Telecommuting vs Working From an Office

Yesterday I had a very interesting discussion with a potential tenant who was looking for office space in one of our office parks

She was explaining the progression of the business she was working for and it went something like this:

Everyone working from an office; everyone telecommuting; team falls apart; busy rebuilding the team; everyone will be working from an office.

picture credit: Greg Buckskin 

Just in Time for National Telework Week – Top 10 Telecommuting Jobs

Personally, I have been a proponent of telecommuting:

"Telecommuting or telework are terms often used interchangeably to refer to a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in work location and hours. A person who telecommutes is known as a "telecommuter" and a person who teleworks is known as a "teleworker." Telecommute generally refers to the elimination of the daily commute to a central place of work. Many telecommuters work from home, while others, occasionally also referred to as nomad workers or web commuters utilize mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or other locations." - Wikipedia

But the discussion yesterday did get me thinking. How do you keep a team together and enjoy the benefits that come from telecommuting? Is that even possible?


Any ideas? Would love to hear them!


Edit: There is a great discussion happening on Google+ Why not join in there