Telecommuting on the rise

The Office Away from The Office

For most traditional workplace-based employees, remote working is still only an occasional perk. This is even though employees consistently cite flexible working hours and the ability to work remotely as important factors that would improve job satisfaction and work-life balance.

Several studies have supported the idea that working from home; for the right people, can increase productivity and reduce cortisol levels. Research also suggests companies that encourage and support a work-from-home protocol saves money in the long run an added benefit for the employer.

Another unique proposition is that engaging teleworkers can also serve as an efficient shortcut to decentralised and distributed work force that is necessary as a critical component in business continuity and disaster recovery planning.

The bottom line is, this style of employment is growing in popularity, with some very notable companies lending it their endorsements.

Teleworking versus Telecommuting

The words telecommuting* and teleworking are used interchangeably. Teleworking is however a broader term than telecommuting. Telecommuting is only a type of teleworking opportunity.

The prefix ‘tele’ means “distance”. Teleworking refers to working from a distance. Telecommuting refers specifically to the elimination of a daily commute. Telecommuters are always teleworkers, but teleworkers are not necessarily telecommuters. Confused yet? Let us examine it more closely.

You are called a teleworker if you must travel to and from a location for work on a regular basis, even if you are not commuting to a regular office, you are still a physical commuter. Therefore, you would be teleworking (because you’re working from somewhere that is a distance from your office) but you are not telecommuting because you still need to travel to get to the office. Examples of teleworking include:

i.          Working on various projects on-site with clients, but not reporting to your employer’s main office

ii.          Working regularly from a hot desk that you need to travel using a mode of commercial transport

[*Hot Desking: Wikipedia describes Hot Desking as “an office organisational system which involves multiple workers using a single physical work station or surface during different time periods”]

iii.         Working from a satellite or branch office rather than your employer’s main office

iv.        Working from anywhere that allows you to work (the airport, a coffee shop, a hotel foyer)

You know you are a telecommuter if you work at home and do not regularly need to leave your house to do your work, you’re a telecommuter. Examples of telecommuting include:

i.          Working out of your home office

ii.          Working out of an office on your home property (above the garage, in a guest house, rented space etc.)

[*Telecommuting/working: Incidentally, both terms were coined by Jack Nilles in the Seventies and have ever since confused and perplexed many a people]

For more read here>>>>

https://www.citylab.com/life/2015/12/the-invention-of-telecommuting/418047/

“This uptick is new, conjuring images of freelancers hunched over laptops—but telecommuting isn’t. The concept of working away from the main office is much older than mobile technology; in fact, it predates the personal computer.”]