Some tech pros would sacrifice pay to telecommute

By Toni Bowers

April 5, 2011, 8:00 AM PDT

Takeaway: A new Dice poll shows that some IT pros value their work surroundings more than the amount of money they make.

More than one-third of technology professionals said they’d cut their salary by up to 10 percent in exchange for telecommuting full-time, according to a new poll by Dice.

Even after two years of flattish compensation, tech pros are willing to sacrifice $7,800 on average to work from home, and the fad is not based on rising gas prices.

Telecommuting also helps firms keep a leg up on competitors by retaining or recruiting top talent. The perk allows hiring managers to draw talent from outside their immediate labor pool, catching that tech pro whose skills and attitude fit, but proximity to the office is not ideal.

Here’s the way the data broke down in the Dice poll:

With gas prices soaring, would you accept slightly less pay to telecommute full-time?

No way, same work = same pay.              36%

Yes, I’d cut my salary by 10% or less.       35%

I would take any job, I’m unemployed.     20%

I already telecommute.                              9%