Work at Home and Telecommuting on the Rise
From The Eagle Tribune:
Janice Vella’s two-hour commute from Salida, Calif. to San Jose, with frequent overnights at her mother’s house in the Bay Area, finally took its toll after a year and a half.
The travel agent walked into her boss’s office to quit, but instead was offered an alternative: telecommute full time from home. Same job, same pay.
Nearly eight years later, most of her clients can’t tell the difference, unless something unusual gives it away.
“That cat meow? Oh, someone brought a cat into the office today. Can you believe it?” Vella, 38, said about a sound that popped up in the background recently.
It’s difficult to determine how many workers telecommute, also called “telework,” which allows employees to work from home either part time or full time. But estimates show that the number is rising.
In 2003, about 7.4 million Americans worked from home during business hours at least one day a month, according to the Telework Coalition, a Washington-based advocacy group. The U.S. Census Bureau tallied 4.2 million telecommuters in 2000.
While most people who telecommute enjoy the freedom it provides, it isn’t for everyone, said Colleen Garton, author of “Managing Without Walls,” an advice book for managers who have telecommuting employees.





