Roxanna Decker sits at a computer station with her headset on. She's one of the company's most productive employees, so when her phone rings, she shoos away her workmate, Jack, and takes the call.
"Good morning and thank you for calling Cox Communications. This is Roxanna. How can I help you?"
She is focused and attentive to her customers' needs. But Decker is in her Marana kitchen — and Jack is a big, orange house cat. She is one of the growing number of customer-service agents telecommuting in Tucson.
"Sometimes the customers hear my dogs outside and they ask, 'Do you work from home? How can I get your job?' " she said. "I feel very privileged to be working from home."
About 2,050 workers telecommute for 64 employers in Tucson, according to the Pima Association of Governments.
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Cox is the latest large employer to offer a telecommuting program. Eighteen of Cox's 470 Tucson employees are in a pilot program that started at the beginning of the year. The company hopes to double the number by the end of the year, said Anne Doris, vice president for Cox Communications in Southern Arizona.
The workers do exactly the same job as their co-workers at Cox's main facility at 1440 E. 15th St. They answer phones and answer customers' questions, transfer technical questions to tech support and field some sales calls. Cox provides the software and some other equipment to work with the telecommuter's personal computer.
Decker, 40, who has worked for Cox for six years and started telecommuting in May, figures she saves at least $50 a month on gas for her SUV and saves as much as two hours a day in driving time. She's still at a desk from 8 to 5, but she's already at home and making dinner for her family after her shift ends.
More productive, happy workers means better customer satisfaction and less employee turnover, Doris said.
The downside is less interaction with co-workers and having to switch gears and get to the office if her home computer isn't working properly, Decker said. And if she moves up in the company, she'll be back in the office.
Telecommuters tend to work a bit more than office-bound workers, said Keith Niccum, a senior recruiter with Misys Healthcare Systems. They have fewer interruptions and typically are more organized, he said, plus it's easier to start the work day and it's easy to flex work time around kids' schedules, Niccum said.
"Your commute is about 10 or 15 steps, depending on how close your bedroom door is to your computer," he said.
About 15 percent of Misys employees work from home offices across the country, Niccum said.
The downside for some is the way they interact with co-workers and supervisors, he said. Telecommuters keep in touch through e-mail and phones, but it's not the same as impromptu hallway meetings and chances for face time with the boss, he said. But telecommuting is a one-year commitment at Misys, so transfers are available.
Michelle Inman, 26, has worked for Cox about nine months and has been telecommuting from Midtown since July. She used to dread the rush-hour crawl down North Campbell Avenue, but said that now "I don't have to rush to get ready for work because it's right there in front of me."
And she's not exhausted when she gets home, she said, because she uses her 15-minute breaks to vacuum the floor or wash a few dishes so she has more time to relax after work.
She said she hasn't missed a day of work, has improved her productivity and is exceeding quality standards.
"When I go to get my yearly review, I know that I will get a better raise," Inman said.
Now friends are asking Inman how to get a telecommuting job, and that's just what Cox managers had hoped for. Because of cramped offices and an inability to find workers a few years ago, Cox outsourced some call-center jobs, Doris said, but now "we are able to handle those customer calls by employees here in Arizona."
● Top five telework employers in Tucson
IBM 468
Misys Healthcare Systems 429
University of Arizona 360
American Airlines 116
Tucson Medical Center 75
Source: Pima Association of Governments