Telecommuting Jobs

What are telecommuting jobs?

If you have been looking for a way to earn money from home, you may have come across the term “telecommuting”. By definition, telecommuting is working at home while communicating with your employer by phone, fax or computer.

Telecommuting isn’t new, but thanks to the advancements in computers and high speed internet connections; more companies are offering telecommuting as an option to their employees. As a telecommuter, you may split your work time between your employer’s location and a home office, or work entirely from a home office.

If you are not familiar with telecommuting, you may be surprised to find that this type of employment even exists. Here are some interesting statistics:

ITAC found 28 million people teleworked in 2001 including from home, satellite or mobile office.
Employers offering telecommuting increased 22% in 2004 (Lori Rosen, CCH workplace analyst, HR Networking: Work-Life Benefits)
51% of North American Companies allow some from of home-based work (William Olsten Center for Workforce Strategies).
Many types of people can benefit from telecommuting. It can be a great option for parents or people taking care of another family member; those that need a flexible schedule; as well as people who live in rural areas or have long commutes.

Some of the benefits of being a telecommuter are:

Working from home, telecommuters can work around their family’s schedule, allowing for more balance and less stress in their lives.
Telecommuting enables people to save money on items such as transportation and child care .
Telecommuting allows people who may not otherwise be able to work outside the home a way to contribute to their families’ incomes .

Telecommuting can be a win-win situation, for both the employee and employer. Employers that offer these types positions reap many benefits, including:

Telecommuters can get more work done: From 1999 to 2000, for example, teleworkers said their productive time increased about 30 minutes, to a little more than 7 1/2 hours in an 8 hour day, while office productivity remained unchanged at 6 hours a day. (ATT Telework)
Employees who telework can save their employers $10,000 each in reduced absenteeism and job retention costs.

Almost any position can be adapted into a telecommuting position. Some of the more popular types of telecommuting work include customer service, data entry, transcription, web design, and administrative positions.

Next: What skills are needed to telecommute

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