Free Essay

Telecommuting: the New Way of Jobs in the Next Ten Years

In:

Submitted By Striderluv
Words 1167
Pages 5
Telecommuting: The New Way of Jobs in the Next Ten Years

PHI210 – Critical Thinking
March 11, 2012

Telecommuting will be the new way that jobs are performed in the next ten years. Telecommuting can be defined as working from a remote location, usually a home office, by electronically linking to a company. Allowing employees the option of telecommuting whether one or more days is an opportunity that most employees would take advantage.

The origins of people telecommuting date as far back as the 19th century. The first person known to work from home or at a remote work site was a Boston Bank President. This Bank President was able to work from home by having a phone line strung from his office to his home, three blocks away. Later, in the year 1963, a computer programmer working on the Arpanet Project (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) withdrew from the project to stay at home with his wife who was experiencing a difficult pregnancy. It was another programmer who suggested an additional phone line be installed in the home of the programmer attending to his ill wife so that he could complete his program from there. The practice of working from home was finally given the term name Telecommuting by Jack Nilles, a scientist working on a NASA satellite communications project in Los Angeles, in 1973.

The target audience for this argument would be employees currently working both in the office and telecommuting environments. One of the purposes is to show the positive effects of an employee allowed to work close or within the home. In today’s time where telecommuting has become so popular and common, it is easy to meet the needs of employers and demanding companies.

Telecommuting gives employees more flexibility in meeting personal and professional responsibilities; it can offer freedom from office distractions, reduced work and or life stress, and an alternative worksite setup that can be used in case of emergency.

It is thought that the telecommuting realm will continue to grow massively as the option is available for employees and supervisors to be allowed to work from home. Telecommuting will be the biggest workplace trend of the next century as the job market continues to shrink and employers are forced to consider new and innovative ways to attract and retain employees. It is clear that telecommuting is the most obvious and reasonable choice. The biggest obstacle may be attitude. Many times supervisors and companies are hesitant in considering telecommuting as an option because they fear the loss of control when employees are not located in one place, within their sight. The reality is that today’s workforce is widespread as companies grow larger. Larger companies, military, and government maintain satellite offices and international firms where employees who are not even considered telecommuters are practically located halfway across the world from their office, supervisors, and coworkers. When employees feel they have greater control over their work, they tend to feel more committed to their organizations.

The impact technology has had on society today cannot be measured. It has had such an impact that employees, supervisors and their companies have grown immensely. Computers, remote connectivity, voice and electronic communications, paperless work processes, and other innovations make information and work increasingly mobile. However, Telecommuting or working from home would require the responsibility of cost for office supplies on the employee. Technical or computer issues would fall under the purview of the employee rather than an Information Technology office or directorate.

One of the most common fallacies in telecommuting is that employees are lucky to even have a job. The opposite could hold true. Companies need their employees just as badly as they need their jobs or the companies would not have hired them. Therefore, telecommuting would be an even call.

Hard work should be its own reward. This is another fallacy regarding telecommuting. Realistically, the main reason many work, in general, is to earn a living or a paycheck. Therefore, if hard work was the reward for those who work hard then many would just work for free, not looking for the paycheck which is given. Companies should give their employees substantial motivation for them to work harder.
The premise of telecommuting involves giving employees the opportunity to telecommute and work from home allowing for savings in overhead. Employers who give their employees the opportunity to telecommute will give employees ease in a comfortable working environment. Employees allowed to telecommute will have increased family time making for happy employees. Happy employees make productive companies.

Federal and government agencies have taken a particular interest in telecommuting if for nothing but its benefits. Some of the areas in which the Federal Government will benefit include recruiting, managing long commutes, reducing traffic congestion and saving taxpayers’ dollars. Federal and Government agencies aim to recruit and retain the best possible workforce, predominantly with newer employees who have high expectations of a technologically forward-thinking workplace and for new workers who value a work and life balance. The Government has programs that will help employees manage long commutes and other work and life issues that, if not dealt with, can have a negative impact on their effectiveness or lead to employees leaving their Federal employment altogether. Focus on reducing traffic congestion, emissions, and road and rail network impact in urban areas are some ways in which the Government assist in improving the environment. The greatest of assistance is saving taxpayer dollars by decreasing Government real estate costs ensuring consistency in vital Government functions, in the event of national or local emergencies. If all Federal employees who are eligible to telecommute, and or work from home, full time were to do so, the Federal Government could realize $13.9 billion savings in commuting costs annually and eliminate 21.5 billion pounds of pollutants from the environment each year.

Telecommuting is a win-win for employees, supervisors and employers. The results bring about higher morale and job satisfaction and lower employee stress and turnover. The principle of companies allowing their employees to telecommute gives many opportunities for effective work habits and fewer barriers for those who can work from home, opening up a means of comfort and positive effects for these employees who are allowed to work close or within the home. Do you see the future in telecommuting?

RESOURCES

Schepp, Brad & Schepp, Debra. (1995). The Telcommuters Handbook: How to Earn a Living Without Going to the Office. 2nd ed. Unknown: McGraw Hill
OPM-VI-I-16. (Unknown). A Guide to Telework in the Federal Government. http://www.opm.gov/pandemic/agency2a-guide.pdf. Retrieved on March 11, 2012

Grensing-Pophal, Lin. (Unknown). Telecommuting: Managing Off-Site for Small Business. (page 10). Unknown: Self-Counsel Press, a division of International Self-Counsel Press Ltd.
Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopeadia. (26 February 2012). Telecommuting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommuting. Retrieved on March 11, 2012.

Kirby, Gary R. & Goodpaster, Jeffrey R. (2007). Language: Our Thinking Medium., Thinking (page 104). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Flexible Work Arrangements

...Professor James Krolik March 3, 2013 Table of Contents I. Introduction 2 II. Current environment 3 III. Why Flexible Work Arrangements? 4 IV. General Telecommuting Statistics 5 V. Overall Growth of Telecommuting 5 VI. Return on Investment 6 VII. The Sacrifices of Flexible Work 7 VIII. The Management Challenge 7 IX. The Third Wave of Virtual Work 8 X. In Conclusion 8 I. Introduction Experts have reported that the typical telecommuter is educated, a generation X employee with an annual salary of approximately $58,000 (teleworkresearch.com). Flexible is a term that covers a variety of arrangements such as; unconventional hours, part-time work, job sharing, leaves of absence, and working at home (Deutschman, 1991). They also suggest that the national telecommuting savings would total over $700 Billion a year including: * A typical business would save $11,000 per person per year * The telecommuters would save between $2,000 and $7,000 a year * The oil savings would equate to over 37% of our Persian Gulf imports * The greenhouse gas reduction would be the equivalent of taking the entire New York State workforce permanently off the road. The overall trend of telecommuting has shown a steady growth of 73% between 2005 through 2011. Best practice organizations are incorporating telecommuting as a recruitment offering to broaden the pool of attracting the best and most talented. Over 79% of American workers (50 million) are capable and want to telecommute...

Words: 1823 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Flex Time in the Work Place

...significantly from the non-work related needs of the individual. Furthermore, if companies are insensitive to employee needs, and work becomes a significant source of stress, not only does worker productivity lessen but that company’s name and reputation as an employer may hinder its own ability attract necessary quality employees. Employees and employers alike are looking for ways to increase worker satisfaction. One increasingly attractive solution is the growing acceptance of a flexible work week and schedule. Prominent employers like Kraft Foods, Texas Instruments and First Tennessee Bank have implemented these changes for their workers to boost productivity while increasing job satisfaction (Forbes). Employers are also using these flex schedules as a way of attracting and retaining their employees. For example, “In 1999 only 18 companies on Fortune magazine’s list of Best Places to Work offered telecommuting. Today, 79 do (ABC News).” The definition of flexibility encompasses a wide range of topics such as: • Flextime (compressed work weeks and shift flexibility) • Telecommuting • Paid Time Off (personal days and vacation by the hour) “Business leaders are learning how to position flexibility as a powerful management tool used to accomplish work more efficiently, while caring about the needs of employees and bringing strategic value to the organization (US Dept of Labor)”. Several options which are being used today include a shortened work...

Words: 1201 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Telecommuting

...Telecommuting will be the new way jobs are performed in the next ten years. Saving of time spent by reducing commute and create personal schedule. (valid) I will show how saving time in the commute to and from the office, and being able to tailor your day to your own schedule, will create a better atmosphere to work and leave you with a feeling of not having a rushed day. I will include survey results which show the average commute time between homes and offices Saving of money spent by reducing gas, parking, and vehicle fees. (valid) I will show the savings involved in having no parking or vehicle fees and the need to not fill your gas tank up every day. I will include survey results which show the average distance between homes and offices. Also reducing the need for workspace and office space. (valid) I will show that having people work from home will reduce the amount of space businesses require for parking and office space, reducing the overhead they pay for rent, and increasing the amount of money they can then pay people. Less overhead equals more money for people. Improving job security (not valid) it is implied that working from home will improve quality of life and perhaps you will enjoy your job more. I will include my survey results which show the number of people who have worked from home vs the number who have not worked from home, and then show the maximum number of years those people spent at the job. It may show that those who work from home tend...

Words: 410 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Jjt2 Task 1

...Environmental Considerations and Recommendations Company X does not currently have any environmental initiatives. A few initiatives that would benefit the organization and be socially responsible would include going paperless, turning off the computers at night, and a telecommuting option. Each one of these can help protect the environment by reducing pollution in one manner or another. These are all small changes that could have a big impact. With a company size approaching 150 employees, we can generate quite a bit of pollution just in our day to day activities without knowing we did so. Going paperless has some specifics at Company X that make it attractive. The organization is already recycling as much paper as it can within the office, but that only goes so far. If Company X could reduce the amount of paper it uses it reduce the amount of trees being cut down and the pollution put off during the recycling process. Company X fills up 4 – 26 Gallon Recycle bins per month with paper and we shred another 4 - 30 gallon bins, I am assuming the bins being shredded are also being recycled. Much of the paper Company X is using can easily be turned into online assets that require no paper. The organization has invoices coming in and it sends invoices out. It could utilize the electronic invoicing with in the CRM to handle these invoices. This would also benefit the customers, as invoices would not get lost in the mail. The employee expense reports, which average three pages...

Words: 3352 - Pages: 14

Free Essay

Final Paper

...Workforce 2020 Report for our company XOXO Communications, LLC. Over the next decade, technology and the shift in resources will provide power to the masses and change how companies conduct business. This paper will discuss the demographical, social and economical changes that will shape the course of business throughout the globe. Age and gender are two key demographical trends that will affect how employers manage their employees. Technology will play a large role in how employees and their employers communicate. Social networks and the shift in consumer power are two key social trends that will affect how employers advertise and provide the ultimate customer experience. Outsourcing and contracting employees are two key economical trends that will affect how employers conduct business. In an effort to reduce cost, maximize profit and employee efficiency, companies will alter how they conduct business both internally and globally. In this paper, I will discuss each trend in detail, and how important it will be for XOXO Communications to embrace these trends through the new decade. Demographic Trends The world is ever changing. As XOXO Communications, LLC enters the new decade, it will be vital for us to be aware of these changes and understand how they will affect the Company. Undoubtedly, age and gender will shape the future demographics of XOXO Communications and how we will function over the next decade. Generation Y & Z As technology grows vast, Generation Y...

Words: 2105 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Five Trends That Are Dramatically Changing Work and the Workplace

...Partner New Ways of Working, LLC The Changing Nature of Work My wife, a manager at Hewlett-Packard, usually has a two minute commute—a thirty foot walk from the kitchen up to her office. She goes “to the central office” about once every other week, more to keep in touch socially rather than to formally collaborate. Although she only meets face-to-face with her globally-based team members about once per year, she has an audio conference with them weekly. As HP’s work force grows and becomes more global, she is a highly sought after manager. She has learned how to work with her distributed team, setting clear directions, communicating often and clearly, and, most importantly, creating activities to engender team trust and cohesion. Most workers today do not work like my wife; most still commute to and from traditional, centralized offices and work with teams in close proximity. Nevertheless, more and more of us are—or will be—working in both non-traditional ways and places, ranging from relying on adaptable furniture and hoteling desks at the central office, to satellite offices, offshore offices, and telework from home. According to a recent benchmarking study by our research consortium, The New Ways of Working, many organizations are formalizing “Alternative Workplace” programs that combine nontraditional work practices, settings and locations.1 Almost half of the surveyed organizations have started an alternative workplace program within the past two years and...

Words: 8071 - Pages: 33

Premium Essay

Jit, Managmrnt, Hrmn

...and Partner New Ways of Working, LLC The Changing Nature of Work My wife, a manager at Hewlett-Packard, usually has a two minute commute—a thirty foot walk from the kitchen up to her office. She goes “to the central office” about once every other week, more to keep in touch socially rather than to formally collaborate. Although she only meets face-to-face with her globally-based team members about once per year, she has an audio conference with them weekly. As HP’s work force grows and becomes more global, she is a highly sought after manager. She has learned how to work with her distributed team, setting clear directions, communicating often and clearly, and, most importantly, creating activities to engender team trust and cohesion. Most workers today do not work like my wife; most still commute to and from traditional, centralized offices and work with teams in close proximity. Nevertheless, more and more of us are—or will be—working in both non-traditional ways and places, ranging from relying on adaptable furniture and hoteling desks at the central office, to satellite offices, offshore offices, and telework from home. According to a recent benchmarking study by our research consortium, The New Ways of Working, many organizations are formalizing “Alternative Workplace” programs that combine nontraditional work practices, settings and locations.1 Almost half of the surveyed organizations have started an alternative workplace program within the past two years and a large majority...

Words: 8048 - Pages: 33

Premium Essay

Hr Intergation with Cultural

...HR and Integration Contribute Organizational Culture to Google, Scripps and UPS Success MSL660 Human Resource Management Billy Manning Belhaven University Dr. Adam Google over the years have developed a working relationship with HR and the organizational culture that has made them a leading competitor in their marketplace as well as a successful one. At Google one can see how organizational culture and HR strategy contributed to their success. For example, the human capital which is the collective value of the capabilities, knowledge, skills, life experiences, and the motivation of an organizational workforce. Google bring aboard people who are intellectual favoring ability over experience. The organization’s mission, goals and vision are cascaded throughout the organization. This speaks to the orientation of employees. Google’s HR integration with the organizational culture places emphasis on business objectives. HR also concentrates on the employees having flexibility to bring about results as well as innovation. HR has a seat at the table and this approach is key to organizational success. HR builds the organizational culture by attracting the best talent in the industry. Google also blended technological innovation with strong organizational culture. HR has merged the workforce culture to be unique. For example, workers are motivated to believe that are all equally value and a vital part of the company’s success. Every employee is a hand on contributor, and...

Words: 873 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Kaplan Assignment

...Workplace Flexibility as a Competitive Advantage Matthew R. Wilson GB520-01N: Strategic Human Resources Management Kaplan University February 28, 2012 Abstract Times are changing. Technological advances have launched radically new methods of communicating and working allowing tremendous expansion of business into a globalized marketplace. In turn, the workplace environment has become similarly complex and ever-changing bringing a vast number of challenges to the employee and employer. Workers are experiencing greater demand for their time both on the job and at home; and, this struggle to find work-life balance has quickly become a vital issue in the workforce. Thus, it falls upon the HR professional to bring viable solutions to these work-life issues while strategically working to align employee performance with corporate objectives. Workplace flexibility strategies seem to be the answer. However, developing strategies that produce measurable results and thus solicit the engagement of top-level executives as well as front line employees is not easy. This makes the role of the HR team even more critical to the success of businesses today. Workplace Flexibility as a Competitive Advantage As the business world becomes more diverse and global in nature, the necessity for workplace flexibility also grows. The generational diversity that exists today, as well as the shifting dynamics of industry in the United States, presents a greater importance on work-life balance...

Words: 2817 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Tech on the Family

...Technology is binding the world of work and the world of home in ways that redefine what is means to be in each. Some changes are dramatic, others are subtle, but the changes are experienced in the mundane activities of everyday life. To begin this presentation I will tell you a story. This story may not reflect your own lives, but I imagine some details will have a familiar ring to them. John is a middle-aged product development manager at a high tech company in Silicon Valley. He bemoans the fact that he no longer has the kind of personnel support he had even 10 years ago. While he shares an administrative assistant with several other managers, he is now expected to handle his own communications, create his own presentations and manage his own time and financial budget. After all, he now has a PC to improve his productivity, and interactive on-line calenders to manage his time. The nature of his work means that he is in constant contact with engineers, the general managers above him, and his counterparts in different sites in his international company. He has more contact, and more in common, with his counterpart in Taiwan than the person in the next cubicle. He tries very hard not to take too much work home with him, preferring to work late on site, but the international nature of his work means he is on the phone at midnight and at dawn. He is grateful for E-mail and voice mail since they can fit his schedule. Realistically, he thinks...

Words: 2362 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Tech on the Family

...Technology is binding the world of work and the world of home in ways that redefine what is means to be in each. Some changes are dramatic, others are subtle, but the changes are experienced in the mundane activities of everyday life. To begin this presentation I will tell you a story. This story may not reflect your own lives, but I imagine some details will have a familiar ring to them. John is a middle-aged product development manager at a high tech company in Silicon Valley. He bemoans the fact that he no longer has the kind of personnel support he had even 10 years ago. While he shares an administrative assistant with several other managers, he is now expected to handle his own communications, create his own presentations and manage his own time and financial budget. After all, he now has a PC to improve his productivity, and interactive on-line calenders to manage his time. The nature of his work means that he is in constant contact with engineers, the general managers above him, and his counterparts in different sites in his international company. He has more contact, and more in common, with his counterpart in Taiwan than the person in the next cubicle. He tries very hard not to take too much work home with him, preferring to work late on site, but the international nature of his work means he is on the phone at midnight and at dawn. He is grateful for E-mail and voice mail since they can fit his schedule. Realistically, he thinks...

Words: 2362 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Human Resource Management

...initially desired job search in Real Estate/Portfolio Management, I have always been curious about Human Resource Management as a possible alternative career path. Given the task of researching employment prospects for the next three, five, and ten years- I felt that I could do more than that in this paper. My finished product is a cursory overview of some of the roles and functions of Human Resource Management. I cover challenges in the industry/role, trends in the Human Resource segment of the employer market, and finally give a review of job prospects per the initial assignment. I believe that by producing a finished product with this scope and depth, I have learned much more than I would have by simply drilling down to the job prospects data. The first areas I provide commentary on are challenges that Human Resource Managers face on a daily basis in their job duties, specifically: * Challenge #1- Leadership Development * Challenge #2- Retaining and Rewarding the Best Employees * Challenge #3- Development of a Positive Corporate Culture Next, I transition to covering three interesting trends/innovations that Human Resource Management needs to understand to be successful in the workplace today: * Trend & Innovation #1- Employee Loyalty and Methods to Establish * Trend & Innovation #2- Work/Life Balance and Strategies * Trend & Innovation #3- Growing Diversity in the Workplace Third, I dive into data that shows the job trending for Human...

Words: 3335 - Pages: 14

Free Essay

Motivation

...Motivation in the Healthcare Environment HCA 310 Health Care Strategic Management Introduction “Many business managers today are not aware of the effects that motivation can (and does) have on their business, and it is therefore important they learn and understand the factors that determine positive motivation in the workplace.” (ROK connect unlimited 2006) Why is this important? Motivated employees are needed in our rapidly changing workplaces to help organizations survive. Motivated employees are more productive which can help maintain efficiency. It takes hard work and insight to motivate employees to join the company, perform well and stay with the company. To be effective, managers need to understand what motivates employees within the context of the roles they perform. Of all the functions a manager performs, motivating employees is arguably the most complex and important. (Dunham 2004) This is due, in part, to the fact that what motivates employees changes constantly. For example, research suggests that as employees' income increases, money becomes less of a motivator and as employees get older, interesting work becomes more of a motivator. (Dunham 2004) This paper attempts to look at theories of motivation, determine what implications they have on the healthcare industry and demonstrate why it is such an important consideration for managers. Why is motivation important? “Employee motivation has a direct impact on a health services organization’s...

Words: 3053 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Document

...Conferencing Capabilities Essays and Term Papers Top of Form [pic] Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form • Video Conferencing Video Conferencing One could say that the ability to communicate is a key to success. Merriam Webster’s defines communication as a verbal or written message and also the technology of the transmission of information (as by print or telecommunication) (http://aolsvc.merriam-webster.aol.com). There...   2185 Words | 6 Pages   Integrated Services Digital Network, Videoconferencing, Wide area network, H.323 • Video Conferencing CompareBusinessProducts.com What to Look for in a Video Conferencing System What to Look for in a Video Conferencing System Video conferencing has become “the next best thing to being there” for many businesses. Facilitating face-to-face collaboration for people who are in different locations...   1454 Words | 5 Pages   Videoconferencing, Unified communications, Computer monitor, Usability • Video Conferencing Video conferencing is the message between two or more people, using computers based networks, and sending out both audio and video information between them. The main requirements to set up a videoconference known also as video teleconference are: • A web camera • Microphone • Screen • Speakers ...   527 Words | 3 Pages   • Video Conferencing BUSINESS USE OF VIDEO CONFERENCING ➢ Business video conferencing strategies span a wide-range of interests, as lawyers...

Words: 1278 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Indian Telecom Industry

...vipul rohit Indian Telecommunication Industry Last Updated: July-September 2008 [pic] The Indian telecommunications has been zooming up the growth curve at a feverish pace, emerging as one of the key sectors responsible for India's resurgent economic growth. India is has surpassed US to become the second largest wireless network in the world with a subscriber base of over 300 million in April, according to the the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The year 2007 saw India achieving significant distinctions: |1 |having the world's lowest call rates |2-3 US cents | |2 |the fastest growth in the number of subscribers |15.31 million in 4 months | |3 |the fastest sale of million mobile phones |in a week | |4 |the world's cheapest mobile handset |US$ 17.2 | |5 |the world's most affordable color phone |US$ 27.42 | |6 |largest sale of mobile handsets |in the third quarter | Segment-wise growth Wireless segment has emerged as...

Words: 5812 - Pages: 24