Go831 is a program of the Transportation Agency with the goals of reducing regional traffic and greenhouse gas emissions.  The Program seeks to accomplish this by supporting commuters to trade their drive-alone trips for those that are less impactful (carpool, vanpool, transit, bike or walk), or skip the trip altogether (telework).  The global pandemic drastically changed the way many people commute in the Monterey Bay Area and have lead to increased teleworking in the region. Mass teleworking accelerated a reduction in traffic in the region, but many businesses/organizations were not equipped to operate remotely when the first shelter-in-place orders were enacted and there was a steep learning curve for both employers and employees.  A year into the pandemic, workers are getting vaccinated making it feasible for more employees to return to a physical worksite in 2021. Now businesses and organizations have a new opportunity to reconstruct how and where employees work.  

The Transportation Agency for Monterey County, Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, City of Santa Cruz, San Benito Council of Governments and Monterey Bay Economic Partnership were interested in surveying employers in the tri-county region on their experience with telework this past year (pros and cons), whether or not they plan to continue teleworking into the future, and the kind of tools and resources they might need to support their workforce. The survey results will be used to create a telework toolkit, including resources, templates and tips tailored to the needs identified in the survey. The toolkit will be accessible online and shared across the partners’ networks and communication channels.  

Survey Results

The results of the survey revealed an overwhelming support for teleworking in the Tri County Region. The survey was administered in April, 2021, distributed to employers across Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties.  220 employers responded to the survey, with 139 surveys providing usable data for analysis.  Forty-eight (48) of those respondents were from Monterey County.  Of these respondents, 39% were from the private sector and 60% from the public sector. 

Key findings of the employer survey:  

1) Adoption of a telework policy and plans over the next year 

• 76% of employers have adopted a telework policy.  
• 81% of employers answered that they plan to continue to support teleworking, while 17% are undecided.
• 29% of respondents chose the statement "10-25%" of employees would telework one day a week while 27% responded "50-75%" would telework one day a week.
• Overall, almost half of respondents (42%) prefer that employees telework no more than 3 days days per week.

 2) Barriers and benefits of teleworking 

• The top issues that employers and employees faced while teleworking are 1) technical issues; 2) video conference fatigue; 3) inadequate access to Wi-Fi/broadband.  

• The top benefits that employers and employees experience by teleworking are 1) saving money by not driving as much, 2) saving time by not traveling to in-person meetings; and 3) having more time with family/loved ones at home.  

 3) Managing  remotely 

• Most employers manage teleworking employees by: 1) online meeting or phone calls (33%); or,  2) email activity (27%). 
• More than half of employers (52%) reimburse employees for telework equipment, technology, or other expenses.  
• 64% of respondents answered that use of office resources (water, waste, energy, etc.) has declined due to an increase in teleworking.  

This was the Go831 program's first regional telework survey.  Go831 intends to work with agency partners to collect data from employers annually. In the future, the desire is to get survey feedback on other smart commute methods.