Although many people badly want to work from home, not everyone wants to have to launch and run a fully-fledged business of their own in order to do so. For such people 
desire to work from home is more about maximizing time to be with family, physical location, comfort and convenience than it is about entrepreneurship. If this is you, telecommuting may be answer you've been looking for.
WHAT IS TELECOMMUTING EXACTLY?
For our purposes, telecommuting simply means an employee is working from a location other than employer's premises. Usually it means employee is working from home, performing same functions that he or she would otherwise be doing in employer's office.
ADVANTAGES OF TELECOMMUTING
The advantages of telecommuting are many.
=> For Employee
For parents with young(ish) children, perhaps greatest benefit of telecommuting is increased time available to spend with family. Note, though, that one of greatest myths about telecommuting is that it means you can do away with daycare. That's true for only a very few, very lucky individuals. Instead, think in terms of time saved commuting to and from your offsite job. THAT is time you get back. Not your entire working day.
Financial considerations are also a strong reason to work from home. Think of what you can save on gas, clothing and eating out.
Other advantages of telecommuting for employees include:
=> Improved productivity (fewer distractions and interruptions). => Helps balance work and family life. => Greater flexibility in hours and geographic location. => Recovery of commuting hours (just think what you could do with equivalent of over six working weeks a year, assuming you commute an hour a day). => Fewer daytime home break-ins. => Environmental considerations (fewer cars on road means less pollution and fewer accidents). => Fairer performance appraisals (you're evaluated purely on quality of your work and your output, not merely number of hours clocked at office). => Elimination of commuting aggravators (such as obnoxious drivers, traffic snarls and other frustrations). => General stress reduction. => Improvement in morale, job satisfaction and motivation. => No need to relocate. => Can open work opportunities for disabled.
=> For Employer
Advantages for employers in allowing telecommuting include: => Saving of parking and office space costs. => Increases in employee productivity (20% on average). => Reduces absenteeism. => Reduces business interruptions due to natural emergencies (if there's a snowstorm business still gets done by employees at home). => The employer becomes an employer of choice, attracting high quality employees. => Reduced staff turnover due to improveed job morale and satisfaction. => An expanded pool of employee talent to choose from since no geographical limitations are imposed. => In some states tax credits may be available. => No relocation costs to be paid on behalf of employees. => The whole office doesn't come down sick from one employee spreading flu.
DISADVANTAGES OF TELECOMMUTING
Of course, there are two sides to every coin and telecommuting is no different, bringing its share of disadvantages for both employee and employer, including:
=> For Employee
=> Coworker envy (there may be some jobs in your organization that don't lend themselves to telecommuting). => Reduced social interation with coworkers may lead to professional isolation. => Possibly fewer promotional opportunities (out of sight, out of mind). => Potential for longer hours (try and keep work and personal time separate). => Reduced IT support (who's going to fix your computer?). => Potential for distractions (young children, TV, refrigerator). => Too-frequent fridge and coffee breaks. => Can become a work addict. => For Employer => Morale problems in staff holding positions not suited to telecommuting. => Startup operating costs (equipment, training etc.). => IT support costs. => Management resistance and skepticism (who needs suspicious, distrustful managers as employees though, right?). => Difficulties in coordinating and monitoring performance of remote workers. => Security of information and files when allowing remote workers access to company computer systems. => Employee health and safety issues. => Can disrupt teamwork and organizational culture.
The advantages and disadvantages for individual employees and employers will vary case by case. Both you and your employer need to weigh above factors when deciding whether telecommuting is a viable option in your particular circumstances.
WHAT TYPE OF WORK IS SUITED TO TELECOMMUTING?
As for what type of work is suited to telecommuting, basically anything that doesn't demand your physical presence at office goes. You must, however, have a boss who is capable of measuring results and quality of work, not just hours worked.
WHAT TYPE OF PERSON(ALITY) IS SUITED TO TELECOMMUTING?
The qualities needed in a telecommuter are similar to those needed of an entrepreneur. Among other things, you need to be:
=> a self-starter => independent => motivated => self-disciplined => good with time management => organized.
FINDING TELECOMMUTING POSITIONS
How do you go about finding a telecommuting position?
Well, if you're already in workforce, and your job is one that could just as easily and effectively be done at home, make a proposal to your boss that you start telecommuting one or two days a week and gradually increase number of days you work from home as you prove to your boss (and yourself) that telecommuting is a good solution for both of you.
If you're not already in workforce or your position is not one that can be performed from home, you'll need to actively source a position that can. Good old research, letter writing, phone calls and pavement pounding will be required.
