A few weeks ago we brought you the preliminary results of a Stanford University study into the benefits of telecommuting, suggesting that reluctant bosses might be persuaded on remote work after looking at the findings. Now, one of the authors presents the results via video. Read more »
Sky high gas bills, road rage, unpleasant body odors on packed subways: The many downsides of commuting already constitute a solid argument in favor of remote work. But a recent study offers another reason to trade in your train pass: Your commute is killing you. Read more »
The caffeine may be flowing and the atmosphere comfy at your local coffee shop, but working there isn’t without its annoyances, which is why WorkSnug set out to solicit ideas and develop a ‘Coffee Shop Code of Conduct.’ Now the results are out. Read more »
Work used to be a place. Increasingly, we can get stuff done from nearly anywhere. That’s changing how companies procure talent and workers build careers, but how fast are these changes are percolating through the economy? Today oDesk puts some numbers to the trend. Read more »
Luckily, when Cora Rodenbusch’s programmer husband caught a bad case of wanderlust, she found herself in a dream situation for a would-be digital nomad: employed by an open-minded purveyor of remote collaboration tools eager to drum up publicity and put its products to the test. Read more »
Tech sites present plenty of speculation on new tech and ways of working. Is this just the jabbering of pundits or is all of it making a difference on the ground? A conversation with Barry Frangipane, the co-author of The Venice Experiment, proves work is changing. Read more »
Web conferencing tools are a double-edged sword; you can connect with your team anywhere, but there’s no way to know if they’re listening intently or honing their doodling skills. Fear of distraction may be understandable but it’s also misplaced according to experts. Read more »
Usually, remote work involves plenty of communication and self-promotion with near strangers, but psychologists have good news for those who find this reality daunting – selling yourself to strangers is generally much more fun than we expect. And for reasons that will surprise you. Read more »
In a shift that’s analogous to the movement toward cloud computing, work is changing from a place to a network armed with collaboration tools, and this change raising questions about environmental impact. But are we underestimating the green benefits of new ways of working? Read more »
When we say remote work, we usually have one sense of the word in mind –distant from colleagues. But remote has another related meaning: rural. MacKenzie-Childs is remote in both senses. We spoke to the CEO about the benefits and challenges of remote, remote workers. Read more »
Several surveys have found people are willing to take a pay cut in order to have the flexibility to work remotely. Now, a new survey is confirming these findings –- but with a twist. Read more »
A recent study seems to indicate that remote workers commit fewer ethical violations than in-office workers. But why? Is it simply because there’s less opportunity when you don’t see your coworkers? Or, as some experts suggest, could trust be the key difference? Read more »
The traditional office space is in the midst of its most dramatic shift since it was rocked by the creation of
the cubicle more than 40 years ago. These new workspaces create fresh challenges for IT departments and technological demands from today’s workforce. Read more »
What lessons has Chuck Robbins, a senior VP running Cisco’s sales team for the Americas, learned from his experience at a company that was not only an early adopter of flexible working, but also builds a number of remote work solutions? Read more »
Having a healthy passion for work and life in balance can be a big productivity booster. But too often, that passion for work can veer too far into workaholic tendencies, especially for web workers. Here are a few tips to make sure your passion is productive. Read more »
Obviously, the answer to the question posed in the headline is, ideally, no — we’d all like to keep our salary steady when we commence virtual work. But if you had to take a pay cut to get it, how much would it be worth to you? Read more »
You’ve narrowed down the applicant pool for a role you’re hiring to two equally qualified candidates. One is a shy, diligent type with an impressively deep grasp of the relevant skills. The other is more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants type, extroverted and energetic. Whom do you hire? Read more »
Like a traditional first day on the job, your first few times at a coworking space can be stressful and full of questions. Who are these people? How am I supposed to act? How can you settle into a coworking space as easily as possible? Read more »
Think coworking spaces, and most of us will populate our mental picture with freelance designers and developers. But with the idea of remote work gaining traction as a legitimate business strategy for those who favor suits over piercings, is this picture of coworking space regulars accurate? Read more »
What’s the fastest way to get collaborators to invest themselves, or their time, in a new project? Whether they’re colleagues within your organization, outsourced or remote talent, customers and clients, or subject experts you’re connecting with, the answer is the same: ownership. Read more »
There’s plenty wrong with the traditional office full of cubes, including terrible lighting, collaboration-killing isolation, an abundance of soul-crushing beige . But is the solution to slap some paint on the walls, cart in a couple of plants and reconfigure layouts to be more social? Read more »
Writing on the website of The Atlantic recently, Alexis Madrigal compared telecommuting to the jetpack, describing it as a “a long-promised, much-anticipated technological system that’s never arrived.” He notes that uptake of the practice has stalled. So what’s Madrigal’s explanation for this plateauing? Read more »
Joe Solomon, founder of incentive travel company Iconic Adventures, is a dedicated outdoor enthusiast who realized that working the nine-to-five grind wasn’t for him, and set out to use remote collaboration tools to design a business that supported his lifestyle. How did he manage it? Read more »
I think that many of us need to think differently about our work if we want to be productive over the long term. Here are a few things to think about if you want to be able to get more done by enjoying what you do. Read more »
Stephen Ruth, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, has argued that telecommuting cannot keep expanding without creating significant issues. We called him up and asked him why he is less optimistic than some about the expansion of telecommuting. Read more »
There’s a shift happening in the workplace. A significant and growing proportion of the workforce is now made up of “Millennials” But how can businesses support Millenials at work; how do they expect to communicate, collaborate and get things done? Read more »
With the arrival of summer weather, it’s natural for workers’ minds to turn to enjoying the sunshine and to drift a bit from spreadsheets, sales targets and the like. So what’s the cure for this summer slacking? The Chicago Tribune says an increase in web work. Read more »
Many have discussed email etiquette, but for the average web worker, the notion of politesse can seem counterproductive. Here, then, are five golden rules for respectful, productive digital communication, whether you’re using email, IM, video chat, phone, or other communications tools. Read more »
As mobile devices become more prevalent at work, the need for security continues to rise. WatchDox provides document control, tracking and security features through a web app, apps for iPad and iPhone (we covered it late last year) and now for BlackBerry. Read more »
When you work online, it’s easy to feel relaxed about legal issues, but there are many laws that can potentially impact you. Benjamin Wright is an attorney specializing in the issues surrounding working online. He points to six questions that web-based workers must keep in mind: Read more »
As a manager or small business owner, you’ve seen the light and decided to expand your team by adding remote workers. Now all you need is a remote work policy that lays out everything your employees need to know. But why is this necessary? Read more »
At WebWorkerDaily we’ve suggested previously that the reason that adoption of telecommuting is stalling may be resistant middle managers, and proposed sending them off to web work boot camp. Now there’s new evidence that we may have been on to something. Read more »
Staples is releasing a survey Tuesday on web worker happiness, but rather than capture why remote workers are content with their lot, Staples aims to get at exactly how thrilled they are to not have to go into the office. Read more »
The research is conclusive: compared to office-based colleagues, those who are free to work where they choose are happier with their jobs. But why is this? The answer isn’t as clear as it might first appear to web work boosters. Read more »
Jay Mulki, a professor at Northeastern University, has been studying the issue of web work and workaholism, and is currently analyzing the results. In advance of the release of the research, Mulki gave a sneak peak of his developing findings to the University’s website. Read more »
Death isn’t something most of us want to spend time any thinking about, but it is inevitable for all of us, and we need to think about passing on our digital assets as well as our physical and financial ones. Read more »
Can web work cause legal complications? It’s not the sexiest question to ponder concerning a location-independent work style (who wouldn’t prefer daydreaming about opening the laptop at the local park or attending that conference call in your slippers?), but it’s an important one for managers nonetheless. Read more »
Mom Anne Samoilov is Laura Roeder Media’s project manger, making sure a team spread from New York to Hawaii is collaborating smoothly. So how does a woman with a background in project management and few tech credentials tame the challenges of web work? Read more »
The future, as any science fiction fan can tell you, can be as scary as it can be exciting. Is there anything we can do, when it comes to work, to reduce the anxiety of the future and prepare ourselves to weather economic and technological change? Read more »
Business is all about the bottom line and web work offers new ways to bolster that bottom line. But not everyone sees paying according to the prevailing local wages as without its moral complexities, especially when companies begin to look overseas for additional help. Read more »
