be there for my girls. But I hate that so many companies are still letting human assets just walk out their door for such an easily fixable reason.
Traveling at the Speed of Bike 