The problem with tele-commuting

I am getting more and more ticked-off with survey results protrayed as News. You know, "according to a recent survey...". Most I regard with amusement as they either contradict the results of a previous survey, or tell us something we already know. And no industry or subject seems immune to the phenomenon either.

I noticed this article in Management Issues, which states that Americans, even those who are encouraged to do so, are reluctant to work from home. Apparently only eleven percent of working Americans telecommute either full- or part-time. This one falls into the 'already knew that' category.

What this article, like so many surveys, fails to inform us all, is why. It comes across as something one would find in a corporate magazine, encouraging their employees to work from home, freeing up desks so they can squeeze more people in.

From personal experience, I know the reason why more people do not work from home part-time is that far from being more productive, it is actually much less productive most of the time. While the technology exists to allow people to work from home, companies are reluctant to provide high-speed connectivity. In my case, all I had to work with was a secure dial-up facility that was limited to the speed of my phone line. I probably got three hours work done in ten. And it tied up said phone line while I was working.

The company said that they would not supply a broadband modem, nor would they install non-approved third-party software on company laptops for security reasons. I can understand their stance on security, but surely there is a solution to be found.

On the up-side, it was pretty convenient being able to raid the fridge for lunch, and fetch my son from school.

I would still not do it again if I needed to be productive. About the only time I can see it making real sense is when I need to spend a large amount of time, free from distractions, writing a document, or some such similar task which does not require a lot of traffic across the network.

Anyone else had better experiences, or know of a secure, inexpensive and workable solution?