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How modern
technologies make working from home a reality.
By:
Eric Durrand
As gas
prices rise, and traffic seems
less tolerable every day; as real estate prices rise and office space
in major
cities become more expensive, many business owners begin to ask
themselves – is
there another way? Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution
centralized
workplaces have always been the norm. A business is expected to buy or
rent
offices, employees must drive to the office every day, waste time in
traffic
jams, and spend money on transportation, lunching out, etc.
Telecommuting,
working
from home using new telecommunication technologies, is a growing trend
that
offers a solution to many of those problems. With the advent of
broadband
connections, telecommuters (or: teleworkers) can use a network
connection,
phone, and various software tools to work from anywhere. The 2005-06
National
Technology Readiness Survey (NTRS),
an annual study produced by Rockbridge Associates Inc., and the
University of
Maryland, estimate that 2% of the US workforce is telecommuting
full-time, with
another 9% doing so part time, and 8% running their own business from
home.
More than half of all US employers employ at least one telecommuter,
and the
trend is slowly growing in popularity.
What does it
take to make
telecommuting work? First, it takes a certain kind of job: a job that
does not
require meeting people face to face on a daily basis. Second, it
requires an
available space at home, or at a nearby telework center. Third, it
needs technology. A
broadband connection is
a must, allowing you to multitask, send large files, and interact with
co-workers online. Many telecommuters use VPN (Virtual Private Network)
technology to securely access their office network through the
internet. This
allows them to access files and information, and even to print on an
office
printer directly from home. Remote Access solutions allow users to
literally
take over another computer from afar – thus accessing applications and
information that is only available on a specific office machine.
Some
companies now offer employees
VoIP internet phone units, placing an extension of the company PBX
phone system
on the telecommuter’s home desk. They also find all-in-one multipurpose
machines useful, letting telecommuting employees print, scan, fax, and
copy
from one machine. Often used software tools include Instant Messengers
such as MSN Messenger,
Yahoo Messenger,
or Google Talk, File Sharing
and
Collaboration tools such as Groove,
as
well as Video Conferencing and meeting management solutions such as NetMeeting.
Another
option for employees
interested in skipping the commute is to use a Telecenter: a work
environment
away from the office. Centers like NoCommute.org
offer employees cubicle space and a desk, an internet connection, and
often a
complete workstation for a low monthly or daily fee.
Telecommuting
offers many benefits
to both employees and employers. According to NTRS research, US
employers could
have saved $3.9 billion annually on fuel and work time, if they had
only
encouraged suitable employees to telecommute. In a recent survey held
by
AT&T, 64% of participants actually saw a rise in productivity with
the
transition to telecommuting. Another benefit is a sense of personal
freedom for
the employee, who may even view the opportunity to telecommute as a
special
perk.
Telecommuting,
naturally, also
offers unique problems and challenges. With few opportunities for
social or
professional interaction, it might lead to isolation, stagnation and
poor
performance. Such problems are often made more acute by the difficulty
of
effectively managing telework. Work may take place not only at
different
locations but also at different times, making the coordination of group
activities a challenge. To solve these challenges, many resources and
manuals
are available online, including the government intra-agency site TeleWork.Gov, and Gil Gordon’s web site on
Telecommuting, Telework, and Alternative Officing.
In this era
of omnipresent mobile
and communications technologies, the office is where the network is.
Video,
voice, data, and collaboration tools make the location of the employee
less and
less relevant, and increase possibilities of reaching out across time
zones and
nationalities. As businesses learn to harness the power of new
technologies,
telecommuting is destined to become an everyday phenomenon. Is your
business
ready to get on board?
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