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., fax, mobile phones, e-mail, the Internet, and instant messaging) and information technologies (e.g., the personal computer) have become more common. Subsequently, work has begun to move out of the 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 any use of communication or information technologies to substitute for work-related travel. Virtual teams of coworkers who are scattered around the world can be considered teleworkers even if all of them work within an office.

Telecommuters are a subset of teleworkers. These are employees who work outside of a main office. There are four main types of telecommuters. The first, and most well known, are telecommuters who work from their homes. These telecommuters may have a dedicated home office space or may simply set up their laptop on the kitchen table. Although some home-based telecommuters work from their home every day, most do not. Some telecommute from home only one or two days a week, and some only once a month.

The second type of telecommuter is found in satellite offices that are located outside the home and outside the main office. Satellite offices provide an organizational location convenient to customers or to the employees, but it is still considered a type of telecommuting because even though employees may be close to other employees of their organization, they may be separated from their primary coworkers and teams.

A third type of telecommuter works in a neighborhood office. This telecommuting arrangement is similar to the satellite office except that the office is not dedicated to one organization. Instead it is occupied by employees from several different organizations. Thus, telecommuters interact with other employees, but not necessarily ones from their own organization.

Mobile workers are the final type of telecommuter. These employees work on the road in their car, hotels, and airplanes. These employees have no dedicated work location and no colleagues with whom they regularly interact while working.

Home-based telecommuting is the most common form of telework. In 2004, 24.1 million employees engaged in home-based telecommuting at least one day per month. An additional 20.3 million self-employed workers can also be classified as telecommuters. That means that nearly 20% of the workforce works at home at least part-time. It is expected that the number of home-based telecommuters will grow as technology improves and it becomes more acceptable for employees to work outside of an office.

How do employees become telecommuters? Telecommuting programs are either informal or formal. Informal telecommuting occurs when employees irregularly work away from the office. Employees and their managers may decide that the employees should work at home occasionally to focus on a particular [Page 793]project or to save commuting time for specific personal obligations (e.g., a doctor's appointment).

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