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Telework center provides "lifestyle change" for area workers

Date published: 7/5/2008

By KELLY HANNON

It was a typical day at work for Mal McLeod, a chemical engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Caroline County resident took calls, sent e-mails and retrieved reports from his Army Corps of Engineers computer files.

But he did it all from a telework center in Spotsylvania County instead of his downtown DC office.

"It's not just a convenience," said McLeod, who teleworks every Tuesday and Friday. "It's a lifestyle change."

Last Friday, it took McLeod 12 minutes to drive to the telework center in the Southpoint shopping center off U.S. 1. Three days a week, when he rides the Virginia Railway Express train to Union Station and walks the final 20 minutes to his office, it takes 2 hours and 15 minutes each way.

"In this day and age, very few people get up and walk across the building to find somebody," said McLeod, who's been teleworking for four years. "They're going to pick up the phone, maybe send you an e-mail. Well, it comes in just as well down here as it does up there."

He estimates that 90 percent of his work can be done over the phone, typing on a computer or using e-mail.

"This is just the way people's jobs have gone because of technology," McLeod said.

Interest is growing in the Fredericksburg area's three telework centers, called the NoCommute .Org centers.

Traffic, limited time with family, and record-high gasoline prices are squeezing workers financially and emotionally, said Peter Garcia, telework facility manager for the George Washington Regional Commission.

The Commission operates centers in Spotsylvania, Stafford and Woodbridge, but Spotsylvania is the largest facility.

Allowing workers to shorten their commutes makes them more productive, Garcia said.

"Morale is up because they don't have to worry about driving 60 miles one way, 60 miles another way, sitting four, five hours in traffic," Garcia said. "They get more time with the family, and they're spending less money on gas and maintenance."

The telework centers are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Registered users get an access code.

Workers choose their seats through an online reservation system.

Want to know more about teleworking from the Fredericksburg area? Federal workers: telework.gov. A site maintained by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and U.S. General Services Administration. For all workers: nocommute.org. The George Washington Regional Commission-sponsored site. CENTER LOCATIONS Spotsylvania 4956 Southpoint Parkway Stafford 24 Onville Road Suite 201 Woodbridge 13546 Minnieville Road Contact Keith Lesser: 540/710-5002 or klesser @nocommute.org

Date published: 7/5/2008