Telecommuting is The Work Life of The Future

Telecommuting has been on the rise for some years, and some are even estimating that 50 percent of all work will be done at home by 2020. Whether that prediction is true or not, the observable truth shows that telecommuting is indeed on the rise. About 30 percent of all employees work home for at least one day out of the week, though only about 2 percent work from home everyday of the week. There are many reasons why this is on the rise, though there are also some challenges that have to be ironed out telecommuting can be effectively deployed to a large number of employees.

Better Technology

One of the big reasons for the rise in telecommuting is the increase of technologically strength. Having high-speed Internet in the home two decades ago was a luxury, but now it is normal. Also, cloud computing has made it easier than ever for employees to get all the tools and applications they need for work right from their home computer. All the employee has to do is sign in via the Internet and he or she has all the applications needed for work.

Aside from the Internet, the hardware has gotten better, too. Stronger and faster hardware makes it easier to do work from home, so employees won’t suffer from slow production from a technological standpoint.

Supervision Software

A major reason why businesses are worried about letting their employees telecommute all the time is because they are worried about productivity, and rightfully so. While many employees take their job seriously and will finish everything they are assigned, some will goof off and lose track of time.

To counter this, and to help the telecommuting culture rise, there are many different supervision programs available. These programs allow managers to watch what employees are doing while they are virtually timed in. This is like the manager walking through a row of cubicles during work to see what everyone is doing. This software easily enables managers to ensure that productivity is not slipping, even though the employees are not around him or her.

When businesses are sure that employees can work without supervision, they will be more lenient about telecommuting.

Reduced Office Costs

Renting out office space and equipping it with phones, computers, networking hardware and everything else needed to adequately run an office can cost quite a bit of money. Not to mention the costs for renting an office building or space, which can present a large bill every month.

With telecommuting, those costs are largely reduced. The office space can be much smaller, and many of the other services can be provided at home. Costs are also reduced for employees, since they don’t have to travel to work.

Flexible Hours

Many people have a hard time working around a strict schedule. Single moms need to pick up and take care of kids, or a problem can come up during the day that no one could expect. For people who have to work normal office hours at a business, it can be very difficult to be productive and still meeting personal needs.

Telecommuting, on the other hand, allows people to still get their work done, but when they have fully cleared their personal needs. This enables employees to get the needs of their mind, which can lead to better productivity and quality.

Fewer Sick Days

People who work from home often have less sick days. The pain and hassle of having to drive or get on a train to work while being sick is eliminated, and the person can usually get to the computer and do some work, even if he or she is ill.

Businesses don’t like losing money from sick days, so this is another reason why businesses will learn to embrace telecommuting.

Conclusion

It has been a long time coming, but telecommuting and working at home will be the way that everyone works in the coming years. Telecommuting has many advantages for both businesses and employees, and the businesses can still watch employees to ensure that they are productive. So, if the company you are working for doesn’t have a telecommuting program yet, expect it to soon.