Telecommuting

With telecommuting, work for an employer or client can be performed from home. The term is therefore often used synonymous with teleworking. Depending on the working model, parts of or the entire job can be performed remotely. Working typically at a minimum requires a phone and a computer with an online connection to the company. The company's benefit in telecommuting is having to provide less office space. For the employee it eliminates the time commuting to and from work. It further allows people to better balance work and their personal life including child care. Telecommuting is often used in fields such as software development, telecommunications and other IT-based jobs.

Different forms of working in telecommuting

There are different types of telecommuting based on the type of work. Jobs where employees perform all duties from home are relatively rare. In this case the company does not provide the employee with a desk. The most common form of working from home is alternating work. Here the employee alternates between telecommuting and working at the company, and also has a desk at the office. With mobile telecommuting, work is performed on the road, from changing locations, not from home. This form is typical for field staff such as agents or customer service representatives.

Telecommuting equipment and connecting to the company headquarters

In addition to office furniture such as a desk, office chair and file cabinet, the telecommuting employee especially needs IT equipment to communicate and exchange data with the company. A phone and PC with internet access are therefore part of the basic equipment. The connection to the company network is often established via encrypted VPN connections to protect confidential company data. Using a cloud telephone system is very popular. This allows the telephone to be fully integrated in the company's communications environment and only requires an internet connection for telecommuting.

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