First-person accounts from couples that both work from home illustrate that the experience can be fraught, with one partner sometimes imposing on the other. But the arrangement works well for some. What are the secrets of these happy home working couples? Read more »
Recently the Wall Street Journal reported a trend towards larger startups sticking with coworking as they grow, but experts warned there could be downsides, including other companies poaching your talent or ideas. But not everyone it seems to see eye to eye with these experts. Read more »
Virtual working is only for professions with digital deliverables, right? Designers, coders and writers may be the first people who come to mind, but if you imagine companies that deal in the physical can’t benefit from going virtual, you haven’t talked to Fred’s Appliance. Read more »
Remote work may be increasingly mainstream, but there are holdouts like Zaarly exec Shane Mac, who recently opined that startups and distributed teams make a lousy combination. That’s news to the founder of successful startup ProoffHQ, which has been remote from day one. Read more »
As the dynamics of how we work change — away from offices, on mobile devices — the tools to enable easy access and smooth experiences of getting work done are popping up. The latest example is iSimplyConnect, a pay-as-you-go VPN for small companies deploying the iPad. Read more »
In 2012, the next big thing will be what we do with iPads in the office. Here are a few interesting iPad apps that give us new ways to gather, absorb and manipulate data necessary to get our jobs done. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
A British company surveys workers and finds not only are they more productive when working remotely, but they also feel less creative at the office. Where do they get their most innovative ideas? At the pub (assumedly with a limited quantity of libations). Read more »
Remote collaboration tools and connectivity promise to unleash us from the office, but despite these advantages most of us still spend the majority of our days in drab spaces. Perhaps the New Year is the perfect opportunity for knowledge workers to reconsider where they work. Read more »
The impact of more remote workers on the built environment is a fascinating subtopic of the future of work. Will office spaces shrink? Transport plans change? Now there’s a new question about a world of remote workers – will they all move to the exurbs? 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 »
It’s hard to be against flexible work arrangements. but despite a lot of talk in support of new ways of working to help knowledge workers keep their sanity and families intact; a new survey shows many managers are merely paying lip service to the idea. Read more »
Apple seems to have a significant impact on the future of work without directly intending to. The company’s next generation mobile operating system brings big improvements for consumers, but they’ll be no less beneficial to mobile workers. Read more »
The first step to successful remote working is communication. Binfire offers distributed teams a free solution for online collaboration that makes it simple to stay on track, with several useful features that I haven’t seen in other project management solutions so far, including: Read more »
Knoodle offers a training solution that provides a presentation with a split screen; you can have text or PowerPoint slides on one side of the screen and video on the other, then sync the video with the slides so they automatically advance at the right time. Read more »
If you’re working with a distributed team, you should be regularly gauging and improving your effectiveness. Here are a few questions to help you quickly zone in on problem areas with your virtual workforce, as well as some suggested solutions to help you correct them. Read more »
Remote work may yet become the default mode of doing business for many, but we aren’t there yet. You may be feeling pressure from employees to allow remote working, but it’s best to go with a trial run before putting real money on the line. Read more »
Between the continuing economic recovery and the political unrest throughout the Middle East, 2011 has seen oil prices continue to rise. It’s obvious raising the cost of commuting increases the appeal of web working, but have we already seen an increase in home-based work? Read more »
If you’re just starting to consider the option of working remotely, whether through flexible work arrangements with your current employees or by hiring new team members who will work remotely from the start, you’ll want to establish some guidelines to keep your team productive and happy. Read more »
If you’d like to work from home but your company doesn’t allow it, why not become the prime mover in a program to see if working from home can’t help boost productivity? It’s easier than ever to make the argument to the decision-makers in your organization. Read more »
I should admit to a dirty little secret: I’m a productivity junkie. I get an enormous amount of pleasure out of finding faster and more efficient ways to accomplish everyday tasks; I love to find better ways to gather and process information more quickly. Read more »
