According to FORTUNE Small Business, Congress has been pushing through some legislation lately to develop incentives for small businesses who are willing to take steps to reduce their energy use. Incentives meaning money, loans to be more exact, for small businesses utilizing, for example, energy-efficient equipment.

How does this apply to telecommuters and the growth of telecommuting in general? Check this out:

The SBA is also under orders to develop a $5 million, 4-year pilot program to encourage telecommuting in small businesses, by conducting presentations about the benefits it offers and by reaching out to businesses considering telecommuting options.

This is wonderful news! One of my current jobs is as a personal assistant and web content manager for a “Small Business Guru” and entrepreneur, who allows me to do the bulk of my work from home. I’m willing to guess that many small business owners have a similar situation on their hands, whether they have a small office for one, work from their home, or simply don’t NEED a worker to be in the office if they were to really think it through.

For the Small Business Association to be throwing that amount of money into a 4-year program educating small businesses about telecommuting, I have no doubt we’ll be seeing a nice surge in telecommuting opportunities available, which means HAPPIER, HEALTHIER WORKERS (unless of course, you’re stuck back at the office. Sorry! But hey, have hope: A report out today predicts that nearly 75% of U.S. workers will be mobile by 2011!)

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