The World Wired Work
Not many of us know about telecommuting or teleworking yet this online phenomenon has been going on around since the introduction of the Internet. It has become a way of life to some or a means to find a better alternative to traditional employment. But what exactly is telecommuting? Simply put it, it's all about a "wired worker." A worker need not come to the office but take his job some place else with a computer and an internet connection.
A good example is a private medical transcriptionist. I know a lot of medical transcribers who do their jobs at home and send their work through the internet and then get paid through wire transfers. Other examples of telecommuters I know are computer programmers, web designers, and writers. As a matter of fact, I didn't know that there are already telecommuters who do data encoding right within the comfort of their homes or internet cafes and still making good money.
Don't you know that companies that adopt telecommuting as a policy can actually save them a lot of money? Several studies in the US, Canada and in the UK all confirm the cost benefit of telecommuting. For example AT&T saved $3,000 per office for approximately $550 million by eliminating or consolidating office space people no longer need. About 25 percent of IBM's 320,000 workers worldwide telecommute from home offices, saving $700 million in real estate costs.
Telecommuting also has positive impact not only to businesses or to telecommuters. For example, many countries and their governments, including the U.S. Canada and the U.K., are starting to integrate telework because of its socio-economic impact like reduction of fuel consumption, air pollution, wear and tear on roadways and urban migration. Telecommuting also reduce traffic congestion or need for public transportation which may result to reduction in injuries and death related to transport. It also balances work and family relations as well.
With telecommuting, organizations can take full advantage of new technologies and new ways of working to focus on the work performed rather than on the location where it is performed. Studies have also shown how it increases productivity while reducing accommodation costs, layoffs and absenteeism of all types including during disruption due to strikes, floods, storms, etc.
As information revolution continues to reshape our corporate and employment paradigms, telecommuting represents a major step towards making it possible for workers to work anywhere, anytime on a wider scale.
If you think telecommuting is worth the try, I'd like to share some useful links (A little caveat emptor. Although I have personally investigated the site myself please take time to evaluate the site thoroughly).
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