Telecommuting is here

Citation

(1999), "Telecommuting is here", Work Study, Vol. 48 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.1999.07948caf.004

Telecommuting is here

Telecommuting is here

As a result of both a full-employment economy and massive growth of Internet penetration, the number of remote workers and telecommuters in the US jumped to 11.1 million in 1998. This represents a growth of 15 per cent over the past two years, according to new survey findings from FIND/SVP, a New York, based research and consulting firm. The survey was conducted using a telephone questionnaire on a random basis on 2,000 US households and was carried out in April 1998. The survey was a repeat of one carried out in 1996 when only 8.5 million telecommuters were identified.

"Many companies, both large and small, have discovered the benefits of allowing employees to work from home part of the time," said Thomas E. Miller, FIND/SVP vice-president, who directed the research. "Growth of e-mail, voice-mail and the Internet, combined with a renewed emphasis on work results rather than workplace appearances, have encouraged managers to recognise that employees working part-time down the road are no more distant than employees working down the hall. What matters most is whether or not the job is getting done," he added.

The survey established that 35 per cent of today's telecommuters use the Internet, including 31 per cent who use it regularly from home, totalling 3.4 million home users. This number reflects over 50 per cent average annual growth in telecommuters who are linked to offices via e-mail from home, consistent with similar growth in Internet users overall, according to the research firm.

Three out of four telecommuters were found to own home computers and 43 per cent have multiple phone lines, well above US averages for PC and multiple phone usage. This strong home technology adopter profile was not limited to telecommuters themselves but was also found to carry over to other family members. Both spouses and children in telecommuter households are much more likely to be Internet users than family members in non-telecommuter households.

"Today's telecommuters appear to have discovered how to take advantage of personal information technologies to empower themselves and their families to improve the balance between work and personal life," Miller explained. "They are clearly in the top 20 per cent of households that know how to use technology to their best advantage."

The survey highlighted the complexity of networked employment relationships in the full-employment economy. Most telecommuting was found to be part-time, averaging 18-19 hours/week, with a median, or typical, total of 12 hours/week. Further, only 71 per cent of all telecommuters were found to be conventional full-time employees, with the balance consisting of contract workers and temps who work from home. One in four telecommuters reported that they travel on business five or more days per month, including visits to customers, sales calls and distant company locations. In addition, over 40 per cent of telecommuters were also found to bring work home after normal business hours from their main workplace.

Additional information on the US telecommuting trend is scheduled for release later this year, after more analysis of the survey findings.

The Emerging Technologies Research Group is a division of FIND/SVP, a world-wide research, advisory and business intelligence firm headquartered in New York City. FIND/SVP also provides integrated research and consulting through five other service groups: Quick Consulting & Research Service, Strategic Consulting and Research Group, Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Group, Research Publications Group and Knowledge Management.