Telecommuting

Telecommuting by definition is the ability to work outside the traditional office or workplace, usually at home or in a mobile situation. Using today's telecommunication technologies such as Blackberries, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), Citrix, Cisco etc etc...makes working outside the office easier and more efficient than ever.

I experimented with Telecommuting at my last job however my cheap boss was not progressive enough to realize the benefits and preferred to have his employees chained to their cubicles. When I had outside appointments to attend too, I made a point of forwarding my email and land line to my smartphone just to prove I wouldn't miss a beat and my absence would be completely transparent to customers. What can I say...I was ahead of my time.

However, I should point out that as glorious as Telecommuting is in terms of the freedom and productivity it can provide, it's not for everyone. You need to be disciplined, self-motivated, naturally organized and skilled at time management to be a successful Telecommuter. If your easily distracted and not equipped with the necessary home office technology to work remotely, then Telecommuting may not be for you. There's also the lack of social interaction that can weigh heavily on some folks.

A solid Telecommuting experience requires first and foremost a dedicated (private) work space, such as a home office with a desk. Usually working from the dining room table with kids, pets, TV blaring and your spouse bugging you is not the idea working environment. Some of the tools you should  be armed with to keep u productive on the road include a current laptop (the most recent and faster the better), a high speed DSL or cable connection to the internet, a secure VPN connection to the office, a combo fax/printer/scanner and a mobile smartphone that can push your email (a Wi-Fi enabled tablet wouldn't hurt either).

As a Telecommuter myself, I like to mix it up a bit. This means not solely working from home, because I like to keep my finger on the pulse at the office and I need to be present in our Data Center and multiple Distribution centers. But also not being a slave to the office because I waste countless hours commuting to work when I could be doing the same thing remotely from home. A combination of both worlds tends to suit my needs and ensure that I am as productive as possible.

Read the below link for more pros and cons on this ever growing trend...

RPM

Rising Telecommuter Numbers Worldwide Form A Notable Trend

http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/24/rising-telecommuter-numbers-worldwide-form-a-notable-trend/