Washington Post

WORKING

Thursday, May 22, 2008; Page D02

Driving the Point Home

Gasoline prices are getting so high even some executives are feeling the pinch. And those that do may be likely to lend a sympathetic ear to an employee's pitch to work from home, said Chuck Wilsker of the Telework Coalition.

In a decade of promoting telecommuting, this is the first time he has heard bosses complain about gasoline prices.

"It was always the employees who had the tremendous gag on gas. Now it's the manager . . . driving a bigger car and bigger engine," he said.

Also facing big bills are workers who live in Pennsylvania or West Virginia and drive to the Beltway for jobs or contracts, he noted. When commuting costs $500 a month, a worker must earn $700 before taxes to cover that, he said.

Employers should expect a big increase in requests for telework, and gasoline prices are a huge catalyst, according to World at Work, a human resources group. Some organizations will welcome these requests. Those are generally the ones that have flexible work programs and that want to limit turnover -- or whose big bosses also favor working remotely.

-- Vickie Elmer