Kevin Green projects a photograph of a congested highway onto the screen. Atlanta's skyscrapers are picturesque in the background, but the cars and trucks in the foreground are bumper to bumper, and it's not hard to imagine the misery inside most of those cars.

"This picture represents about 90 cars and about 90 people, since 84 percent of Atlantans drive to work alone," says Green, the executive director for The Clean Air Campaign. "Now look at this." The next slide shows what the highway would look like if the same number of people took "green" methods to work. Ninety people have been accommodated in four vehicles: an express bus, a van pool and two car pools. You can see pavement, even lanes. The message registers.

"And of course," he notes, "if any of these people were telecommuting, they would not even be in this picture."

Atlanta's Clean Air Campaign works with large and small businesses, non profits and government agencies to promote green commuting, and especially the benefits of telecommuting. Approximately 2.5 million people commute to and from an Atlanta office every day, driving an average round-trip of 72 minutes and 40 miles. One million people have moved to the Atlanta region since 2000, and an additional 2.5 million are estimated to move here in the next 25 years.

"We can't build enough lanes to accommodate the traffic that's coming," says Green. "And even if we could, we can't afford it." Nor can our lungs.

The Clean Air Campaign has some allies, and businesses are slowly coming around to the idea that employees can work from home and still be productive. Delta Air Lines' reservation centers have been working with The Clean Air Campaign on a teleworking program. Bank of America has a flexible work program called MyWork which includes telecommuting from a home office and local MyWork centers, wired for BoA employee's needs. Even lawyers - yes lawyers - are embracing teleworking possibilities. Alston + Bird, one of the best places to work in the country for 10 consecutive years according to Fortune magazine, has a telework program called Customized Work Environments, which includes telecommuting, flex time, job sharing and compressed work weeks (working four 10-hour days instead of five, or working 75 hours in nine days and having the 10th day off).

The advantages for employees of these alternative work programs are clear: less time and money spent in traffic and on fuel, less stress associated with traffic, more time with family and a better work-life balance.

And they're not just touchy-feely benefits. Elham Shirazi, a national consultant for flexible work arrangements, says, "These programs are about productivity and efficiency." According to Shirazi, flexible work arrangements improve worker productivity by up to 20 percent, reduce absenteeism by two to four days, and increase employee morale by up to 65 percent.

According to a survey by The Clean Air Campaign, 74 percent of teleworkers report increased productivity, and 85 percent of managers say teleworkers' productivity increases or stays the same.

And companies are buying in. "Delta's teleworking programs were implemented to create a great place to work by building employee morale, strengthening retention and supporting productivity," says Pat Blacker, director of Delta's reservations sales office. Currently 100 reservation employees are telecommuting, with the expectation that 700 more will be telecommuting next year; and 500 employees at Delta's headquarters are also telecommuting. "Our lives are busy. To have the teleworking ability is really important to improve employee morale," she says.

Bottom-line results

While employee retention is important - estimates range from $45,000 to $500,000 to replace an employee, depending on the position - there are other measurable benefits for companies. Tony Vazquez, vice president of corporate workplace for Bank of America, says his company saves an estimated $5,500 per year in real estate costs for each employee that gives up his cubicle to participate in the MyWork program. Bank of America pays a one-time cost of up to $1,000 to set up each telecommuting employee - to purchase a printer, shredder, headset, telephone lines, etc., and pays about $150 per month for each employee for phone and internet services. And even with the costs of maintaining MyWork pop-in stations - little mini Kinko's-like centers exclusively for Bank of America employees spaced all over the country - the company still realizes that $5,500 in savings per employee.

This year Bank of America expects to save 377,000 square feet in office space because of the 14,000 employees participating in MyWork; in 2010 Vazquez estimates the company will be able to reduce office space by 1.9 million square feet. "It's a value proposition," says Vazquez. "Real estate is the second highest expense for Bank of America, behind people's salaries." Delta's call centers are 38,000 square feet, and while it hasn't down-sized its office space yet, if the company can transition the majority of reservation employees to home offices, the real estate savings would be huge.

Starting an alternative work program

Even with such clear employee benefits and cost savings, it can be hard to convince some managers that employees will continue to be focused, accessible and productive. The question for managers remains: if you can't see the employee sitting at her desk, how do you know she's there?

To get managers on board, start a program slowly and in departments where it makes the most sense, recommends Vazquez. Bank of America started with 1,500 employees in its technology department. Vazquez calls them the "early adopters," the folks who were eager to telecommute, could do their job from a home office and needed minimal supervision. "We learned lessons with them and modified the program a little," he says.

"Then we moved to the 'fence sitters' to convince them of the value. Communication and education are critical." Bank of America, like Delta and Alston + Bird, has committed to educate managers on the benefits of telecommuting, set up web sites to answer questions and provide management tools to help knock down any resistance to the programs. Also, Vazquez recommends finding one executive to be a champion for your program; someone with credibility, like an attorney, or the CFO.

Obviously, not all positions are eligible for a telecommuting program - Bank of America's tellers, for example, still have to show up every day - and not every employee is well-qualified, either. Delta's eligibility standards require employees to have satisfactory performance and at least one year of employment with Delta; consistent productivity without immediate supervision; a home office that meets requirements; and manager approval. Alston + Bird CWE employees sign agreements which can be revoked by managers or employees at any time if the flexible work arrangement no longer works. Also, Alston + Bird's contracts include clauses that employees must report to the office during high volume work times, like the end of the year.

"Let's face it," says Shirazi. "Nine to five doesn't work for most people and isn't the most effective way to get our jobs done."

Amen, says The Clean Air Campaign. "We are one of the most wired regions of the country. How many smart folks are willing to drive one hour each way to get from one computer screen to another?" asks Green. The Clean Air Campaign offers its consulting services free of charge to companies interested in setting up flexible work arrangements for their employees.

Exhausted cars - and their weary commuters - are ready for a breather.