Work from Home Words - What do they all mean? (Your work at home dictionary!)
posted September 29, 2009 - 5:28pm
THE TRIALS OF TELEWORK-TELECOMMUTE TERMINOLOGY
(and, boy, is that difficult to say)!
So, you’re looking to work “not in the regular office” and want to find a role which DOES actually allow
you to live the “work/life balance” dream? If this is your first time testing the “tele” waters – the crossover of terminology can be bewildering! Are telecommuting jobs the same as work-from-home jobs? And do these mean the same as telework jobs? What IS a telecottage? Does flexible working mean I can telework?
Well – here’s the Telework International quick guide to navigating the telework/telecommute/virtual/remote/home-based maze! Believe us; it’s simpler than you think! By understanding the subtle differences between the phraseology and terms – you can undertake that net search quicker and ensure that the results match what YOU are looking for in that “tele” role!!
1. Telecommute (telecommuting, telecommuters)
Jack Nilles, a physicist, coined the terms “telecommute” and “telework” in 1973 when undertaking research in his capacity as Director for Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Southern California. Part of his research involved projects aimed at eliminating rush-hour commutes by virtue of letting employees work closer to home – or at home – via telecommunications links; and studying the impact on transportation and effectiveness of USC’s Interactive Instructional TV system at that time. After leaving USC, Jack Nilles founded a management consultancy; Jala International, Inc. and has developed tele-projects for many HUGE companies, US government entities, and national governments in Europe, South America and Asia.
Jack Nilles is internationally recognized as "the father of telecommuting and telework," and according to his definitions which remain in place today:
Telecommuting = Periodic work out of the principal office, one or more days per week, either at home, a client's site, or in a telework center; the partial or total substitution of information technologies for the commute to work. The emphasis here is on reduction or elimination of the daily commuteto and from the workplace. Telecommuting is a form of teleworking.
2. Telework (teleworking, teleworkers, aka flexiplace)
Again, according to Jack Nilles’ definitions:
Teleworking = ANY form of substitution of information technologies (such as telecommunications and/or computers) for normal work-related travel; moving the work to the workers instead of moving the workers to work.
Telecommuting , therefore, is better understood as an opportunity to partially or fully telework.
In reality, many employers, candidates, recruiters and job boards use the terms telework and telecommute interchangeably without realizing that the concepts do differ. That can be confusing for all of us!
One employer that has adopted the use of the word “telework” as standard across its entire group is the US Federal Government. US Federal Government has a very cohesive and generous telework policy and each job listing will specify whether the role is telework eligible or not.
3. Work From Home (work at home, work at home jobs, WAH, FRM etc)
Many job seekers make the mistake of becoming focused on the “work from home”-type search terms when looking for roles. This is especially true of those of us with commitments to dependents (who must be home to look after their children, elderly relatives) – as they are the words that immediately spring to our minds – we need to work from home! Because so many people use these phrases in the keyword(s) search - these terms are the ones most often copied by scammers placing false job adverts in order to entrap hungry job seekers.
Think about it. When you search on Google, Careerbuilder, Indeed, Craigslist or such for ‘work from home jobs” – how many REAL jobs show up? More often than not, absolutely none! Be cognizant of the fact that a lot of employers (especially large corporations) do not use such phrases in their job listings.
4. Telecommuting Policy
At a Government or State level – it generally means the overall large-scale policy determining which government entities allow telework as part of their internal operation, and the requirements governing the same. At an individual company level, it relates to the procedures and guidelines within an employer’s Terms & Conditions of Employment which govern whether or not the employer offers its employees this benefit; for it is a benefit. The information will normally fall within an employer’s Flexible Working Policy (see below).
5. Flexible Working
Depending on the employer this policy can encompass a variety of benefits. Flexible working practices can include one or any of the following:
Part-time workA work contract which allows the employee to work less than full-time hours. In doing so, it provides flexibility to employers to better utilize employees and is cost effective, and offers greater flexibility for employees to combine their work and family responsibilities.
Job sharingA voluntary arrangement whereby one job is shared between part-time employees. It offers flexibility for employees to choose their own preferred work patterns.
Part-time leave without payAllows employees who work full time (currently) to change working hours to part-time with “leave without pay” for the balance of full-time hours during the period concerned. At the end of that defined period of leave without pay, the employee must return to full time work.
Career break schemeSome companies provide career breaks for specific purposes – extended parental leave, study, etc., but many companies now allow career breaks for any purpose desired by an employee, such as travel, personal and professional development or volunteering. At the end of the career break period, negotiated with the employer, the employee returns to work.
Part-year employmentThis benefit is of great use to those with school age children. These employees, by virtue of the employer’s flexibility, can work particular schedules such as “term time only” or 10-month-per-year contracts.
Working from home – telecommute or telework(as previously discussed)
Varying hours of workFlexible hours – such as early start time and early finish time
Compressed working weekFor example, allowing a 40-hour per week job to be worked over four days as opposed to the usual five, allowing the employee the benefit of an extra day per week at home.
You can see, then, that telework is not necessarily the only flexi-work focus that an employer has. Some employers offer telework as part of their flexible working practices and some don’t. It is important therefore, that if you’re intent on a telework-only role, to check that the employer offers this benefit as part of its flexible working policy.
6. Telecottage
What on earth is a telecottage? When first hearing of the term years’ ago, I stupidly thought it was someone working at home from a little cottage with picket fence!! In actual fact, a Telecottage is a type of small community-based facility a little like a “telecenter” (more on telecenter later)! Telecottages exist to provide “tele”, computer and other technical facilities for users, who can drop in and use the internet, IT and other communication services (such as networking) whenever they wish. Some people prefer to work from a telecottage than from home as it may have more resources than the individual can provide him/herself. The emphasis with a telecottage is on community and small size.
7. Telecenter
A telecenter is a larger-scale version of a telecottage, but with less of a community-base and more of a commercial focus: telecenters usually have better workspace and advanced IT and networking capacity. Telecenters provide spaces to work for those who may want to work away from their employer's functional office but who don't want to work at home. In this sense, it is almost like a serviced office facility.
8. Hot Desk
A hot desk is a work space with IT services, communications connections, etc., within the employer’s corporate office but at which a permanent employee is not situated. The hot desk is shared between employees who visit the corporate office occasionally. Larger firms typically have a number of hot desks available for telecommuters or other employees who are at Head Office sporadically. Hot-desking has become the norm for many large corporations which are reaping the financial advantages brought about by decreasing corporate overheads.
9. Hoteling
Hoteling (or “office hoteling”) is another way of saying hot-desking. The employer will provide office space to employees on an as-needed basis rather than an employee being permanently provided with that space.
Hoteling takes the concept of hot-desking one step further. Hoteling can include an online reservations system (almost like a hotel chain) through which the employee can book desk space or conference room space in advance. It ensures that the company’s desks, conference rooms, voice mailboxes, etc, are not overbooked and that the employee will be guaranteed a “room” when he/she is in the corporate office – again reflective of hotels!
10. Remote Workers/Web Commuters/Nomad Workers
These are the guys/gals you see in Starbucks with their laptops!!!! The ones who utilize mobile telecommunications technology to work from, well, anywhere at all that they can get a signal!
Whilst could create a college course simply to explain all the telework terms bandied around - hopefully this crash course has given you an idea of where the most common terminology originated and how it is utilized! Don’t get too hung up on the keywords; as previously mentioned – many recruiters use the terms interchangeably.
Ultimately, words are just that…words. It’s the quality of your resume, candidacy and eventual work ability which will decide whether you “tele” the way you want to!
© 2009 Maria Daly (formerly Telework International LLC)
To read all of my articles at Xomba just click on: http://www.xomba.com/user/mdaly
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