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- If telecommuters only work away from the office a couple of days a week, what is the advantage of telecommuting?
- Should telecommuters expect companies to provide office furniture or home-office design services for their home office?
- What is the difference between telecommuting and working in a virtual office?
A. If telecommuters only work away from the office a couple of days a week, what is the advantage of telecommuting?
This question deals with one of the most important, and least recognized, advantages of telecommuting: office space. While an employee may only telecommute a couple of times a week, a company who values effectiveness would plan for that employee to commit those days to the main part of their desk work. That is, the employee should be doing most of their writing, editing, drafting, layout, phone conversations, etc. on those days that they are telecommuting. Therefore, when they come to the office, they don't need a desk, or a computer or a phone that come with the desk, and two things can be accomplished. First of all, that employee has time to attend meetings, collaborate one-on-one with co-workers and/or clients and do follow-up work that doesn't involve sitting at a desk. Secondly, this allows the company to use the office space that normally would have been designated for that employee to meet other office needs. [top]
B. Should telecommuters expect companies to provide office furniture or home-office design services for their home-office?
Some companies may find that the ergonomic benefits of supplying their employees with furniture for their home-offices far outweigh the small amount of money they would save by not providing office equipment. However, it is a safe bet that most companies will not supply any type of office-design service. If the company is serious about supporting their telecommuters, the research will show that providing ergonomically correct furniture is a sound long-term investment. [top]
C. What is the difference between telecommuting and working in a virtual office?
Technically, there is no difference between the two. The only distinction is the way in which the worker telecommutes. Working in a virtual office is just one way an employee can telecommute. The term virtual office refers to an employee who can complete the duties their job requires virtually anywhere. Armed with tools such as a laptop, cell phone, pager, fax machine, etc., an employee can work from their car, an airplane, a hotel room, just about anywhere. So, these two terms don't refer to two separate things - a virtual office is just one way of telecommuting. [top]
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