MANCHESTER - It was a snow day for schoolchildren across New Hampshire today. Likewise for many of their working parents.

Thanks to the Internet, social media and technology, employers are becoming more comfortable with letting their employees stay home and wrestle with a keyboard and video hookup, rather than brave slippery roads to get to work on time.

At Dyn, a Millyard-based Internet services company, employees have the option of working from home or taking a personal day whenever Manchester schools close, said Michael Taylor, community outreach coordinator for the company.

"This is an incredibly valuable policy for our employees, especially ones with young families and kids whose schools were likely impacted by the weather too," he said.

Stephanie Lewry, director of Intown Manchester, said downtown parking garages were nearly empty Tuesday, an indication that many companies tell their workers not to come in.

"This is an absolute huge change between now and 10 years ago when we had a snow storm," she said.

mhayward@unionleader.com