Telecommuting

The idea for “telecommuting” started in the early 1970s. A scientist stuck in Los Angeles traffic reasoned that a good deal of time and stress could be saved by moving the work to the employee instead of always moving the employee to the work. Since that time, communication technologies (e.g., smartphones, e-mail, the Internet, instant messaging, and video communications) and information technologies (e.g., the personal computer) have become more common. Subsequently, work has begun to move out of the [Page 1587]traditional work space. Employees have become freed of time and place constraints to work whenever and wherever they choose.

Telecommuting and teleworking are often used interchangeably when referring to working outside of an organization. However, telework is usually considered the more general term and refers to ...