Employers often see a direct link between employee commute behavior and the impact on attendance and turnover – two potentially high costs of doing business. At the same time, some employers are discovering that providing commute alternative programs can help reduce out-of-pocket costs for big-ticket items like real estate for parking. LEED certification has also become more important to many businesses – whether or not a building is LEED-certified can influence occupancy rates – and transportation is playing a larger role in certification, a trend likely to continue in the Bay Area.

Juniper Networks recognized the value and were an early adopter in supporting and investing in a variety of transportation alternatives for our employees. Without a doubt, we have experienced higher productivity and retention levels, and ultimately better bottom line results. Since October 2002, Juniper has partnered with the “Spare the Air Employer Program” on several endeavors to give Juniper employees – and Bay Area commuters − the tools they need to explore creative ways to get to work, even one or two days a week.
—Malys Neang, Juniper Networks

Operation Costs

“Sun Microsystems, headquartered in California, reported saving $68 million a year in real estate costs and $3 million a year in reduced power consumption by providing flexible work options for 17,000 employees (2,000 primarily working at home and an additional 15,000 teleworking up to 2 days a week).”
—Telework and Flex-Schedules Toolkit, County of San Mateo Office of Sustainability

Employee Productivity

“Absenteeism costs U.S. employers billions of dollars annually in lost productivity. Studies have shown that nearly 80 percent of employees who call in sick are really not ill; rather, they stay home due to family issues, personal matters, and stress. Teleworking has been proven to help reduce some of some of the most common causes of absenteeism.”
—Telework and Flex-Schedules Toolkit, County of San Mateo Office of Sustainability

Employee Retention

“Employee turnover affects organizations in terms of the direct financial costs of replacing the employee as well as the intangible costs resulting from a loss of productivity and institutional knowledge. According to a report by the Society for Human Resource Management, the total costs of replacement, including training and loss of productivity, can range from 90% to 200% of an employee’s annual salary. Furthermore, a 2012 report by WorldatWork, showed that work-life balance issues were one of the main reasons key employees chose to leave their organizations.”
—Telework and Flex-Schedules Toolkit, County of San Mateo Office of Sustainability

Employee Recruitment

“[In the more detailed new version of LEED]…location and transportation credits are so important and unique that they have been pulled out as their own category in the new version, with measurements on items such as:

• How the building performs compared to other nearby buildings
• Proximity to existing bicycle infrastructure
• Reduced parking that is below – not just equal to – local code, and
• Plug-in stations for electric vehicles.”

—Transportation Options Lead to Energy Efficiency and Profits, Mobility Lab (December 3, 2012)