Social Sustainability
Telecommuting / Remote Work
Definition
Telecommuting is performing work remotely using information and communication technologies instead of travelling to a central workplace. Its environmental case rests on avoided commuting emissions and reduced office space; its complications are rebound effects — longer commutes when people do travel, larger homes farther from centres, home energy use — meaning net effects depend on frequency, distance and behaviour. The post-2020 normalisation of remote work made it the largest natural experiment in work redesign ever conducted.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Telecommuting / Remote Work” is defined and used.
Source imported for editorial provenance.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures workplace policy, corporate Scope 3 commuting accounting, transport demand planning and debates on the future of central business districts.
Why it matters
Telecommuting showed that a major chunk of "necessary" travel was habit — a live demonstration of avoid-shift-improve at societal scale.