Telecommuters Count Their Blessings
According to the book Microtrends, about 4.2 million Americans work exclusively from their home (or the café or bookstore), which is nearly 100 percent more than in 1990, The New York Times reported. And the youngest people in the work force crave flexibility. Fortune magazine found that 61 percent of the youngest workers would leave their job if they could find another that allows telecommuting.
For those lucky enough to land one of these coveted arrangements, the “pros” seem to heavily outweigh the “cons.” Consider the benefits:
- 30-second commute from bedroom to desk
- Every day is casual Friday
- No annoying co-workers stopping by your desk
- Flexibility
Photo by MSDesigns.
Chessia on February 18th, 2008 9:51 pm
no kidding the pros are better! As long as employees are motivated and honest, allowing workers to owrk from home should also be better for the employer. Aside from the obvious overhead costs, since so many people WANT to work from home, employers will be able to select from a better pool of applicants.
In philosophy we learn that peoples desires are often dictated by the technology that becomes available (ie. people wouldn’t desire nose jobs if plastic surgery hadn’t been invented) and this is like telecommuting. One great technology that has been developed to aid this is a free video messaging tool called ooVoo which allows conference call video chats with up to 6 people (as well as text messaging, IMing, audio chat, and the ability to email and post videos).
Its a great communication tool to keep employees connected and in trusting relationships that encourage brainstorming. check it out at http://www.oovoo.com and feel free to ask me any questions (I’m a rep)
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