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Telecommuting

Telecommuting is a term used in the USA, coined by Jack Nilles to describe a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in work place and time (within certain limits). In other words a set up in which the daily commute to a central place of work has been replaced by telecommunication links.

The motto is that "work is something you do, not something you travel to". A successful telecommuting programme requires a management style which is based on results and not on close scrutiny of individual employees. This is referred to as managing by objective as opposed to managing by observation.

The first formal tests of telecommuting were held in 1973-74 with the telecommuters working at a satellite office of an insurance company, using dumb terminals connected to a downtown mainframe. In the 1980s employees began to work (part-time) from so-called "home offices" with a desktop PC supplied by their company. Nowadays, the telecommuting staff (telecommuters) usually carry laptop PCs around which they can use both at the office and at home (and pretty much anywhere else). The telecommuting staff are kept together by the company network and other telecommunication channels.

Telecommuting was seen as a solution to traffic congestion (due to single-car commuting) and the resulting urban air pollution and petroleum use. Initial investments in the network infrastructure and hardware are balanced by an increased productivity and overall greater well-being of telecommuting staff (more quality family time, less travel related stress), which makes the arrangement attractive to companies, especially those who face large office overhead and other costs related to the need for a big central office (the need for extensive parking facilities, etc.)

Telecommuting options increase the employability of marginalised groups, such as mothers with small children, the handicapped and people living in remote areas. The set up also offers possibilities for increased service and internationalisation (telecommuters in different time zones can ensure that a company is virtually open for business around the clock).

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "telecommuting".

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