Looking Homeward for a Job
November 02, 2009Buzz Author: Jeff Hazel
PCs have dramatically changed our lives at the office, and now they are doing the same for us at home.
As prices for home computers and laptops have fallen due to competition and the recent economic downturn, and broadband services have become widely available to the home, greater numbers of people now have the equipment and access to the Internet that they need to work from home.
For some, it’s a dream – a chance to better balance their work and personal life priorities and work outside the confines of an office cubicle and a 9 am to 5 pm work schedule.
For others, it’s salvation – a chance to earn a living as businesses continue to trim their office-based workforce and freeze any hiring plans while the economic recovery sputters along.
Today, over a quarter of U.S. workers telecommute, according to Gartner Dataquest.
According to new research by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), nearly two in five employed U.S. online adults work from home at least once a month. That’s 38 million people.
The CEA’s Telework and the Technologies Enabling Work Outside Corporate Walls study also shows that most teleworkers plan to spend at least $925 over the next year on technology products to help them work from home.
Expect to see Millennials, or Generation Y workers, join the voices of the older Baby Boomers to demand greater flexibility in their work opportunities and be a catalyst to increasing work at home jobs.
While work-at-home jobs are becoming more and more popular, there are still some that can be done more easily in a home environment. Customer service is one.
Thanks to the internet and software programs that allow employees to log in to a company’s system from home, it is easy for employers to hire remote customer service agents.
Take a look at our Featured Commentary blog for reasons why a home agent program makes sense for companies. Click here.
For more information on home agent solutions, click here.
For those interested in becoming a home agent, click here.
As technology continues to advance, we will likely see more and more opportunities to do even more jobs from home in the future.
