The people that do well as telecommuters typically do well in an office. They're just happier at home where they can juggle tasks. The people that slack off in offices, won't do well at home. We might blame slacking off on being away from supervision, but my experience is that people that don't want to work hard, don't.
Very true. (Except that some are not happier working at home. Personally, I am. Especially on a day like yesterday where we got 6 inches of snow.)
There are some jobs that require more face time, so telecommuting doesn't work for all. But I find I can get much more done at home due to not having to tune out all of the distractions.