http://www.telcoa.org/id94.htm
Telecommuting May Ease Chaos of Transit Strike December 11, 2002 8:38 p.m. EST Telecommuting May Ease Chaos of a Transit Strike Threat of Strike in New York City Puts Spotlight on Remote Access for Workers By STEPHANIE MILES THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE Sebastian Font, vice president and chief information officer of Newmark Realty (www.newmarkrealty.com1), a commercial real-estate firm in New York, knows that many of his employees may be stranded at home on Monday if the city's transit workers go on strike. But that doesn't mean they won't be coming to work. About 25% of Newmark's 600 employees have remote access to internal networks, databases, files, and e-mail via a software application called GoToMyPC. Mr. Font says he expects many of these employees to work from home on Monday if the transit strike takes place. "There are many people that will be able to be very productive from home," he says. In an echo of the days following Sept. 11, 2001 -- when thousands of workers displaced from their downtown Manhattan offices set up camp at home -- the looming transit strike is pushing telecommuting back into the spotlight. The widespread availability of broadband Internet connections and home PCs, augmented in some cases by fancier technologies such as remote network access and Web or video conferencing, makes working at home a viable plan for many workers who rely primarily on e-mail and phone communication to do their jobs. "Traffic congestion from transit strikes, bad weather, protests, disasters like Sept. 11 -- these are all things that make many people start to think, 'Maybe I need to take another look at working at home during these types of emergencies,' " says Chuck Wilsker, executive director of the Telework Coalition (www.telcoa.org), a telecommuting advocacy group in Washington, D.C. "If it's successful, than they can look at doing this one or two days a week." Telecommuters say they like the flexibility of working from home when the need arises. In fact, most telecommuters only work at home a few days a week, according to a survey from the International Telework Association & Council (www.workingfromanywhere.org4), Wakefield, Mass. The number of employees who work from home at least one day a week increased to 28.8 million in 2001, up 17% from 23.6 million in 2000, according to the study. Take John Posada. The 49-year-old freelance technical writer in New York has worked from his home for 15 years, on and off. Depending on the nature of the job, he'll work from home anywhere from one day a week to full time. "If I'm in a situation where the alternatives are to commute two hours one way to sit in an office for eight hours, and then turn around to commute two hours home, every day -- I'd much rather work from my lounge chair," Mr. Posada says. Gil Gordon, a telecommuting consultant in Monmouth Junction, N.J., who sets up work-at-home programs for employers, says there are few jobs that can't be done from home. He cites positions that require an on-site presence -- such as doctors, nurses or airline pilots -- as the exception. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg has jumped on the telecommuting bandwagon. The mayor, who plans rigid car-pool rules for the cities bridges and tunnels, thinks working at home may be a good option for those who can't get to the office, says spokesman Jordan Barowitz. "If people can telecommute, we encourage them to do so," he says. With technology like e-mail, cellphones, and broadband Internet connections on hand, most professional jobs are suited for telecommuting. "Technology makes it all possible," says Ray Boggs, vice president of home-office services for market-research firm IDC, a division of IDG Inc. Armed with a laptop and cellphone, for instance, Mr. Boggs said that he completed some much-needed busywork recently while waiting for a snow-delayed flight at New York's LaGuardia Airport. "I got more work done stuck at the stupid airport than I do at work," he says. He noted that he would have been even more productive if he had remembered his wireless network card, which gives his laptop computer Internet access in specially wired locations like LaGuardia. For his part, Mr. Posada's home office has three computers, including one laptop, and a high-speed Internet connection with video-conferencing capabilities. Relative to workers in a traditional office, "You need to be able to appear like you're just at the end of a much longer hallway," he says. Mr. Posada says that he'll set up Web conferences with his colleagues back at the office when he feels he hasn't had enough face time. "You want them to know there's a face attached to that e-mail address." Mr. Wilsker of the Telework Coalition, who works at home full time, is something of a telework gadget-head. "There's some neat little tools that I like," he says. Mr. Wilsker uses GoToMyPC, along with video e-mail from VidiSolutions Inc. (www.vidisolutions.com)(5) in New York, which embeds a link to a video of himself in his outgoing e-mail messages. When he's traveling, his calls are forwarded to him by e-Cerv Inc. (www.ecerve.com)(6), which mimics a corporate phone system's operator and voice-mail options. He uses online collaboration applications like Yahoo Groups, which allow him to share comments and update documents with co-workers online. All the high-tech gizmos help him maintain a strong presence, albeit virtually, with his colleagues -- a crucial aspect to making telecommuting work, Mr. Wilsker says. "Teleworkers always wonder, 'If I'm not seen every day, when it comes time for a promotion am I going to be overlooked?'" he says. High-speed Internet access can be critical for downloading large files or attachments, and navigating through a virtual private network. These networks are used by corporations to give remote workers access to internal e-mail and databases, but they can also slow Web surfing and e-mail to a crawl. Digital subscriber line providers like Verizon Communications Inc. and SBC Communications Inc. -- as well as most cable modem providers -- also break out high-speed access charges separately, which makes it easier to submit the bills with expense reports. Both phone companies also offer home networking services, which lets DSL subscribers split their Internet connection among several PCs. "If somebody's working at home, oftentimes there are other people who would like to get on the Internet at the same time," says Peter Castleton, executive director of broadband at Verizon. Applications that simplify remote access to corporate data can be a huge help to employees trying to keep track of paperwork. "It's amazing how often people are tripped up by something as mundane as they've brought home 33 files and they need the 34th," says Mr. Gordon. GoToMyPC, made by Expertcity Inc. (www.expertcity.com7), lets users access files on their computer -- as well as data stored on corporate Intranets or databases -- from any Web connection. ExpertCity, Santa Barbara, Calif., has about 100,000 individual customers and 900 corporate customers who make GoToMyPC available to their employees, according to Brian Donahoo, senior vice president of products for ExpertCity. He says the company sees a spike in sales after any major event -- like a transit strike, or Sept. 11 -- that keeps employees in their homes. ExpertCity is extending a free trial of GoToMyPC to New York residents stranded at home during the transit strike, if it happens, he says. "Any time when we know there's going to be a disruption, when it's hard to get to work for whatever reason, we try to make the product available in a time of a need," Mr. Donahoo says. The closely held company doesn't release financial information, but does "millions" in sales each month, according to Mr. Donahoo. He says he expects between 5,000 and 10,000 people to try GoToMyPC during a strike in New York. Newmark installed GoToMyPC last year after Sept. 11 to give its employees remote access to internal files, says Mr. Font. He says the program allows the sales staff to work much more easily from the road and from home. "It's a convenience and effort to increase production," Mr. Font says. Moreover, employees home on maternity or disability leave have also found remote access to be essential to stay in the loop. Although gee-whiz products like video e-mail and virtual phone systems are neat, employees who are interested in working from home should focus on more basic tools at the start, says Mr. Gordon. The most important investment for home workers is a reliable phone and voice-mail system, he says. In an interview from his car, Mr. Gordon says that can include regularly checking messages at work, forwarding calls or using a Nextel Communications Inc. combination cellphone/walkie-talkie. Instant-messaging applications can also help for quick conversations. "What counts isn't instant availability, but predictable and reliable responsiveness," he says. In the end, technology is no substitute for staying organized and disciplined, he says. "You can be sitting there with a $5,000 laptop and a DSL line and still not be able to do your work." Mr. Posada, the tech writer, agrees. "To be able to successfully telecommute really has little to do with the hardware or software that you have," he says. "I have telecommuted in situations where I've had very sophisticated stuff, and in other times I've successfully telecommuted with just a laptop." Write to Stephanie Miles at [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL for this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1039204370405654513.djm,00.html Hyperlinks in this Article: (1) http://www.newmarkrealty.com (2) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1039649052859823393,00.html (3) http://www.telcoa.org (4) http://www.workingfromanywhere.org (5) http://www.vidisolutions.com (6) http://www.ecerve.com (7) http://www.expertcity.com (8) mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Updated December 11, 2002 8:38 p.m. EST Copyright 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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