Congratulations Corporate America!

In what can only be described as Corporate America finally "getting it," Bank of America has announced they are expanding their My Work program. Available to 23,000 of the Bank's 283,000 employees- and expected to double next year- the My Work program allows employees to work when and where they work best. They work from home, suburban telecommuting centers and home offices around hours that work for them and their families. Can I get a Hallelujah from the Choir? In an era when there's nothing but bad news out of the financial services sector, I'd like to send props their way.

And the thing is, this isn't a publicity play, nor a "feel good" initiative (there's no room in corporate budgets for feeling good right now!) but rather there's a real business case for these kinds of efforts. Bank of America reports increased productivity and significantly improved retention at 98%. It costs 1.8 times the annual cost of an employee to replace him or her, translating to real dollars saved.

And building out smaller, flexible suburban work centers where employees drastically cut down their commutes and simply plug in a company laptop and use a company cell phone? Wayyyy cheaper than the fancy downtown headquarters with sparkling fountain and marble lobby. Not to mention, the reduction in carbon foot print on drive time and commute time, a huge work-life plus.

Good work, Bank of America. Keep it up!