Telecommuting

What Does Telecommuting Mean?

The term "telecommuting" is often used in the tech industry and beyond to talk about new models of occupational productivity made possible by technological advances such as the Internet, cloud computing, modern data security, wireless connectivity, etc.

Techopedia Explains Telecommuting

Telecommuting can take many different forms, depending on the job that is being performed. In general, though, the traditional idea of telecommuting involves the employee not coming to a physical central office, but instead working from a workstation in the home or other remote office, a computer or similar terminal device served by some type of connection to the Internet.

The global Internet facilitates the lion’s share of telecommuting processes. Today's office workers can take orders, tabulate spreadsheets, write articles, analyze digital media results, build reports and even attend meetings online. This capability has revolutionized many industries, from journalism and education to manufacturing and sales. What all of these have in common is that combinations of wireless and networking infrastructures are allowing people to do their jobs from wherever they happen to be. With mobile devices, a new factor has been added to telecommuting, where individuals can participate in their job roles "in the field," while moving around, using the portable data computing and voice connections that smartphones provide.