The Pongo Blog
Celebrate National Work from Home Week Oct. 1-7, 2010
September 28, 2010 (1:26PM) by Julie O'Malley, CPRW
Friday marks the start of National Work from Home Week (Oct. 1-7, 2010). Although we think of working from home as a fairly recent phenomenon, it’s really nothing new. Heck, there was a time when almost everybody worked from home. They were called farmers.
Then along came the Industrial Revolution with its new machines, factories, and transportation options and suddenly commuting was a regular part of most people’s lives.
Fast-forward to the late 20th Century, when the revolution in information technology opened a whole new world of possibilities for working from home.
How can you celebrate National Work from Home Week? If you’re lucky enough to have a job (and a boss) that allows you to work from home—at least occasionally—the obvious answer is by working from home! And while you’re there, be sure to raise your morning coffee and offer a grateful toast to the co-founder and president of JALA International, Jack Nilles, who coined the terms telecommuting and telework in 1973.
Telework Is Not for Everyone
For some jobs, of course, working from home will never be an option. Pilots, doctors, miners, cashiers, professional athletes, dog walkers, school teachers, and many other jobs and industries depend on the worker being in a specific location at a specific time.
But for the rest of us—about 3 in 5 workers in the industrialized world, according to JALA—telework is an option that has benefits for employees and employers, alike. Wondering whether you're suited to a work-from-home scenario? Take this Telework Job Suitability Test.
If you’re a good candidate, and you’re hoping to negotiate a work-from-home arrangement, point out to your boss that your productivity will go up. Companies have measured increases in productivity between 10 and 35% among their employees who work remotely.
In addition, here are some not-so-obvious benefits that might help you persuade your employer.
A Telework Program Can:
- Support the business’s “green” goals (less gasoline since you're not driving to work)
- Build greater employee loyalty
- Allow continued productivity during pandemics (e.g., H1N1) or other disasters
- Lower turnover, relocation, hiring, and training costs
- Reduce office space requirements and parking lot costs
- Widen the talent pool (e.g., mobility-challenged workers, non-local experts).
If you think it’s realistic that you, your manager, and the organization can succesfully implement a work-from-home program, next week is the perfect time to bring it up!
What’s your take on working from home? What are the pros and cons in your opinion? Post a comment below!
RELATED LINKS
Gas Prices Breaking Your Budget? Try Telecommuting
How to Negotiate Better Work Hours
What's Most Important in Accepting a Job Offer?
I've been having trouble identifying what the "official" dates are for Work From Home Week - I've seen October 1-7 and 3-9. Can you tell me your source for 1-7 is? Is it the same every year? Is there an official listing somewhere? Thanks!
Posted by: Laura | October 04, 2010 at 12:20 PM | Quote This Comment
Hi Laura,
The sources we found via web search listed the dates as Oct. 1- 7, but I did a bit more Googling (search term: National Work From Home Week) and you're right, things get a bit cloudy as to the official dates.
What the heck -- let's make it National Work from Home Week-and-a-Half, and it can go from the 1st through the 9th!
Thanks for commenting.
Julie
Posted by: Julie O'Malley | October 04, 2010 at 5:06 PM | Quote This Comment
Thanks, Julie, for the reply! The 1st to the 7th is definitely easier to remember - but an extra couple days doesn't hurt either! :)
Posted by: Laura | October 04, 2010 at 11:25 PM | Quote This Comment
Some great points. It's true that working from home can increase productivity, I have experienced this first hand. I remember having constant distractions like people asking about the weekend, weather, sports, etc. These non-stop 'BS' conversations are time killers. Now I'm not saying don't be social, but there is a time and a place for it. Unfortunately you usually cannot repel these distractions at work all that easily. I now own my own business so I only travel to meet clients and go to seminars. So I can tell you, it sure beats the hell out of trekking into work every day!
Posted by: Tom Hawkin | October 07, 2010 at 3:26 PM | Quote This Comment
Thanks for commenting, Tom. Sounds like you have a great setup - home-based, but with frequent forays to the outside world.
--Julie
Posted by: Julie O'Malley | October 07, 2010 at 3:56 PM | Quote This Comment
Can you send me some information regarding home base work?
Posted by: Valarie Jackson | October 17, 2010 at 6:20 PM | Quote This Comment