A couple more thoughts on advantages for telecommuting, not so much of doing it everyday, but as an optional access to the office. For one, it greatly cuts down on sick days. Had those times when you were just about dying yet still felt guilty about not going into the office? With telecommuting, I can still access the office, do stuff, put out fires etc. before the codeine kicks in. So I don't do the full eight hours, but I'm still there if need be.

It's also really handy when you have a youngster staying home from school or trades people coming to fix something that they can't (read: won't) do on weekends or evenings.

I have a colleague who worked in a branch office that closed down. She simply took her laptop home and continued working from there. Saved the company enormously in terms of laying off a vital link in the cog and having to hire and train a newbie with it's inherent headaches.

A great bonus for both company and me when an issue arises evenings or on weekends. I can "go to the office", fix the issue and log out in minutes for situations that otherwise would have had to wait until the next morning/Monday.

The point is that telecommuting doesn't have to be a complete either or scenario. Sometimes just having it as a stand by or an option in emergencies for either the company or the individual has to my mind shown tremendous benefits.