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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 4.7 million Americans now regularly work from home, up 173% since 2005.

On a day like Friday with snow sleet and freezing rain all in the morning forecast, there could be a lot of people in the metro joining that group.

Ryan Weber with KC Tech Council said companies are already using software like Zoom, Go To Meeting and others almost daily.

Anyone with a laptop or smart phone can download any of those type of apps and be connected to the rest of their workforce easily, sharing files and ideas just like they were in the office — without ever having to risk the treacherous roads.

“Any time weather like this comes up, it’s easy for us to say, ‘Work from home,’ because so much of what we do can be handled online with a number of different tools,” Weber said.

That Census Bureau survey found half of American jobs are compatible with telecommuting at least part of the time.