CHICAGO, IL, United States (UPI) -- Rapidly escalating gasoline prices may speed the United States` transformation into a telecommuting nation, analysts say.
The price of gasoline Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a rough proxy for its wholesale cost, topped $2.25 per gallon.
'The average worker commutes 16 miles each way to work every day,' said John Gray of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. 'That adds up to more than 8,000 miles per year going to and from work.
'Companies will be forced to help ease the financial burden of higher gas prices or risk losing their workers to companies located closer to their homes or companies that offer primarily telecommuting.'
A 2005 survey by Connecticut-based Business & Legal Reports asked employers what they were doing to help employees deal with high gas prices. Only 1 percent of the 499 respondents said their companies were allowing more telecommuting. And 6 percent encouraged workers to carpool or use public transportation.
The overwhelming majority of employers, however, took a hands-off approach, with 86 percent saying that their companies did nothing to help their workers.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Downsides of telecommuting
There have been hundreds of articles written on the benefits of telecommuting, but very few on the disadvantages. Although a lot of people can point to the benefits of happier employees and lower costs nothing is perfect and telecommuting does have some serious downsides to the future of a business.
In my opinion, the biggest negative to telecommuting is the loss of the informal exchange of ideas between staff. When most companies are promoting a team effort, telecommuting places employees in situations where they must often fend for themselves. When telecommuting is implemented requests for assistance or new ideas and concepts are generally circulated in a formal manner, be it email or an Intranet web site message boards. No longer can employee sit down with a colleague or walk into the boss’s office and say, “what do you think of this idea?” This results in a lack of fertilization of new ideas and concepts. Over the years, I have seen hundreds of ideas and concepts hammered out over lunchroom tables and next to coffee machines. I can actually recall a very successful new business venture that started as a joke.
Secondarily is the individual growth of an employee. The informal mentoring that occurs, or should be occurring, in every company. Employees grow within an organization by learning from their supervisors and colleagues. This education is primarily informal and individuals, in many cases, learn by osmosis, by filling in and by assisting other members of staff. Most, if not all of this education is lost in a telecommuting environment. Coupled with the informal mentoring is the constant informal reinforcement of “great job”, “well done”, usually lost in the telecommuting environment.
The third area that I believe is a negative in a telecommuting environment is in detail work. If you are in a business situation where large proposals are being written or other substantial documentation is being produced, detail changes do not happen because of the lack of convenience to implement them. Because changes generally require formal communication, it becomes easier to accept what has been produced rather than asking someone to add or delete a word or change a format, especially if the change is not truly critical.
The forth is very dependent on the individual involved. Everyone needs a break, needs to get away from their work. Depending on ones mental resolve, some people need to “leave” work in order to get a break and in this case I mean physically leave work. If work that should be done is sitting in one’s home office or worse yet on the dining room table can the individual, on Friday at 5:00 pm, stop what they are doing and leave it to complete until Monday at 8:00 am. Some people can, others cannot. The employees that cannot are not getting that needed break. Some employers may believe that they get more hours of work out of telecommuting staff. The question is, are those hours productive?
Implementing a successful telecommuting strategy for your business is much more than installing a computer and phone line in someone’s home.
Robert Berman is a business consultant specializing in business development, strategic planning, acquisitions & mergers and international sales & marketing. He has been a columnist for the National Post Newspaper under the byline of "The Business Doctor" and he has authored "The Business Buyer's Manual". He may be reached at Robert.Berman@businessbuyersmanual.com or visit http://www.businessbuyersmanual.com
In my opinion, the biggest negative to telecommuting is the loss of the informal exchange of ideas between staff. When most companies are promoting a team effort, telecommuting places employees in situations where they must often fend for themselves. When telecommuting is implemented requests for assistance or new ideas and concepts are generally circulated in a formal manner, be it email or an Intranet web site message boards. No longer can employee sit down with a colleague or walk into the boss’s office and say, “what do you think of this idea?” This results in a lack of fertilization of new ideas and concepts. Over the years, I have seen hundreds of ideas and concepts hammered out over lunchroom tables and next to coffee machines. I can actually recall a very successful new business venture that started as a joke.
Secondarily is the individual growth of an employee. The informal mentoring that occurs, or should be occurring, in every company. Employees grow within an organization by learning from their supervisors and colleagues. This education is primarily informal and individuals, in many cases, learn by osmosis, by filling in and by assisting other members of staff. Most, if not all of this education is lost in a telecommuting environment. Coupled with the informal mentoring is the constant informal reinforcement of “great job”, “well done”, usually lost in the telecommuting environment.
The third area that I believe is a negative in a telecommuting environment is in detail work. If you are in a business situation where large proposals are being written or other substantial documentation is being produced, detail changes do not happen because of the lack of convenience to implement them. Because changes generally require formal communication, it becomes easier to accept what has been produced rather than asking someone to add or delete a word or change a format, especially if the change is not truly critical.
The forth is very dependent on the individual involved. Everyone needs a break, needs to get away from their work. Depending on ones mental resolve, some people need to “leave” work in order to get a break and in this case I mean physically leave work. If work that should be done is sitting in one’s home office or worse yet on the dining room table can the individual, on Friday at 5:00 pm, stop what they are doing and leave it to complete until Monday at 8:00 am. Some people can, others cannot. The employees that cannot are not getting that needed break. Some employers may believe that they get more hours of work out of telecommuting staff. The question is, are those hours productive?
Implementing a successful telecommuting strategy for your business is much more than installing a computer and phone line in someone’s home.
Robert Berman is a business consultant specializing in business development, strategic planning, acquisitions & mergers and international sales & marketing. He has been a columnist for the National Post Newspaper under the byline of "The Business Doctor" and he has authored "The Business Buyer's Manual". He may be reached at Robert.Berman@businessbuyersmanual.com or visit http://www.businessbuyersmanual.com
Friday, April 21, 2006
Work at home job leads Apr 21st
Please Note- A Legit Company will not ask you for money. These are unresearched work at home job leads. Use common sense if it sounds too job to be true-it probably is. Please post in comments if you have any replies to the jobs applied
Telecommuting Recruiting Huge database of telecommuting jobs.
Telecommuting Lead Generation Specialist VA
TRANSCRIPTIONIST for legal proceedings. Work from home. Word software and transcriber req'd. Must have excellent grammatical,spelling, word skills. Fax resume to 919-832-4181Court Reporting Services. NC
Pricing Actuary
Bus. Intelligence Tech. - TELECOMMUTE Madison WI
Senior Web Developer- Telecommute Lake Tahoe NV
Telecommute Affiliate Manager NJ
Marketing Associate- work PT from home San Fransisco
Technical Recruiter (Telecommute) - Washington DC
Nationwide Nationwide Call Center Jobs: sales/telecommuting
Visual Basic Programmer Wanted Chicago
Virtual Account Consultant Boston
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Security risks of telecommuting
Popularity of laptops and wireless networks are making telecommuting a pretty standard business practice these days. With all this remote access going on, the accessibility of corporate files off company premises become worrisome, it goes without saying that more companies are increasing their security perimeter to include the home computers of their employees.
A recent study found that in 2005, nearly 9 million people worked from home for three or more days a month. A full 25 percent of those people worked from home all the time. Early predictions are for even higher figures in 2006.
That's a lot of opportunities for hackers to seize computer secrets, especially given the inherently lower level of security found in most home computer systems.
Continue reading
A recent study found that in 2005, nearly 9 million people worked from home for three or more days a month. A full 25 percent of those people worked from home all the time. Early predictions are for even higher figures in 2006.
That's a lot of opportunities for hackers to seize computer secrets, especially given the inherently lower level of security found in most home computer systems.
Continue reading
Work at home job leads Apr 20th
Please Note- A Legit Company will not ask you for money. These are unresearched work at home job leads. Use common sense if it sounds too job to be true-it probably is. Please post in comments if you have any replies to the jobs applied
Telecommuting Recruiting Huge database of telecommuting jobs.
Web Designer PA
Writer Needed NJ
Online Community Moderators NJ
Website Content Managers needed Phoenix
Part-time Inside Sales/Lead Generation Reps Denver
HTML, CSS, Photoshop, Fireworks, Dreamweaver Expert(s) Wanted Atlanta
Virtual Assistant Atlanta
APPOINTMENT SETTERS NEEDED--WORK FROM HOME Atlanta
Satellite Support Austin
Client Executive / Direct Sales - Investment Research Services CA
Customer Contact Representatives Washington DC
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Work at home job leads Apr 19th
Please Note- A Legit Company will not ask you for money. These are unresearched work at home job leads. Use common sense if it sounds too job to be true-it probably is. Please post in comments if you have any replies to the jobs applied
Telecommuting Recruiting Huge database of telecommuting jobs.
Find Implementation Consultant - Eastern Region - Rochester NY
Sr Quality Analyst Telecommuting MN-Minneapolis OH-Columbus TX-Dallas
Sr. Project Manager - Western Region Califorinia
Freelance writer Boston
Freelance Graphic Designer Maine
Freelance Developer New York
Freelance Graphic Designer Seattle
Interviewing tips for a Telecommuting Job
Telecommuters are individuals who spend part, if not all, of their working hours at another location other than the workplace. For most people it is their home. In order to do this one must have a variety of "telecommunication technologies" such as a telephone, Internet, various computer programs and a fax machine at one's disposal.
Telecommuters need to have excellent skills when it comes to the laborious task of telephone interviews. The first most important phone interview tip is to always be prepared in case you are contacted for an interview, no matter what time of day it is. Many employers do not give telecommuters the heads up in advance about when they will be calling to speak with them.
Another important phone interview tip is to get ready for your interview in much the same way you would for a regular "in person" interview. Anticipate what questions you might be asked and have appropriate answers in your mind (or written on paper) before the interview even begins. Be ready and willing to answer questions about your educational background, work experience and skills. Also be prepared to tell the prospective recruiter or employer what you could do for him or her.
Prepare a list of questions you wish to ask the interviewer. Always ask at least a few questions as it shows that you are paying attention and that you are very interested in the position in question. Keep in mind that phone interviews are sometimes more difficult to gage because you have to rely completely on the spoken word. Neither the interview nor interviewee is able to pick up on body language or any nuances of behavior but instead must go by the words and questions they are presented with and the pitch and intonation of words. Tread carefully and maintain a balanced, professional and courteous tone of voice at all times.
It is essential in a phone interview for a telecommuter to speak as a person in the know. Don't indulge in too many "ums", "okays", "I don't knows" or "uhs" as these words don't carry with them an air of knowledge or confidence. Always have your resume nearby so you can consult it during your phone interview. After all the interviewer is looking at your resume, why shouldn't you be as well?
Other important tips include turning your call-waiting feature off so there are no interruptions; making sure you are alone in the room and there is no noise anywhere nearby to disturb the interview and having a notepad and paper handy to jot down any relevant information that you glean from the interview.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charissa Bear is the owner of MomsInc.biz, a mom home based business resource. Stop by today and sign up for her 5 day ecourse, Choosing and Starting a Work at Home Business, or sign up by sending a blank email to: mailto: wahguide@aweber.com
Telecommuters need to have excellent skills when it comes to the laborious task of telephone interviews. The first most important phone interview tip is to always be prepared in case you are contacted for an interview, no matter what time of day it is. Many employers do not give telecommuters the heads up in advance about when they will be calling to speak with them.Another important phone interview tip is to get ready for your interview in much the same way you would for a regular "in person" interview. Anticipate what questions you might be asked and have appropriate answers in your mind (or written on paper) before the interview even begins. Be ready and willing to answer questions about your educational background, work experience and skills. Also be prepared to tell the prospective recruiter or employer what you could do for him or her.
Prepare a list of questions you wish to ask the interviewer. Always ask at least a few questions as it shows that you are paying attention and that you are very interested in the position in question. Keep in mind that phone interviews are sometimes more difficult to gage because you have to rely completely on the spoken word. Neither the interview nor interviewee is able to pick up on body language or any nuances of behavior but instead must go by the words and questions they are presented with and the pitch and intonation of words. Tread carefully and maintain a balanced, professional and courteous tone of voice at all times.
It is essential in a phone interview for a telecommuter to speak as a person in the know. Don't indulge in too many "ums", "okays", "I don't knows" or "uhs" as these words don't carry with them an air of knowledge or confidence. Always have your resume nearby so you can consult it during your phone interview. After all the interviewer is looking at your resume, why shouldn't you be as well?
Other important tips include turning your call-waiting feature off so there are no interruptions; making sure you are alone in the room and there is no noise anywhere nearby to disturb the interview and having a notepad and paper handy to jot down any relevant information that you glean from the interview.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charissa Bear is the owner of MomsInc.biz, a mom home based business resource. Stop by today and sign up for her 5 day ecourse, Choosing and Starting a Work at Home Business, or sign up by sending a blank email to: mailto: wahguide@aweber.com
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