Do you think more (and more) jobs will be home based in the future?
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M$17 Answers
The company overhead is a lot lower. Buildings cost money, and air conditioning costs money and web bandwidth and all those other little things cost money.
It isn't entirely clear employees are more productive at work, as any oversight by bosses is countered by lots of wasted time talking and so on. And, the propensity to throw a three hour meeting is much lower.
An employee can save on average an hour and a half of his day (life) by not commuting. This time can be put to productive use or may be used spending time with his family or whatever he wants. Also, the reduced stress of not having to commute will certainly lead to lower overall job stress.
I actually work (day job) at a company that does this. I get to set my own hours, which is why I'm up so late online, and I get to use my own equipment and I get great latitude in how I work. My employer periodically throws an all-hands meeting at a local restaurant. We have a PBX that allows us to have SIP-based telephones in our homes that have our 'extension'. There's an office with a receptionist and a couple of conference rooms and the server farm.
Since starting work at home, I have managed to quit a three hour a day commute habit, seen my insurance cost go down dramatically on my cars (one car is parked and off the road, the other hardly driven), seen my fuel budget get cut to less than 10% of what it was, and seen my overall productivity rise dramatically. Also, I am 'on call' at any time day or night because the equipment I need to do my job is literally sitting in my pantry.
Despite the fact that I paid for it, I still come out ahead because the money I spent on it is less than the cost of commuting, especially when you add in eating out every day for lunch. Also, in my job, I get to keep all my equipment, since I bought it. I have built myself a seriously powerful linux server as a result.
I have to say that working from home as an IT professional, or, indeed, as any information worker, is certainly the wave of the future.
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M$Look at my three businesses:
1996: Silicon Alley Reporter
Inhouse staff: 70
Freelance writers: 20
% of work done inhouse 90%
% of work done by freelancers 10%
2004: Weblogs, Inc. (engadget, joystiq, etc).
Inhouse staff: 0
Freelance full-time from home: five
freelance writers: 400 bloggers (at time of sale to AOL)
% of work done inhouse 10%
% of work done by freelancers 90%
2008: Mahalo
Inhouse staff: 27 (or so)
Freelance full-time/halftime from home: 35
freelance researchers/writers: ???? we will see with Mahalo Answers... i think thousands in year
% of work done inhouse 50%
% of work done by freelancers 50%
There are many reasons for this trend including:
a) Broadband
b) Knowledge work (i.e. writing, coding, etc) doesn't require being in an office
c) People like working from home
d) cost saving in terms of rent (we would have 3x the rent if we had everyone at Mahalo)
e) flexibility for employer
f) healthcare making f/t employement 20-30% more expensive than using freelancers.
Inhouse editors at a newspaper or Mahalo making $35k would cost $25 an hour all in. Working from home the same level of quality can be obtained for $8-12 an hour (in my experience).
In some ways this is a great trend (people can stay home), in others it is a real problem (people working without benefits).
Additionally, there is another trend to that dovetails with this: the global work force. Mahalo Answers can support people from around the world. I'm sure many people on Answers are NOT in the USA, and many live in countries where the cost of living is 1/4 to 1/2 of what it is in the USA.
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M$
The last point on the global workforce is one I am particularly interested in. With many employers moving operations abroad, this opportunity is now available from the U.S., without the need for costly relocations. In addition, it provides people a lot more financial freedom than may first be apparent, even within the country. For those who are blessed to live in societies that are peaceful, where a little money goes a long way, this is a huge opportunity to enrich themselves, and all of us through their participation.
At the same time, employees with laptops and occupations that can be performed from home are offered the opportunity to work from home. This relieves the cost of leasing office space and any applicable parking/transportation fees associated with commuting to work.
Meanwhile, many corporations will migrate their existing PBX communication systems with VOIP based communication systems. This will provide the communication infrastructure for organizations that permit their employees to work away from the office at reduced costs.
This may be transparent to some, but many are already working from home and have been for the past 1-2 years or more. This trend will eventually spread to other corporations and companies seeking to remain competitive in the marketplace.
Although this can lead to many empty buildings in the financial district, very few will still continue to remain occupied in key areas to serve as satellite offices or reserved for contingencies and emergencies.
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M$
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M$1) Flexibility like this makes it easier to attract talent.
2) Talent is willing to take somewhat lower pay when they don't have to spend time and money commuting
3) Technology advances mean that people working from home can accomplish the same, if not more, than what office workers accomplish
4) It's good for the environment :)
That said, I don't think it will replace "office work". There are definitely roles and types of work that are better candidates for this kind of "nearshoring".
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M$The home office will be prevalent in the future with many people turning spare bedrooms into offices or studies to have the quiet workspace.
It really is a question of whether the businesses are pushing people toward the home via cost savings as employees or as laid off workers. My understanding is that when layoffs are high this is the most likely time for people to try their hand at starting their own businesses. We may see a lot more small businesses start up as a result of the economy.
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M$Some workers just can't handle the distractions, and some jobs can't be moved into a home. For these reasons I don't think more jobs will ultimately end up being home based.
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M$
Your schedule sounds great!
This is a very good point that I've noticed. Some folks are not disciplined enough to work from home, others can't drag themselves into an office.
different strokes i suppose.
I work from home until 11/12, got to staff and lunch and work until 8/9pm. that's my style
me,myself and i
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M$
Social contact is a big part of the working mentality but as more and more people are embracing online social interaction as a reasonable substitute, I think you will see more people wanting to try the home based alternatives.
But I'm not so much working towards home-based, more so boat-based... Roaming the coastline while still connecting and working remotely at whatever it is that will keep fuel in my tanks and food in my belly...
...arr, that be the life for me...
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M$
Especially if you are into consulting etc, then you cannot work from home.
Akash...
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M$
Tim Ferriss has a great book on the subject: _The Four Hour Work Week_
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M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
In the long run, 20 years, No. I think most home based jobs will turn into jobs which can be automated in the future. If the "home based job" market continues into the future (20+ years) then I think it will be more of a physical labor job instead of the computer-work based jobs which exist at the present time.
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M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$