![]() remote work to describe a position implies that an employer-employee relationship exists. A remote worker is usually free to work wherever they choose. telecommuting to describe a work arrangement insinuates that the working arrangement involves no commute or potential commute. Possible locations include the home, coffee shops, coworking spaces, beaches, and anywhere else that can receive an Internet signal. It implies that technology facilitates the work completed but with no requirement as to where. Today, the term ubiquitously refers to all kinds of flexible, telework, and telecommute arrangements. Also, freelance and independent contractors fall into the category of remote workers. As opposed to telework, the employer-employee relationship has no particular emphasis. Some researchers assert that it originally described workers using broadband technologies to work from anywhere-the implication being that the worker was located too far away to commute under most circumstances. What is a Remote Job?Īlthough the most popular term currently, the origin of the term “remote work” isn’t as clear. However, it does maintain the employee-employer relationship and the idea that work is moved to the workers that Nilles advocated. It also does not carry an implication that a commute trip is avoided. Interestingly, the new definition does not refer explicitly to the use of technology. The term ‘telework’ or ‘teleworking’ refers to a work flexibility arrangement under which an employee performs the duties and responsibilities of such employee’s position, and other authorized activities, from an approved worksite other than the location from which the employee would otherwise work. This law required all federal executive agencies to create remote work opportunities for eligible employees. This is largely the result of a landmark piece of legislation called the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010. ![]() As he says: “All telecommuters are teleworkers but not all teleworkers are telecommuters.”Ĭommon usage has evolved since Nilles’ comments above, with telework becoming more frequently associated with government remote work programs. So, although the term telecommute was the most common, it is only one aspect of Nilles’ complete telework concept. In discussing telecommute vs telework, he says telecommuting is a form of teleworking focused on reducing or eliminating a commute. He also adds an employee-employer relationship as a key aspect of the full definition as well. Jack Nilles also coined the term “telework.” He defined this as:Īny form of substitution of information technologies for work-related travel moving the work to the workers instead of moving the workers to work. ![]() Today, telecommuting is falling from common usage in favor of the more generally applied remote work term. However, it maintains a specific reference to the alternative location reducing commute time. Now it often refers to workers who maintain a traditional office schedule and work part-time from an alternative worksite. ![]() Since then, telecommuting has remained a dominant term, although the meaning has evolved somewhat. The impetus for this idea was the economy and other issues of the 1970s characterized by air pollution, gas shortages, and gridlock. Located closer to employee homes, these offices would reduce the need to travel long distances to the company’s main office. However, in its original usage, Nilles referred to workers reporting to satellite offices. In this context, telecommuting was an innovative new way to reduce reliance on car travel. His research was published in his 1976 book, “The Telecommunications-Transportation Tradeoff: Options for Tomorrow.” Ahead of his time, he was the first to explore the possibility of using technology to work away from the main office. Nilles was a former NASA communications system engineer and director of interdisciplinary research at the University of Southern California. “Telecommuting” is a term first coined in the early 1970s by Jack Nilles. ![]()
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