Telecommuting (a term coined in the early 1970s) has been hailed as our latest savior in this tangled, highly-stressed, fast-paced, not enough hours in the day, risky world in which most of us find ourselves. Where is that spare time that we desirously refer to as Quality of Life?

If we are seriously considering telecommuting as an alternative to our traditional day after congested day shuffle, the appropriate infrastructure must be available, all participants must have a common goal, and we need to understand just what it is that we are suggesting. For starters: the term telecommuting is already obsolete, let’s strike it from our vocabulary and begin using the current term Telework, before it too leaves us in it’s dust.

Telework is more encompassing than telecommuting. It is a much broader means of using telecommunications to work anywhere: whether it be from a SOHO (Small Office/Home Office), telework center, satellite office, a client’s office, an airport lounge, a hotel room or the local Starbucks.

The cutting edge Teleworker is a Technomad: someone whose technology, connectivity, work methods, and lifestyle are so evolved that they literally need no base of operation. Many technomads work out of either recreational vehicles or a series of short-term habitations, and are able to combine a professional career with a perpetual vacation. (Purists say “true” technomads are self-propelled hikers, bikers, etc.)

For technomad status and to truly achieve an untethered work environment the suitable infrastructure must be available. According to Kevin Dwyer, member of the Kitsap Regional EDC, Telecommunications Committee, “Providing a telecommunications network for businesses today is even more important than laying Rail Road track 150 years ago.” Continues Dwyer, “Our goal is to help Kitsap County become more competitive in attracting new businesses and in expanding existing ones.” One of the challenges that the Telecommunications Committee faces is the fluctuation in Telework popularity. According to Dwyer the telework phenomenon has been talked about for a while, but the practice, in Kitsap County, has only just started to emerge.

“It is discussed more than it is practiced. Most Kitsap County businesses are still operating under the traditional Business protocol.” Dwyer is referring to Facetime, or work time spent not teleworking (i.e., time spent at the office, interacting with coworkers and supervisors). Facetime is still deemed very important for employees in terms of professional development and interaction, for synergy and camaraderie, and for social connections.

The truth is many people are more productive working at the office than at home. Open-collar work (telework) is not for everyone. Herein lies the challenge for employees and employers alike. Being selective about the teleworked job activity is crucial. It is equally important to limit telework to employees who have the job knowledge/skills, personality, self-motivation, and home setting that will allow them to work effectively at home or elsewhere away from the office. Telework must be used as appropriate, whether it’s one day a month or – on occasion – five days a week, to use uninterrupted time to get that report out, or to avoid the commute by checking and clearing e-mail while everyone else is stuck in traffic.

The key to successful telework in a team environment is to organize the project so that most of the individual work is reserved for off-site days, while the collaboration takes place when everyone is in the office. Even when some team members are teleworking, it’s possible to collaborate at a distance: individual phone calls, conference calls, email, groupware, and fax are a few tools that can be used.

Telework is not appropriate for every job. Organizations need to analyze the job activity, not the job title to determine suitability to telework. The key is to find jobs with at least a portion of the work that can be done, as well or better, away from the office – taking advantage of technology and getting away from the distractions and interruptions in the typical office. How the telework program is planned, supported and managed determines its success. The key to a successful telework program is rooted in scalable, formal, employer-sponsored programs rather than informal ad hoc uses of remote work technologies.

There are potential problems when you relinquish facetime with your peers: it’s harder to continue feeling that you’re really part of the work group, it’s more difficult to schedule meetings that you must attend and the logistics of getting work to and from the office can get complicated. The concept “anything you can do in front of a computer can be done from home,” has yet to evolve in Kitsap County. We talk about it. As professionals, we know that we must keep current on the latest technology and work strategies or the world will pass us by. But who really knows how affective the telework option is?

According to a recent survey sponsored by the International Telework Association and Council, there are approximately 16.5 million teleworkers on the planet and yet, in the U.S. today Americans spend more than 500 million “commuter hours” per week in their automobiles. More than 650 million cars are registered worldwide, and more than 55 million new cars are sold annually. The theoretical “positive environmental” effect of telework: a reduction of the number of cars on the road, with a concomitant reduction in air pollution has yet to materialize. It appears that teleworkers cars are used for other purposes on telework days. That is, to date there has been little to no offsetting use of the car. Automobiles, the ultimate in mobility, still play a key role in the lives of people around the world. And they are here to stay. So are computers. The search for that perfect blend of work and personal life is still on.