Do-it-yourself Home Telework Cost-Benefit Analysis

Assess the costs and benefits of home-based teleworking/telecommuting from your own point of view and the point of view of your employer

Please fill in the blanks in the form below. When you finish, click on the SUBMIT button and we will display the cost-benefit analyses for your particular case and the respective points of view. You may then use the information as part of your pre- (or mid-) telecommuting discussions with your employer. If you are using this analysis to describe a group of teleworkers, use average values for your inputs.

Enter the data in the units you normally use. For example, if you're in the U.S. use dollars; in the UK use pounds; in the euro-based countries use euros; in Japan use yen; etc., for costs. Similarly, use square feet in the U.S. and square meters elsewhere for questions about areas, km and km/litre or miles and miles/gallon, etc. Enter "0" if you're not sure about the cost but then try later to find out what it is. Also, only enter costs that are new or differential costs. For example, if your employer ordinarily pays for a desktop computer for you and you give up that computer for a laptop that you use both while teleworking and while you are in the office, then enter the difference in cost between the laptop and the desktop computers rather than the entire cost of the laptop. Similarly, if you pay for the computer you use for work, but you also use the computer for personal purposes, only enter that portions of your costs that are work-related.

Important: only enter numbers, no currency symbols, in the spaces provided.

Note that we do record your input data for statistical analysis purposes. However, we do not record any personal data and no individual records will be divulged to anyone other than the analysts at JALA. The analysis assumes a nominal five-day work week. The form starts with some nominal US values for each item. You only need to change the values that are different in your case.

First, are you using US (miles, gallons, etc.) or metric (km, liters, etc.) units? US Metric
What is your annual salary?
How many days per year do you work? [For example: 52 five-day work weeks less three weeks vacation and 10 paid holidays = 235 work days.]
How many days per month will/do you telecommute, on average?
If you also work in a traditional office, what is the area of your workspace?
What is the monthly equivalent rental/lease cost of that workspace per unit area?
What is the cost of training you and your supervisor for effective teleworking?
What is the cost of planning the project, per telecommuter?
What is the cost of employer-paid installation for the necessary telecommunications connections and equipment in the home?
What is the cost to you of any necessary work-related telecommunications connections and equipment in the home?
What is the monthly cost of employer-paid telecommunications services, including any necessary Internet access from home?
What is the monthly cost of work-related telecommunications services that you pay for, including any necessary Internet access from home?
If your employer pays for your computer and/or software, how much does that cost exceed what it would be if you were not telecommuting?
If you pay for all or part of your computer equipment and/or software, how much of that cost is strictly telecommuting-related?
What is the cost to your employer of moving computer-related equipment to your home?
What is the cost to your employer of installing and setting up telework-related equipment and providing proper workplace safety arrangements in your home?
What is the cost to you of installing and setting up telework-related equipment and providing proper workplace safety arrangements in your home?
What is the equivalent monthly rental/lease/purchase cost of your dedicated workspace at your home? [Hint: Monthly rent/mortgage, insurance, maintenance and tax costs multiplied by the fraction of your home used solely for telecommuting.]
What is the cost of any employer-supplied furniture for your home office?
Enter any other employer-covered monthly furniture rental costs here?
What is the cost of any necessary furniture that you provide for your home office?
What is the imputed annual cost of employer-provided insurance that is specific to your telecommuting arrangements?
What is the annual cost of your homeowners or renters insurance that is specific to your telecommuting arrangements?
Enter the cost of any additional equipment purchased by your employer, except for equipment transferred from your pre-telecommuting workplace?
Enter the monthly cost of any additional equipment leased/rented by your employer, except for equipment transferred from your pre-telecommuting workplace?
What is the telecommuting-related cost of any office equipment that you purchase for your home office?
What is the per capita cost of evaluating the performance of the telecommuting program during its first year?
How much does your employer pay monthly, after taxes, for parking space if you drive to work on non-telecommuting days?
How much do you pay for parking on each non-telecommuting day when you drive to work?
What is your employer's gain, per capita, from telecommuting-induced increased competitiveness?
How much does your employer save, per capita, by telecommuting-induced decreases in air pollution [only relevant where there are fines for violating air quality regulations]?
If you drive to work when you go to your employer's office, how far do you travel round-trip?
If you drive to work when you go to your employer's office, what fuel efficiency does your vehicle get (mpg or km/l)?
If you drive to work when you go to your employer's office, what is the price of fuel for your vehicle per gallon or litre?
If you drive to work when you go to your employer's office, what are your costs per mile/km for maintenance, depreciation and insurance?
If you need to hire child or elder care when you are telecommuting, what is the daily cost of that care?
If you save on child or elder care costs when you are telecommuting, what is the daily savings for that care?
What are your annual costs for office-related clothes, footwear, and cleaning?
What is the average difference in cost between lunch when you work at the office and lunch at home?
What is the annual value to you, if any, of your reduced stress from teleworking?
What is the annual value to you, if any, of your increased discretionary time from teleworking?
Please check your answers to make sure that your have answered all the questions, even if "0" is the answer. You may wish to print a copy of this page for your records before clicking on CRUNCH THE NUMBERS.

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