2.3. Telecommuting

Telecommuting, e-commuting, e-work, telework, working from home (WFH), or working at home (WAH) is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links. Many work from home, while others, occasionally also referred to as nomad workers or web commuters utilize mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or myriad other locations. Telework is a broader term, referring to substituting telecommunications for any form of work-related travel, thereby eliminating the distance restrictions of telecommuting. All telecommuters are teleworkers but not all teleworkers are telecommuters. A frequently repeated motto is that "work is something you do, not something you travel to”. A successful telecommuting program requires a management style which is based on results and not on close scrutiny of individual employees. This is referred to as management by objectives as opposed to management by observation. The terms telecommuting and telework were coined by Jack Nilles in 1973.

All of the electronic links among the people in a modern office can be extended beyond the building walls to workers at home or in satellite offices. This capability has led to a sharp increase in telecommuting. In 1991 an estimated 5.5 million U.S. workers worked at least part of the time outside the main office, a 38 percent increase over 1990. Managers and professional employees were the major participants in this trend. Early reports of increased productivity among people who no longer spent hours traveling from home to office indicated that further increases in telecommuting were likely.