A typical day for most people in today’s world starts out with an early commute to work. People working in the city know what a hassle it is to deal with the many thousands of other trying to make their way to work. Dealing with long commutes and traffic congestion is a commonplace in today’s fast-paced society. What if you had a chance to do most of your ? Would it be beneficial to you and your company? That is a common question one, which more and more companies are finding out is the future of business.
For most people, a chance to work at home would be ideal. Paper work and long term considerations for companies may actually be planned better at home as opposed to a busy work office or cubical. Professionals such as accountants, consultants, marketing professionals and other information-age workers can benefit from telecommuting (people who work at home). This is not to say that all work would be completed at home. There will be times when actual face to face meetings will be necessary for such problems as office disputes and responding to co-workers needs.
Working at home will allow for any task in which being alone is not a hindrance. Throughout the United States there are over eleven million people working at home at least part-time. In cities such as New York, federal legislation put into effect required a decrease in the amount to commuters that drive the city’s streets during rush hour. Forced to make changes, Merrill Lynch decided to give the telecommuting program a try. Merrill Lynch started a program where potential telecommuters working at the firm, go through an extensive training course by taking a two-week stint in a simulation lab where they are isolated from co-workers and managers just as they would at home. Some people find it more productive while others realize that telecommuting is not for them.
Most telecommuters will find the job comfortable if they themselves are self-motivated and focused. According to Gil Gordon, a telecommuting consultant in New Jersey, if you would like your firm to offer telecommuting, ‘Go in with a proposal, not a request.’ ; Show you boss why telecommuting will benefit the company. Explain that less office space will be needed and how employees of company’s that offer telecommuting often have a better retention rate than company’s that do not. According to a small computer firm based in Seattle, they save over $500, 000 a year since they do not need to lease more office space for their growing company. The cost to set up telecommuting is also very reasonable, ‘… and companies are recognizing that it costs them practically nothing and there is a huge number of benefits’; , says George Piskurich, a designer of instructional programs and author of An Organizational Guide to Telecommuting.
The basic requirements are a quiet work area, a laptop or desktop computer, and a phone line. Telecommuting is still in it infancy however. As cities become larger, a growing demand for home-based work will also increase. At one point you were either a telecommuter or you were not. Companies believed there was no in between which is a reason for telecommuting’s slow start. Today, telecommuting is considered a part time position for most firms.
Companies understand not everyday should be an office day as not everyday will be a day to work at home. ‘Work where you work best today’; , for many people, that will be at home. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, August 1999, Marc L. Schulhof, pg 175-177.