Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workplace Supports and Job Retention: Information, Resources and Research on Work and Disability Issues

Midwest Institute for Telecommuting Education (MITE)

Telecommuting is an off-site work arrangement that allows employees to work in their homes for all or part of the work week. Telecommuting can be a good option for employees with chronic fatigue or limited stamina. For example, Sally a highly skilled data entry technician, became quickly fatigued in the office setting. Due to her heart condition and cerebral palsy, the physical energy required to get to work in the morning caused Sally to arrive exhausted each day. However, she now works very productively out of her home as a data entry technician.

In order to explore the benefits of telecommuting, the Minneapolis Rehabilitation Center and fifty Minnesota companies and government agencies have organized the Midwest Institute for Telecommuting Education (MITE). MITE's mission is to provide managers with consulting services, employee training and business strategy development to enable successful implementation of telecommuting work arrangements within public and private sector organizations. According to the Director, Jane Anderson, MITE has found that companies need information on telecommuting, such as:

What telecommuting involves;
Major benefits and costs of telecommuting;
How telecommuting can help employers;
Job functions that lend themselves to telecommuting;
Qualities that make a person a good telecommuter; and
Strategies effective in introducing telecommuting into various types of companies.

Anderson indicated that while its benefits are not limited to people with disabilities, telecommuting provides companies with the opportunity to successfully integrate workers with disabilities for whom the traditional workplace presents obstacles. Through the use of telecommuting, many businesses wanting to keep employees with disabilities on the job have:

Retained valued employee talent;
Reduced employee turnover and recruitment costs;
Controlled the rising cost of disability benefits; and
Complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

MITE has trained over 10,000 employers via customized training, group presentations, and its acclaimed four-part seminar series. They have developed a suite of products that include a 240-page implementation manual, telecommuter video, and a comprehensive telework policy agreement. MITE specializes in the areas of:

employment law and liability issues,
start-up strategies,
technical and remote office setup,
supervisory issues,
evaluation and productivity metrics, and
development of company telecommuting policies.

For More Information Contact:

Jane Anderson
Midwest Institute for Telecommuting Education (MITE)
1900 Chicago Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Phone (612) 879-5409
FAX (612) 879-5400

Midwest Institute for Telecommuting Education (MITE)

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