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did you know?

Nearly 60 percent of workers believe that telecommuting at least part-time is the ideal work situation.

IBM saves $700 million in real estate costs by allowing 25% of its worldwide employees to work from home.

wise words we heard

Businesses that ignore the possibilities offered by emerging technologies risk becoming dinosaurs.

virtual work

Virtual workers are defined as people who work from home, from the road, from anywhere that isn't a traditional office. The common denominator for all virtual workers is that they communicate and perform work duties almost entirely through electronic technology. Going virtual makes sense for many workers, not just the people you see plugging in at coffee shops around the globe: Gen Yers just starting out, older workers phasing into retirement, people who need a custom-fit because they have restricted physical abilities or live in remote geographic locations, or two-job families where being close to both jobs is impossible. High- and low-wage employers have found moving to virtual work productive and profitable. Call centers, sales teams, individual consultants - even entire organizations - have all found this new way of working to be virtually perfect.

Virtual work can create a more robust business overall, as it has been shown to cut workplace costs and produce more satisfied, productive employees.

Advice for Employers

Adopt a performance-based management philosophy. Look more at results and less and whose car is in the parking lot.

Use technology in innovative ways to promote team building. Consider going beyond the basics of phone and email in order to help create a close group and help workers connect. Set up a community home space featuring pictures and profiles of team members, a discussion board, a team calendar, or a chat room.

Show respect. This might mean being sensitive to members who speak English as a second language, or paying attention to language and cultural differences, business protocols - even time zones.

Design fair and consistent guidelines for who can take advantage of virtual work.

Meet in person, too. Many companies that adopt virtual work also have regular retreats or in-person check-ins. This promotes team cohesion.

Remember that workers cannot be available 24/7 and will need boundaries to make virtual working successful for both themselves and the business.

Advice for Workers

When making a case for a flexible work arrangement, cite the business benefits of higher productivity, less time lost commuting, worker loyalty, decreased absenteeism, improved health and sometimes reduced real estate costs. (See Studies and Research)

Create an expectation of clear work/life boundaries. Just because you are now connected to work at home or on vacation doesn't mean you should be online 24/7. Clarify what will work well for you and your employer.

Be realistic but open-minded about virtual work's plusses and minuses. While it fits well with some jobs, virtual work isn't a good fit for others.

Consider stepping up the frequency of communication. This can mean checking the team's calendar or sending an email after every phone conference to document and confirm the action plan. Find out what will make this work well for everyone.

Travel by mouse instead of jet?

Submitted by Bill McKibbin on Tue, 2011-09-13 04:00

On the list of paradoxes, not many beat flying around the world to give talks about climate change. I can justify my carbon footprint if I have to–with myself as the main moving part, we’ve managed to build 350.org into the first big global climate campaign, organizing what CNN has called the “most widespread…political activity in the planet’s history.” If you want to be active in every country on earth except North Korea, you better be prepared to fly.

But I’d rather not justify it, and I’d rather not fly. So in recent years I’ve learned to tell an increasing number of the people who ask me to speak (about ten a day, most days) that the only way I can “be” there is via skype video. I sit in my kitchen, turn on my Macbook Pro, line up the camera, and when the moment comes I talk. In this way I am able to say “Yes.” to speaking to a multiple of the people I could speak to if our only option was being physically present.

It’s not perfect. You don’t get the same kind of feedback from an audience that you do in person. I pride myself on trying to really communicate with audiences; something inherently falls away. But especially for overseas speaking, when you’re working thorugh a translator anyway, very little is lost. And much is gained by example–you’re demonstrating the world we need to live in, where more and more travel is accomplished by mouse instead of jet. (You can do a thousand google searches for the energy it takes to drive six-tenths of a mile!). I’m not the only one who thinks this way-Rob Hopkins, who runs the wonderful TransitionTown initiative, has all but given up flying, speaking instead via video; I hear others who are experimenting as well.

And the good news is that the technology is improving all the time. (I’ve already had one venue send out a special camera that allowed me to appear as a three-dimensional hologram!). The social custom will change over time too, till it becomes more common to have a speaker–and maybe even an audience–working from home.

Businesses, schools and global leaders that embrace working from home are learning just how efficient and effective remote work can be. To be sure, people will continue to commute some days and travel, but there will be a higher bar for judging if taking that plane flight is the best use of time and resources.

Much like our families and our bodies, the planet simply can’t deal with the demands we’re making on it–skype video is a remarkably good (and free!) way to dial back a little today.