Free Term Paper on Telecommuting

History
1877: The first telecommuter on documentation was a Boston bank president, who approved to have a phone line strung from his office to his home in Somerville, Massachusetts. No one identified it telecommuting back then. But it was smart business.
 

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1963: A programmer working on the Arpanet project (the precursor of the Internet) in Santa Monica, California, halfheartedly leaves from the project. His wife was restrained to bed; he desired to reside at home to heed for her. A member of the project team recommended putting in an extra phone line to the programmer's house, and letting him program from there by means of a teletype machine.

1973: The term "telecommuting" is invented in by Jack Nilles, a rocket scientist (really) working on NASA satellite communications projects in Los Angeles. Experiencing gridlock one time too many, Nilles decided to focus on moving work, not workers. He went on to develop into a telecommuting evangelist, writing more than a few books and backing up corporations in setting up telecommuting programs.

1978: Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina starts a "cottage keyer" project, showing 26% efficiency improvement over in-office counterparts.
1980: Mountain Bell started a telecommuting development for its managers and the U.S. Army launched a telecommuting pilot.

Guerrilla telecommuting increased legality as supervision saw that people functioning from home or from isolated locations were amongst the most prolific and faithful workers they had. Several telecommuting pilot projects were conducted, particularly in California. Telecommuting consultants started to hang out their shingles, proof that telecommuting was here to stay.

By 1990: Telecommuting projects are in progress in a number of companies and governmental agencies in the U.S. Telecommuting spreads to Europe, Australia and Asia.
By 2000: Most major U.S. corporations have noteworthy numbers of teleworkers.

The Pros and Cons of Telecommuting
All the time more, private and public organizations are approving telecommuting as a business policy. There is a diversity of causes: global rivalry, the need for 24-hour customer support, technical developments, workers' wish for amplified elasticity, and the requirement to decrease fixed cost.
 

Recruitment tool
Many companies employ telecommuting as a benefit to become a focus for and retain top talent. The Dallas Museum of Art searched far and extensive for the most excellent specialists on European art when it hired Dorothy Kosinski as curator, even though she continues to live in Basel, Switzerland. Long-distance relationships in addition, keep away from the costs of transfer, estimated at around $80,000 per employee. (James A. Martin, 1995)

Increased Productivity
Tele-workers and their managers account that workers get more done when out of the office. In an AT&T-sponsored survey in October 1995 of Fortune 1000 managers, 58% reported augmented worker productivity. The State of California's Telecommuting Pilot Program experienced efficiency increases of 10 to 30%.

Disaster Preparedness
Companies with teleworkers can continue going when disaster strikes -- weather related or else. Thousands of relocated workers in the Washington, DC and New York metropolitan areas are teleworking in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11. (Susan Oliver, 1994)
 

Environmental Benefits
If 10% of the nation's workforce telecommuted one day a week, the nation would keep away from the irritation of driving 24.4 million miles, they would breathe air with 12,963 tons less air pollution and they would protect more than 1.2 million gallons of fuel each week.
There are a few disadvantages as well. Telecommuting is not for everybody--isolation, procrastination, even boredom--get to some. For the reason that their office can be anyplace they park their movables, workaholics frequently discover it hard to end their day. Enticements such as neighbors who think work-at-homers aren't actually working; the enticement of household chores, and family interruptions can without any trouble weaken others.

Family Turf Problems
Telecommuting can from time to time conclude to family stress. Some teleworkers account that their spouse’s dislike leaving for work at this time that one partner is able to stay at home. Children can get puzzled too.

Water Cooler Withdrawal
Some miss the communal features of working with other people and networking by the water cooler to keep up-to-date.
 

Bibliography

Martin, James A., “Commuting Computing”, PC World Magazine, Dec. 1995.
Oliver, Susan. “Anticipating Tomorrow: Technology and the Future”. Published in Green & Guinery. 1994.