This
article on telecommunting at Yahoo mentions several reasons why it has not been widely adopted: after downsizing, companies have lots of space for workers, it's difficult to measure performance, and, once workers don't work at the premises, they could as well be fired and swapped by a low-paying IT worker from a high-skills country such as India.
Still, I see telecommuting as a good alternative for SOHO workers, liberal professionals, and dilettantes. And, after sitting in a traffic jam for 40 minutes this morning, I just wish it would be made compulsory.
This article is also commented in depth by
the Telework consortium blog, who presents some counterpoints to it.
