My point is that this is something very new for many companies and that it doesn’t only imply to provide people with the right tools and allow them to telecommute. What makes telecommuting sucessful (or not) for your company is not telecommuting by itself : it’s how you manage the human side of telecommuting.

So all this ranting about the problems that arise when people never make eye contact or shake hands or feel like team-members is beside the point. The real point, acknowledged by almost everyone (including the writer of this criticism) is that telecommuting provides major advantages to the individual, or the organization, and society as a whole.

So — yes — full-time telecommuting where you almost never see your colleagues in person can present real problems and barriers to productivity. Fortunately, almost no one works that way. So relax and don’t worry about it. Instead, join the rest of us in reaping the real and practical benefits of telecommuting one or two days a week. The sooner you start, the sooner you realize how much of an advantage it brings you.