Telecommuting

For the first time in the history of employment, the work people do is being separated from where the work gets done. Flexible working arrangements can replace some of the time spent in a central office with the option of working at home or in a local coffee shop, for that matter. Telecommuting was first tried out as a concept back in the 1970s. The array of technology available today turns just about every location into a potential work space. Equip yourself with a laptop, cell phone, wireless Internet connection, and work that doesn't have to be performed in one spot or face-to-face, and you have the makings of a telecommuter. The good news is that work can be performed anywhere. The bad news is that the work can be performed anywhere. Such freedom can turn your forty-hour-per-week job into a 24/7 grind.

In spring 2006, the Telework Coalition (www.telcoa.org ) completed a benchmarking study of both public-and private-sector employers with large telework programs. The study focused on how these organizations addressed obstacles and overcame objections to make their programs successful. Some of the unexpected consequences of the programs included lower turnover, fewer layoffs, the ability of employees to move to other parts of the country, and the ability of the company to maintain business continuity in spite of natural or manmade disasters, such as 9/11.

Do You Like to Share?

It's possible to share office space as an employee in a large organization, as a small company just starting out, or as a solo freelancer who doesn't need a lot of space to work. The options are multiplying as the workforce becomes more mobile and flexible.

Sharing Jobs

Some jobs are too vast and complex for one person. Sometimes a person wants to work at a full-time job but doesn't want to work full time. In that case, dividing the work between two or more people makes sense. Not every occupation lends itself to this sort of split personality — less than 1 percent of the workforce has this arrangement — but if you think it could work for you, it doesn't hurt to ask. There are even online resources that sell templates for writing proposals to your boss for job sharing, telecommuting, and other flexibility options. Make sure you emphasize how the arrangement would increase productivity and benefit the company and/or the customers.

Sharing Work Spaces

Would you enjoy a shared-space work environment? Some small businesses rent space in a shared office or business center, where some of the services, such as cleaning, reception, and security, are provided. The small business gains access to meeting rooms, parking, and kitchens, without spending as much on rent. Working in a shared space with other complementary businesses improves the options for networking and referrals. There's the added advantage of increasing your social contact during the day. Studies over the past decade have shown a trend toward using more of such shared office arrangements and away from the more traditional and inflexible situations, particularly in times of economic uncertainty.

Even some large corporations use the office-sharing plan at their headquarters. AT&T and Ernst & Young use a scheme called “hoteling,” where mobile workers reserve desks at the company's regular offices. Some workers stay in the same place for months, while others end up in a different place every day in office spaces that range from a small desk with a phone and a laptop port to a room the size of a phone booth with walls and a door. Sun Microsystems in Menlo Park, California, saves money by reducing the amount of space needed for each worker as they float among shared work areas.

Innovative Work Spaces

Any size company can think outside the box. Architectural Review detailed what it called “the office of the future” in 2003, a new complex for Norwegian telecom company Telenor. The building features an open plan in which the 6,000 workers use workstations as needed, alone, or in ever-shifting combinations. Each of the largely autonomous, thirty-person work pods has its own service and meeting areas and can be reconfigured by a crew in a short time to create separate workstations or group work spaces. No one works a full day more than a few yards from natural light. The results include lower operating costs and increased productivity.

Drop-In Centers

In 1998, Sun Microsystems opened the first of its drop-in office centers to address a critical need. Many of its engineers were tired of wasting so much time driving from all parts of the San Francisco Bay Area to the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, but they didn't want to work amid the distractions at home. Today there are several centers scattered throughout the Bay Area, as well as near Sun's operations in Colorado and Massachusetts. As of 2002, one-third of Sun's workers used the satellite offices, which are outfitted with computers, high-speed network connection, ergonomic furniture, and office support equipment. “Smart card” technology lets the computer recognize each worker and bring up his or her work when the person logs in. Reservations aren't permitted at the centers, which are open 24/7. Since the program's inception, Sun estimates it has saved over $300 million in IT, support, and real estate, while improving employee job satisfaction. Other companies, such as Morgan Stanley, Intel, and Fidelity Investments, have jumped on the drop-in bandwagon, too. After 9/11, they realized that smaller satellite offices have the ability to keep operating if something happens to suspend work in the main office (www.sun.com ).

Freelancing

According to the International Telework Association and Council, the number of employed Americans working from home during business hours increased by nearly 40 percent between 2001 and 2004. Unless you've lived it, you might think the life of the freelancer is all footloose and fancy free. If anything, it can be more difficult and demanding than a regular nine-to-five job. Often it requires more organizational skill, diplomacy, and adaptability than working for one employer, not to mention the ability to weather economic uncertainty. Consider the distractions that lurk in your own home: checking the refrigerator, talking to the cat, or dusting the living room. While the refrigerator may seem less annoying than that whistling coworker, it has a Siren-like way of calling to you when a deadline looms. Even folding laundry can take on a certain new appeal on particularly unfocused days.

That's not to say you aren't suited for the freelancing life. Enterprising people are coming up with all kinds of ways to accommodate independent workers. In Santa Monica, California, one business caters to freelance writers and offers its paying members upscale surroundings, feng shui décor, power outlets, ambient wireless Internet, a library, nearby restaurants, and 24/7 access. It also posts a sign listing all the books, movies, television shows, and other works that have been written in its cozy confines.

Is the freelancing life for you? You'll find out more about your entrepreneurial abilities in Chapter 9.