Según lo establecido en el artículo 2 del decreto 34704-MP-MTSS, “el teletrabajo es toda modalidad de prestación de servicios de carácter no presencial, en virtud de la cual un funcionario público o privado, puede desarrollar parte de su jornada laboral mediante el uso de medios telemáticos desde sus propio domicilio, u otro lugar habilitado al efecto, siempre que las necesidades y naturaleza del servicio lo permitan”. Se le conoce con términos como teledesplazamiento (telecommuting), trabajo en red (networking), trabajo a distancia (remote working), trabajo flexible (flexible working), y trabajo a domicilio (home working). La diferencia fundamental entre trabajo a domicilio y teletrabajo es la preponderancia de la informática (Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación más conocidas como TIC) y las telecomunicaciones en la realización del teletrabajo.

Aunque el teletrabajo es una práctica poco común y es posible pensar que es de reciente creación, este tiene sus inicios durante la década del 70, en los EEUU, y en plena crisis del petróleo, el físico Jack Nilles comenzó a pensar formas de optimización de recursos no renovables. Su primera idea fue "llevar el trabajo al trabajador y no el trabajador al trabajo", tras lo cual creó el concepto de "telecommuting". Sin embargo, a esa altura el desarrollo tecnológico no estaba lo suficientemente desarrollado para que el teletrabajo sea una realidad masiva. Pero el salto tecnológico de las décadas siguientes, la baja notable de los costos informáticos, la velocidad de las redes de comunicación y la difusión comercial de la red Internet pusieron a disposición de millones de personas los recursos necesarios para el teletrabajo.

Esta modalidad laboral trae consigo ventajas para el “teletrabajador” y la entidad que la adopta, por ejemplo para el trabajador una mayor autonomía y movilidad, más oportunidades laborales, más vida familiar, mejor integración laboral de personas con discapacidad, menos desplazamientos y un Horario flexible. Mientras que para la organización trae consigo menos problemas de convivencia entre empleados, mayor productividad debido a la implantación del trabajo por objetivos, menor coste por producción, así como menor infraestructura necesaria. Los índices de absentismo laboral se reducen considerablemente, de igual forma provoca la implementación de las Nuevas Tecnologías de la información, ya que la empresa que contrata “Teletrabajadores” está obligada a disponer de equipos adecuados para poder realizar un trabajo ágil y por ultimo reducción de costos: la creación de un puesto de Teletrabajo resulta un 50% más barato que un puesto presencial.

Sin embargo auque los beneficios son cuantiosos, esta actividad tiene ciertas desventajas inherentes que no se pueden obviar, en términos generales los menoscabos para el empleado son principalmente inseguridad laboral, ya que puede hacer más frecuente un despido por la falta de contacto directo, falta de ambiente laboral, puede provocar el sedentarismo y crea un sentimiento de poca valoración o aprecio por parte del empleado. De igual manera la entidad se ve afectada ya que hay un punto de rendimiento decreciente empleando a teletrabajadores, donde el coste de un control de calidad es mayor que el valor que esos teletrabajadores aportan, ya que la supervisión del trabajador desde casa es menor, suele haber pérdida de jerarquías y el aislamiento físico produce una menor socialización y participación del trabajador en la empresa.

Este año en nuestro país se ha tocado mucho el tema del teletrabajo, motivados por varios factores, varias empresas privadas y un gran sector de entes públicos han adoptado planes piloto en materia de Trabajo en red. Elementos como el aumento en el coste de la factura petrolera, un ineficiente sistema de transporte público, el caos vial que se vive en horas pico, así como la inseguridad en las calles y como si fuera poco la restricción vehicular implantada hace poco tiempo, han impulsado al gobierno a promover esta modalidad entre los funcionarios del sector público.

Desde noviembre del 2007 el Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) trabajo en la implementación de un plan piloto de teletrabajo y una modalidad de funciones por el logro de objetivos, como motivo principal se señala que ya no es tanta la necesidad de contar físicamente con los empleados, si de igual forma se pueden lograr las metas y a la vez hacer una reducción en los costos. Lo que se busca es un balance entre su vida personal y su vida profesional. Lo que se requiere es un cambio cultural y se piensa que los empleados del sector público los pueden asimilar de buena forma, de igual forma el Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) se promulgo al respecto e indico que si algún Teletrabajador sufre un accidente, el seguro lo cubre siempre y cuando haya ocurrido en horario laboral.

De igual forma en el Banco Nacional se esta llevando a cabo un Plan Piloto que cuenta con 50 funcionarios, y en la Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) ya se hecho a andar una propuesta similar con 18 empleados. Para el próximo año varias entidades públicas programaran funciones con teletrabajo por ejemplo, la Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (CNFL), RACSA, PROCOMER y RECOPE entre otros.

En el sector privado empresas como Cisco Sistema, Intel y HP emplean esta modalidad, lo que le ha dado como resultado una reducción el los gastos y un aumento en la productividad. Personeros de estas entidades señalan que lo que hace la diferencia es la plataforma tecnológica que se tenga a disposición.

Lo mas curioso del Teletrabajo es que puede convertirse en un arma de doble filo...

Bibliografía

http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2007/noviembre/14/opinion1315043.html

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletrabajo

http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2008/agosto/17/opinion1662972.html

http://www.wikilearning.com/articulo/que_es_el_teletrabajo-una_breve_historia/2696-2

www.galileo.it/.../concepto_de_teletrabajo.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlmpNGXyeFI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW3LIizRaII

As an official homeworker, my office is subject to exactly the same rules and regulations as one in an Hampshire County Council building, including risk assessments, PAT testing and so on.

More and more staff are now having a weekly 'work at home day', however managers can be cautious about homeworking and some view it as an opportunity to skive. They don't know what you're doing when they can't see you.

Anyway I am going back to my newspaper and cup of tea, sitting in the garden and enjoying the sunshine. I have my cordless phone so I can take any calls and I will send someone an email every 45 minutes just so you think I am busy working.

The pace and commitments of modern living have pitched our income stream against the things that we deem really important such as family, interests and friends.  In generations past where work was normally nearer to home and within the community in which you lived, there would be a natural link between your lives and where you made your money. Now of course, commuting is the name of the game and we are increasingly spending more time getting to far flung meetings and conferences than we do at the event itself!

Expectations of our bosses, colleagues friends and neighbours means that we have to keep chasing the next opportunity to increase our income to appear ‘successful’ and of course to service that creeping debt we always thought would be paid off in a few months.  So the choices we are making are often driven by the gain to progress and keep up rather than by what might fit in with who we are, what we enjoy doing and the sort of people we like to be around.

Of course it is not practical to change what we do and throw in that boring stressful job, of course we have bills to pay and a life to maintain, but isn’t it possible to make some changes to move towards welcoming work into your life and achieving a better balance?

It is possible to make small changes in how we do things to start to make work feel a part of your life rather than something that needs to be balanced with it. For example, working from home one day every couple of weeks may not seem significant but perhaps you could go the gym or pick up the kids with the hours you save travelling on that day.

It is not always possible in many jobs to work from home, and in situations such as retail or call centres it maybe a case of exploring ways to work flexible hours or you may be able to find more creative work patterns where business needs allow.

Feeling like work and life are working together reduces the feelings of tension and guilt and allows us to be more present and happy in both.  Small changes to the way we commute, the patterns we work and over time aligning what we do with what we are passionate about can slowly create the sense of balance that we are encouraged to find.

1,000 track, signal and train maintenance staff working for Tube Lines were due to walk out. Tube Lines is responsible for running the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee lines.

Drat, there goes that "working from home" stint to watch the Olympics on TV...

They’re focussed, they have no distractions or clutter, they practice, and they have the very best equipment. Headhunters should apply Olympic standards to their industry.

Who needs expensive office space that takes time to maintain and organise?

Who needs swish furniture that looks good but adds no real value?

Why have expensive administration, when it can be run off a laptop on some simple proprietary software?

This is where I work:

It’s warm. It has power, an internet connection and a phone. I can contact the world, build networks, then get out to meet customers and candidates on their territory.

It keeps my costs to a minimum, which I can pass on in my fees and it’s easy to run. One lick of paint every 2 years – job done.

This keeps me lean and fast for my clients benefit, and keeps my life simple for the more important distractions in my life:

Written by Martin Ellis me@samheadhunting.com

Dunia bisnis saat ini dan masa mendatang tak akan pernah lepas dari genggaman internet. Internet akan menjadi kunci dan solusi bagi semua kebutuhan bisnis. Akses yang luas menjangkau seluruh dunia dan kecepatan yang cuma dalam hitungan detik menjadi kekuatan yang hanya bisa diberikan internet. Tak ada media lain yang mampu menandingi kehebatan internet.

Tak percaya? Mari kita simak hasil penelitian di Amerika Serikat beberapa tahun lalu yang menggambarkan sebagian kecil kehebatan internet. Penelitian itu mengatakan radio butuh waktu 40 tahun untuk menjaring 10 juta pendengar. Televisi butuh waktu 15 tahun untuk menjaring 10 juta pemirsa. Dan tahukah anda berapa waktu yang dibutuhkan Netscape untuk meraih 10 juta pengguna? Hanya butuh waktu 3 tahun. Bahkan Hotmail dan Napster kurang dari setahun sudah bisa mencapai jumlah yang sama.

Itu baru sebagian kecil kehebatan internet dalam hal kecepatan penetrasi pasar. Kehebatan lainnya tak terhitung sudah berapa banyak orang yang bisa kaya mendadak gara-gara internet. Sekadar sebut seperti Robert Allen, Ewen Chia, dan Terry Dean. Setiap tahun mereka bisa mendapat jutaan dollar dari bisnis internet.

Di Indonesia? Juga sudah banyak yang mengalami nasib serupa. sebut saja Joko Susilo dan Anne Ahira

Maka, tidak heran kalau kini internet memegang peranan luar biasa penting. Sebuah perusahaan bisa dianggap tak bonafit bila ketika dicari di search engine namanya tak muncul. Begitupun popularitas seseorang bisa diukur dari tingkat keterkenalannya di internet. Mau adu terkenal dengan teman anda? Coba masukkan nama anda dan teman anda di search engine, lalu bandingkan hasilnya.

Peran penting internet ini sudah diakui semua orang. Maka tak heran pula kalau Geocities bisa terjual dengan harga lebih dari $2 miliar walaupun pendapatan sebelumnya nyaris nol. Microsoft pun berani menawar Yahoo! dengan harga gila-gilaan. Dan Yahoo! pun berani dengan tegas menolaknya. Siapa yang sudi melakukan semua itu kalau memang internet bukan ladang bisnis yang menggiurkan?

Keputusan sepenuhnya ada pada diri anda. Kesuksesan seperti di atas bisa saja menimpa anda. Atau kalau anda mau tetap hidup seperti sekarang pun juga tak apa. Tapi bila anda memilih untuk memperbaiki hidup anda, bisnis internet adalah jalan terbaik yang layak anda coba. Resiko kecil dengan potensi penghasilan tanpa batas ditawarkan bisnis internet!

Siapa yang menguasai pertempuran di dunia internet, maka ia akan memenangkan persaingan bisnis. Namuan bagaimana caranya?

1. Miliki web atau blog yang memajang produk atau bisnis anda. Dengan begitu, seluruh dunia bisa tahu dengan bisnis anda. Situs web atau blog memungkinkan anda membangun jaringan bisnis di seantero jagad.

Untuk membuat situs web atau blog pun biayanya tak mahal. Paling hanya sekitar Rp 500 ribu untuk membeli domain () dan hosting untuk jangka waktu satu tahun. Dengan biaya itu, anda sudah bisa memajang produk-produk anda selama 24 jam penuh, tanpa perlu anda tunggui seperti kalau punya toko. Dan, bahkan kalau saya amati dari waktu ke waktu biaya hosting dan domain itu makin murah dibanding di zaman dulu.

Menggunakan internet adalah langkah besar dalam memulai bisnis anda. Anda boleh saja ragu, tapi anda akan tercengang melihat hasilnya. Anda akan terkejut berapa banyak klien dan calon konsumen yang mampir ke situs web/blog anda, baik untuk melihat-lihat atau sekedar bertukar pengalaman berbisnis.

Bukan hanya itu, calon pelanggan anda juga bisa mempelajari produk anda dengan lebih cermat. Mereka berkesempatan tahu tentang produk anda, harganya, dan keunggulan-keunggulan produk anda. Kalau tak punya situs web/blog, tak terbayangkan dan pasti melelahkan bukan kalau anda harus menjelaskan semua hal tadi kepada setiap orang yang menanyakan produk anda.

2. beriklan. Beriklan di internet terhitung sangat murah dibanding media bukan internet. Apalagi dengan jangkauan yang mampu mencapai seluruh dunia serta tingkat efektivitasnya, beriklan di internet sangat hemat biaya.

Dengan beriklan, anda bisa memperbesar aliran pengunjung yang datang ke situs web atau blog anda. Ini penting untuk meningkatkan tingkat penjualan produk anda. Masih bingung? Logika sederhananya begini. Semakin banyak pengunjung, maka peluang larisnya produk anda juga makin besar. Misalnya dari 100 pengunjung, hanya satu orang yang tertarik membeli. Dengan beriklan, anda akan bisa melipatgandakan jumlah pengunjung yang datang.

Coba bayangkan berapa banyak dana yang anda butuhkan kalau anda menggunakan media konvensional. Beriklan di televisi nasional dengan durasi sekitar 30 detik membutuhkan sekitar Rp 10 juta. Beriklan sekali satu halaman penuh di koran nasional bisa mencapai Rp 500 juta. Di internet, anda bisa melakukannya jauh lebih hemat dengan efek yang jauh lebih dahsyat.

Tak terbantahkan, internet kini menjadi pilihan paling tepat. Punya produk apapun, coba bayangkan andai anda memiliki pembeli dari seluruh dunia. Produk anda laris manis jauh melebihi kacang goreng. Satu-satunya media yang bisa melakukannya hanyalah internet.

Kalau anda sebagai pelanggan pun, rasanya anda juga akan lebih senang memakai internet untuk mencari produk yang dibutuhkan. Mana yang lebih mudah dilakukan, bertanya pada penjaga toko atau mencari sendiri produk yang dibutuhkan dan mengumpulkan semua informasinya? Saya kira jawabannya pasti melakukannya dengan internet!

Yang jelas, tidak pernah ada kata terlambat untuk memulainya. Kata terlambat hanya berlaku bagi mereka yang menyerah dan takluk pada nasib…

Mari beraksi dan mulai berbisnis internet!

London, UK - 1st July 2008 – Top-30 law firm Shoosmiths today acclaimed BigHand’s digital dictation software as having a profound impact on flexible working practices across the organisation, enabling lawyers and secretarial staff to collaborate seamlessly while on the move or at home, maximising efficiency and improving client service. The voice productivity solution allows users to dictate from many different locations and send dictations outlining document content and tasks as secure files using an intelligent workflow system.

Partner and head of the national finance team at Shoosmiths, Sean Wright, estimates that the solution has saved him up to 4 hours per week, totalling over 150 hours per year, because he can use the system while travelling between six regional offices and working from home. The workflow system has helped both lawyers and secretaries to be more efficient through BigHand’s easy-to-use interface.

Sean Wright comments: “The BigHand system is giving us significant commercial benefit by enabling us to communicate with our personal assistants instantly, wherever we are. Whether drafting memos, client correspondence or billing notes, working on general admin or carrying out management tasks, they all appear in our secretary’s BigHand work in progress dashboard instantly allowing them to start work straight away. Even before we finish passing work to secretaries via BigHand, finished documents can be simultaneously arriving in our inboxes. We can now dedicate the extra time that we save to business development, client relations or simply to maintain a healthy work life balance. Over the course of a year those time savings add up and naturally I would expect there is an accumulative impact on profitability.”

Jeanette Elderfield, personal assistant to Sean Wright at the firm, explains: “As a department head, Sean’s workload is large and varied, and he can be working any time of the day or night. Rather than experience a major peak of work after he returns to the office, his work filters through immediately regardless of where he is at any particular moment, removing any time delay. Since the dictations arrive in regular intervals, the secretaries can stay on top of workloads more easily especially as many also support other fee earners. The solution enables us to better manage our time and clients are getting the most responsive service possible.”

Shoosmiths has over 350 BigHand Digital Dictation users across offices in Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Nottingham, Reading and Solent.

- ENDS -

And what is interesting about this is that it basically says the same as the the gurus of wealth creation, Rich Dad, Poor Dad about poor struggling young first time buyers, ie sort out your financial independence FIRST and then buy property - don't expect everything to be handed to you on plate and stop whinging if you are daft and it all goes South.

We couldn't afford it either, and neither could your grandparents, but we managed - either badly or well, but we managed, and during tougher financial times as well. You can too if you give up the drink, the toys and the gadgets and simply concentrate on finding solutions (like starting a second job from home... lol!).

Wouldn't go so far as to say send your children to work in a Primark factory, but when needs must and all that :)

I mean, no one seriously thinks those children are working in those factories RATHER than going to school or working elsewhere for more money do they? If they are it's because that's the best option for them and their families, which then leads to the uncomfortable question of what happens when the contracts dry up from Primark et al...? Where do those children turn to then to earn money for the family pot...? Prostitution? Crippling themselves to beg?

OK, 60p a day isn't much, and no kids should have to go to work, and yes we have to care, and do care, that the environment they are working in is less than good, BUT presumable the other options for their families are worse, and that's where we will have pitched them by getting all self righteous and holier-than-thou to poor old Primark.

And what about Mrs UK Average and her kids, the ones she's raising on a shoe string? If Primark can't supply what she needs on a budget, is she just to shrug and feel all green and smug and go spend her last pennies at M&S like these short-sighted middle class do-gooder protesters who can't follow an action through the end consequences or seeing that their world view isn't necessarily the right or only one?

And on that note, I have been seriously discussing first time businesses with my girls, ages 12 and 10. They have to earn their pocket money, it doesn't come as a given, because that's how it is in the real world, and I want them to be financially free by the time they are in their 20s.

Felice (age 10) is determined to do something about animals, perhaps write a guide or ebook about dog care or having a puppy (since she is pretty experienced now!), and has put a postcard advertising her services as dog walker locally, and started her very first blog "The Latest Sniff", which we will incorporate in the new revamped Funky Angel if she sticks with it ;)

Cecily wants to do something "random" online for her peers, details yet to be confirmed, and is interested in doing a mayhem radio show or perhaps interviewing people she admires, such as J K Rowling. I can't see where the money is in that, but knowing Cecily she'll already have a biz plan and niche market already mapped out in her beautiful head, so we wait with interest...

But what I do know is that I will be getting 'Cashflow for Kids' for them for their birthdays next month. No middle classs daftness about buying doodahs on debt for my kids, thank you very much! The ubiquitous Jones' can go their own sweet way as far as I am concerned - a healthy credit balance on the bank statement and no debt to trip you over is much more desirable than any amount of race horse shares, fast cars, and kids at private schools, and I don't care if that means a kitchen garden, canal or road kill, frugal gourmet in the kitchen, and shopping at Lidl and Primark!

They are privileged, we all are in this country, and the best way to give thanks for that is to make the most of what you have and not abuse it.

Here endeth the lesson. Amen ;)

I had been avoiding the papers and the news because I couldn't deal with the general gloom and doom, and was of the opinion that if anything was going to trigger a Second Depression it was the spinmongering of the media preying on people's fears... And it really seems to be working on most people as I have seen a 50% rise in queries through Funky Angel in the last month alone! That's a lot of people looking for other options!

I personally think (but then I would, wouldn't I?) that working from home is the best and most cost effective option for families, and the work/life balance coaching that I have done for years has gradually shifted recently to take in to account people wanting assistance setting up their home businesses, not just the support to do make that change.

Have to say it's hugely satisfying, and something I look forward to doing much more of in the future ie on Thursday!! Why Thursday, particularly? Well, it Thursday is one of my usual days for mentoring, so obviously it's a day I look forward to, but this one is slightly different as I am mentoring a home working design team in how to set up an internet profile on a shoestring. They have a nice little business but no website presence, which is different from my usual client, and so I was delighted when they agreed to let me showcase them!

Watch this space!

New guidance in HMRC manuals, published on their website contain examples of the level and nature of home expenses that can be claimed. There are two areas of particular interest:

Specific expenses and mixed use of premises, and they've even given some useful examples!

A new element is term 'fixed costs' and includes mortgage interest, council tax and home insurance, and for the first time HMRC are content to allow a proportion of these costs to be claimed against the income of your business if certain criteria are met, such as:

• The area of your home is used exclusively for business purposes for a prescribed amount of time - say, 9am to 3pm, which basically means that if you sit at the kitchen table working you won't qualify for the additional deductions. Personally I think that is all to the good anyway, as you'll know if you have already read my discussion of your home office, since perching at the kitchen table or on the sofa with your laptop will play havoc with your back! And psychologically it is much better, anyway, to have a separate office space, and it seems that the lovely taxman has recognised that and is looking for is an area that has the appearance of a home office ie it contains a desk, computer, chair, and storage etc etc.
• The amount you claim has to be reasonable in relation to your business - so you can't claim that you work 20 hours a day in the office (however much it might feel that way sometimes when you're in the middle of a rush!. Additionally, the area used is the main proportion of the living area of your home - we're talking 5-15% of the total living space, on average, here.

Apart from these two provisos, you will now be able to claim a percentage of the total cost of running the home. Which is news to celebrate over, perhaps mostly because it is a firm indication that the powers that be are getting behind the WAH trend in the UK and beginning to try and help!

So get the champagne out (you know me, any excuse!) and let's raise a toast to the new era of working from home within our communities around our families!

NOTE: For further information see HMRC's manual at BIM47825

A serial entrepreneur herself, Emma has now written a book on home working called “Spare Room Start Up” shown here.

I was pleased to attend the launch of the book myself last week. Emma has gracefully extended a special discount of £10 to all PeoplePerHour Providers (some of which are in fact featured as case studies in her book!!).

Even if you know everything about home working, Emma’s book is bound to help you in some way, be it winning more business, saving cost, making more effectrive use of technology in your work or – often neglected – achieving a better work-life balance.

To take advantage of this offer email us on  and write “BOOK OFFER” in the title of the message.

He also comments don't bother showing up if you're just going to sit quietly.  He’s right - space is expensive.  Home working is cheaper.

So if you are a knowledge worker like us Planners and are planning on showing up to work at the actual office when most of the point of being there is to be doing lots of collaborative, creative stuff with your colleagues – why do most agency offices mainly consist of a sea of desks?

I don’t think that introducing hotdesking to make room for more sofas and beanbags is the answer.  On friend who has tried it describes it as ‘lukewarm desking’ when everyone ended up sitting at the same place day after day and latecomers got the dodgy desk near the photocopier.

My place are quite good about encouraging us to work from home if we need some peace and quiet (we’re so rammed in here that the latest space saving idea is - smaller desks) but we haven’t quite cracked the space-to-work-together challenge yet.

It comes back to Creative Spaces – the function of an office should be about engendering co-operation and creative thinking.  Not the soundtrack of laptops being attacked in a two finger gallop.

Photo (apparently of Yahoo’s London office) by cackhanded on flickr

Chicago (IL) USA - 12 May, 2008 -- Workwhistle.com, the free work-at-home jobs network, today marked the UK's National Work at Home Day by launching an instant jobsite, a work-at-home job trends page and by listing useful products to help employees build a home-based, online income.

Reports estimate that approaching five million workers across the United Kingdom are planning to "make their home the office" on May 15th in honor of National Work from Home Day. New research from the UK's TUC has recently shown an increase of 600,000 in the number of home-based employees in the UK during the past 10 years. Approximately 3.5 million people currently work from home in the UK, according to the TUC figures, making up 12.2 per cent of the working-age population.

While many people are simply working from home on this particular day as part of the initiative, many dream of making it a full time habit. But building a home based income, teleworking career or online business from home can be tough and revenue or pay does not flow immediately. In order to help workers find permanent work at home more easily, Workwhistle.com lists a range of free products, discounts or tools that may be useful for work from home professionals.

An advertising driven resource, potential home workers can join the Workwhistle.com work at home online community for no charge. The jobsite & networking portal set out to build a work at home network that would benefit both those looking to work at home and employers who could find cost effective resourcing solutions by recruiting home-based staff. Unlike most work from home sites it is free for those who register, and matches home workers against employers with a similar profile who register.

-ENDS-

------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.workwhistle.com - the work at home jobs network

For more information email: home@workwhistle.com

The Workwhistle home working network was conceived in order to confront a scam filled sector - the work-at-home industry - where many home based jobs are actually bogus schemes designed to take your fee or initial investment. But many thousands of people a day search for 'work at home' or 'work from home' and many regular, hard working people would like to discover a legitimate home business or home income stream; especially as the rise of faster broadband connections and Web 2.0 tools have opened up telecommuting and from-home networking like never before. The National Work at Home Survey has been set up to try to record and publish, openly, what hard working Americans have discovered about seeking, finding and then actually earning from 'work at home'. Is it actually possible to build a work at home career?

Work from home job seekers are invited to fill out 10 quick, anonymous questions to help us share the real picture of work from home job seekers across the US & Canada by visiting the National Work at Home Survey

The Workwhistle work at home network includes a regular news feed of recent work at home related articles, work at home job listings, useful home working links, and a forum for potential home-based workers to discuss issues or obtain advice from others with telecommuting experience. Job seekers looking for work at home via Workwhistle should visit Work at home jobs. Employers with work at home vacancies should visit Work at Home Job Posting to post their vacancy on the Workwhistle site.

-ENDS-

For further information contact: home@workwhistle.com

-----------------------------------------------------------

http://www.workwhistle.com - the work at home network

I never quite planned my working life this way – it’s the way things panned out.  And, of course, there is a significant difference between running your own business from home, and ‘being employed to work from home’.  But the whole experience is not as dysfunctional as it may seem.

The Upsides…

There’s the potential to work for whom you want, when you want, in any country in the world.  All you need is an internet connection, a computer and a client – or an inspired employer who trusts you.

Most days, you avoid traffic jams.  I drive contra-traffic when I drive my son to school in the morning.  I drive my son to school and talk – get it?   You get to see your child’s face when he rushes in from school.  You get to see your child’s face, period. 

Most of the time, you can set external meetings after rush hour.  It also helps clients – they’ve had time for their morning coffees, briefings, and rants at subordinates. 

There are fewer distractions than in an office.  You only have to manage yourself. 

If you do the kind of work I do, management consultancy – you are also more effective as an informed outsider.  You have no hidden agenda, and you’re not climbing some greasy, career ladder. 

You get freedom from superiors and company reporting lines.  There’s no office politics.  Sure, you’re still serving somebody, but the relationship with a client is inevitably different to one with someone who thinks they own your life.  There is a chance to work with some dignity.

You don’t have to wait for some prescribed timeframe or adjust to some pay structure in order to be eligible for a pay raise. The quality of your work will determine your income.  By working hard and smart, you have unlimited earnings potential.   (Note:   it’s ‘potential’.  Earnings do not just get delivered to you on a plate).

You get to listen to Women’s Hour on BBC Radio 4.  Trust me, women are more knowledgeable and articulate than men.  Including on what’s wrong with men.

…and Downsides

Inevitably you can get lonely and isolated.  Silence cannot be filled by chats by the coffee machine.  No more conversations with fellow staff round the water-cooler.    

You never stop working.  Weekends morph into workdays.  A day’s work is as long as it takes.

No more club class flights, perks, company pensions and insurance, robbing of the company stationery cupboard, company team bonding or working for the common cause. 

No office parties.  No status.

No corporate, capitalist, money-making machine to help you.  You have to provide value and quality, otherwise you’re toast.  You are your own brand.  You cannot hide behind somebody else’s badge.  You are as good as your last piece of work.

In a trade off between creativity (pleasing yourself) and pleasing your clients, it’s a no-brainer as to what wins.  You know which one pays the bills.

There is a way of flourishing, on your own, at home

A routine is essential.  Make one.  I’m always at my desk by 9am.  I try and get to bed by 1am.  My Saturday mornings are for my son.

Have a list of things to get done for the day.  I use an online tool called ‘Remember the Milk’.

Locate the office in a different part of the house.  It has to be your territory, and nobody else’s.  It has to be a ‘no-go’ zone for others.  Get a decent office chair.

Don’t stay unshaved; do have a shower, have a proper breakfast, and ‘get dressed’ for work. 

Walk round the room, and take breaks during the day.  I sometimes go to a coffee shop with my laptop for an hour and can still work uninterrupted.  Stretch.

Read blogs.  Join forums of like-minded people.  Reading feeds is “research”.  Facebook is “networking”.  StumbleUpon is for “inspiration”.  Just network.

Switch to herbal tea.  Resist the temptation to go down to the Pavoni for another cappuccino.   Watch the snacking.

Do the routine stuff when uninspired and the creative stuff on the tide of creativity.  I work better at nights.  I try and have a meeting with someone on Monday morning.

Occasionally, remember to clear the heaps in the room.  If you have a TV in your office, like I do, only switch it on when you want to watch something.

Have an ‘email-free’ couple of hours during the day to get some work done.  Go ‘invisible’ on Skype.

Find a mentor.  Yes, you rise or fall by your own decisions, but don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion from someone you trust. 

Plan your vacations.  And take them.  Don’t spend or invest more than you can afford.

No matter what your business is, you will still need to sell.  Most times, you’re selling yourself.  True “selling” means helping people meet their needs.  Focus on meeting your clients’ needs and you will sell a lot.

Try it before giving up the day job.  The way I work would drive many people up the wall.  Ask yourself if you like your own company.  How self reliant are you? If a job goes pear shaped, there's no-one else to turn to. 

Live with someone who understands.

Have blind faith in your own capabilities.  You will have good times and bad times.  The work will come.  You are stronger than you think.   

However, for those that have the self discipline and motivation to work from home – it is a great opportunity – it helps you address the work life balance, cuts commuting costs to zero and maybe, just maybe means that you work more too…

With no traffic jams, snow drifts, leaves on rail tracks and limited office gossip – it is a win:win situation for employers and employees that can make it work.

To this end, for those of you wanting to do SEO by the sea, in your bed, in your pyjamas or even whilst wearing your wife’s (or husbands) clothes , here are two great opportunities for you to consider:

SEO Assistant – UK – Work from home

SEO Sales Executive/Manager – UK – Work from home

Good luck!