Jul 29 2010
Telecommuting Is Supplanting The Every Day Drive To Work As Technology Spearheads The Growth In Remote Jobs Across The Western World.
Telecommuting or e-commuting is an arrangement where the company grants some leeway on the location where the employee works from. Traditionally this has mostly concerned staff who Work From Home either full time or part time. In 2008 it was estimated that 50 million US workers might work from home, in spite of this only 2.7 million employees said this was their place of work. The amount of sporadic tele-commuters was around 17.2 million, but a lot of them spent time in cafes or other establishments where they could obtain access to a wireless link.
The growth in laptops and notebooks and UMD’s is making the habit of using a pc in a public place, akin to reading a book or writing a note in a diary. With no wires or power cords involved, and only the space needed for a small plate, the social acceptance of these mobile devices is growing steadily.Whole groups of co-workers nicknamed “Jellies” are getting together in cafes or other locations, to discuss work, or just to socialise and to ease the loneliness common with staff who Work From Home.
A lot of Online Jobs could be done from home or a separate remote location. In spite of this the take up is pretty slow. By 2011 the US Government estimates a growth of 65% in remote workers. Private industry estimates that their remote staff associated with Internet Business will grow by 35%. The Federal Government is vigorously pushing for more tele-commuting. This is not an philanthropic action by them as the scale of financial savings is somewhat staggering. By facilitating employees to Work From Home they predict that a whopping $13.9 Billion USD may saved yearly on commuting costs. Tied to that same saving would be anannual fall in pollutants by 21.5 Billion lbs.
Social networking technology is also eliminating the gap that office socialising once filled. One of the advantages of Online Jobs is that people can switch from a work related article to a social network site and back again at the drop of a hat. As more employers drive Internet Business out of the office and into the home and other remote locations, they will begin to understand the need for connectivity between remote workers. Hopefully they will permit the indulgence of workers to occasionally view sites like Facebook or Twitter. Managers have to realise that isolated workers are most likely more productive at home. Time squandered in the office due to late starts, coffee breaks, gossiping before and after meetings etc will be substituted for some personal time consumed by web browsing and domestic tasks. However overall productivity ought to be better as there will be less disruptions and workers can opt to answer a call or e-mail immediately, or leave it till later.63
UMD’s such as mini notebooks and mobile devices similar to smart phones etc are the newest group of pieces of equipment that will transform Internet Business, and really permit remote workersoperate anywhere they want. Some devices will have partial functionality and will be customised for specific business needs. This should decrease their cost of ownership. As request for these UMD devices grows, the reach of free wireless connectivity will also grow. Remote Online Jobs are not only the domain of the home and trendy coffee shops. Free wireless connectivity has to be available in public places such as malls, sports centres, parks and airports. It needs to be almost anywhere you could perhaps put in an hour of two of work and benefit from the presence of people around you. Only then will we attain true telecommuting.