Telecommuting is analogous to an exercise program. Some people have the facilities and discipline to work out in the home. Others will tell you that they can not maintain a good work out routine unless they go to the gym. It is the same for telecommuters. Some people are very efficient working out of their home. Others need a place to go to.
Remote Office Centers provide structure and infrastructure. There is a web site where people can search for Remote Office Centers: http://www.remoteofficecenters.com

Workers spend all of their time on the phone and on the computer anyway. Most workers access computer systems that are located in other cities anyway. It is time for a paradigm shift. It is a small shift (how offices are provided), but it can greatly reduce fuel consumption, and lower commuting costs for employees everywhere.

Thank goodness work isn’t like that anymore!

Work is not a place. It’s not time bound. It is all about mobility and connectedness, anywhere on the globe.

I’m a big advocate of teleworking as a new business model for sustainability and economic productivitiy. The use of flexible working arrangements and telecommuting provide opportunities for increasing participation of women in the workforce, governments growing productivity and communities reducing their carbon footprint as fewer cars hit the road and large buildings burn lights and air conditioning plants.

Telework Australia says that having a workforce that works at least partly at home can reduce costs of heating, air-conditioning, car parks and lighting by 17 per cent of salary costs. And telework reduces avoidable staff turnover by over 20 percent, while managers report that employees are up to 40 percent more productive.

I wish I could say that most employers are broad-minded enough to encourage telecommuting, but I don’t think that’s the case!

The best tactic I’ve heard on selling bosses on the remote work arrangement comes from Tim Ferris, in his book “The 4-Hour Work Week.” His proposal to his boss was to try telecommuting 2 - 3 days per week on a 2-week trial basis, or some short time frame, clearly specifying that if it doesn’t work out, no hard feelings.

But he was sneaky! He enhanced his output during at-home time, while slightly downgrading his at-work performance to highlight increased productivity at home. Pretty clever. But the trick is the TRIAL BASIS. This makes it non-threatening proposal for the boss.

Thank you for the post, I look forward to reading more.

Kevin
20smoney.com

I work from home probably one day per week. I enjoy the quiet, and I am not one who is easily distracted by things at home anyway. Saving the gasoline is simply a bonus in my book (but it’s becoming a larger bonus).

One of the things that makes working from home a real option is that our voice mail system forwards a copy of each message via email. So, when a caller calls my office, he or she is told I am away from my desk (which is 100% true) and offered voice mail. The email shows up in my inbox a little while later, and I can return the phone call. (I dial *69 first so no one knows I’m calling from my home phone.)

My assistant and I can email documents back and forth as needed. It works out very well.