Going for a greener Cayman? Fantasizing about flexible hours? Prefer plugging in to video conferences instead of squirming in your seat at the office conference table?

Then telecommuting could work for you. Of course, that’s a decision made between two consenting adults - you and your employer, but the advantages are well-chronicled.

According to telecommuting guru Gil Gordon, who puts forth his top 10 reasons online, aside from the obvious energy and environmental conservation reasons (1 and 2, respectively), there are also health, safety, family and productivity issues to consider - all with positive impact.

“With telecommuting, one no longer needs to be always preparing for the commute [arguably a waste of time] and for being presentable,” Gordon says. “One can go to work simply by tossing on a robe and slippers, grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting down to the terminal. And you no longer are interrupted by all the idle chatter that inevitably takes place at the central work place - some of it useful for your work, but a lot of it just a waste of time and a perpetual interruption.”

It seems that on a tiny island like Grand Cayman, where businesses are looking for ways to streamline costs and save the environment, telecommuting is one smart way to get cars off the road. Also, it could be a pilot programme to test the productivity theory - certainly some employees would be more efficient, productive and happier if they could telecommute, and thus less likely to job-hop. Telecommuting can also accommodate employees with disabilities.

To be fair, there are drawbacks, particularly in the eyes of the employer, who is likely to feel he is “losing control” of his at-home employee.

Other strikes against telecommuting have been noted as: it encourages laziness, fosters feelings of isolation, perceived lack of accountability, attention diverted to other matters and missing impromptu meetings.

Thoughtfully, Matt Nowack, a young proponent of telecommuting, has outlined many pros and cons and offers this consolidated piece of advice: “Start off small by offering anyone who would like to try it to telecommute one day a week or month. The important part will be follow-up, getting feedback on what worked and what didn’t. You can use this feedback to fine-tune the experience and come up with a manageable system.”

Just to prove it works, and works well, take a look at some of the companies that offer telecommuting: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cisco, Deloitte, Intel. And say what you will about bureaucracy, some elements of the US government offer telecommuting, and in the UK, the government issued a White Paper on Transport that promotes “allowing employees to work at home or at a ‘satellite’ work centre closer to home.”

If you’re serious about work and about telecommmuting, you may be able to work something out with your employer - particularly as the price of gas climbs to near $6 a gallon and cars clutter the roadways during rush hour. If it works for you, let us know!