We are a virtual company that helps both public and private organizations implement telework. President Joanne Pratt approaches change as a futurist interested in what is going to happen next. As we evolve from the Industrial Age into the Information Age we are reshaping ourselves into a more mobile, global workforce linked by technology. Today we have teleworking, telecommuting, the virtual office, mobile workers and homebased business owners and at-home professionals. “E-work” is the new term used in Europe. On this web site we share with you trends that we see and proven "how to" tips for all forms of mobile work.

Future Trends:

Joanne Pratt spoke on Future Trends at the regional meeting of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Board. Among the most interesting of ten important trends for business is increased participation and competition. Think of the cheering for favorite TV personalities on Survivor, Amazing Race, and the consequence of failure in the form of Top Chef's "Pack your knives and go" and  Donald Trump's "You're fired." That eagerness to participate may explain why we are willing to shift to a "self-serve" economy where we now research air travel, buy tickets, and compete for seats online, and then check in at a computer, haul our bags to the screening area, buy lunch, and pack a pillow. Travel agents and the airlines used to do ALL that for us! See 10 Trends that will affect your Business.

Conferences:

Joanne Pratt will present her paper, Revisioning the  Home-based Business: An Exploratory Model of Home-based Location Choice, at the annual conference of the United States Association for Small  Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), which is being held in January in San Antonio, TX.

At the American conference of Information Systems (AMCIS), I discussed my research on Economic Outcomes of E-Professional, Home-based Entrepreneurs. See Abstract

Research:

Telework Keeps Growing

Since 1980, the long-range upwards trend of working at home during the business day has followed growth in the workforce according to the Dieringer Research Group survey sponsored by WorldatWork. The 28.7 million employees and independent contractors represents 19 percent or nearly 1 in 5 individuals. Counting home-based-business owners, there are 44.4 million or 30 percent doing "any" work at home including nights and week-ends.

A particularly encouraging finding is that employees, not the contract workers, account for the sharp increase in work at home, suggesting that employers are finally realizing the benefits of a more flexible workforce.

Joanne Pratt presented highlights of the research at the 2007 Transportation Research Board (TRB) conference. Two more trends stand out: First, Americans are increasingly mobile. They work anywhere, spending even more time working in the car or on travel than last year.

And they are working more at home. In fact, in one year there was a 24 percent drop in people who never work at home and a 20 percent increase in those who work at home nearly every day.

As reported in my research, Teleworking Comes of Age with Broadband, teleworkers are enthusiastic adopters of the  high speed, "always on" connection to the Internet, and more recently, access to wireless.  See WorldatWork's Telework Trendlines for 2006 for full report.

Home-based Businesses have an Edge

Home-based businesses earn less than businesses in rented space, but they keep more of what they make. Joanne Pratt's new research for the U.S. Small Business Administration found that the average home-based entrepreneur earned $22,569 in net income compared with $38,243 earned by non-home-based firms. But due to lower expenses, particularly in rent and labor costs, the average home-based sole proprietor consistently gained a higher return on gross revenues, at 36 percent, versus 21 percent for the non-home-based. Not only that, but home-based sole proprietors generate $530 billion in annual revenue to the U.S. economy.

The research, based on an analysis of a sample of 1.6 million tax returns found that the most home-based businesses were in professional, scientific and technical services, construction, health care and social assistance, which includes daycare. The most profitable were those that dealt with the wholesale trade of durable goods and travel accommodations, such as bed and breakfasts.

The most non-home-based firms were in retail, professional services and health care. The most profitable were ambulatory healthcare services (including doctors' offices), insurance, real estate and consulting.

The research report, The Impact of Location on Net Income: A Comparison of Homebased and Non-Homebased Sole Proprietors will help entrepreneurs and individuals wanting to start a business  compare average revenues, expenses and net income within industries.

In the press conference announcing the new study, Joanne Pratt said there are two kinds of home-based business owners: those who start their business at home with hopes of growing--The Steve Jobs and Michael Dells--and those who work to support a life style they enjoy without the hassle of employees. Pratt predicted that more home-based businesses will appear as baby boomers retire: "I see the baby boomers formally retiring at age 65, but choosing to run a home-based business to gain primary or secondary income or just to keep their hand in."
Full report

New Research Topic:

Privacy issues are a new research topic. With colleagues, I have developed a model that shows the path of data transfer once an individual engages in a transaction. Say you shop online for convenience or best prices: you give up at the very least your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and credit card number. Have you considered what happens to your personal information once you have made that trade-off?

Our model shows that data has a life of its own, beyond your control. Your data from one transaction may be combined with other information so that much more a bout you is knowable than you ever intended. That data integration has some benefits for you, say if you get ill on a trip, having all your medical records accessible could be life saving. On the other hand, you could be denied insurance if the same information were obtained by unauthorized parties. For more, see Abstract of paper presented at the AMCIS conference.

Other Links:

Several of Joanne Pratt's older research publications are now available on the website:

Cost/benefits of Teleworking to Manage Work/life Responsibilities 1999 Full Report

"Socio-Technical Issues Related to Home-Based Work" 1988 Book Chapter

"Telework and Society – Implications for Corporate and Societal Cultures" 2000 Full Paper

Teleworker Attitudes and Work Styles 1997 Full Report

Teleworking Comes of Age with Broadband 2003 Full Report

A caller had scoured the Internet for a definition of "informal teleworking." He needed a way to include ad hoc teleworking going on in his agency in a legal document. We can help organizations solve this problem. See Module 4 under implementation.

"Mobile Courtesy Matters" according to a survey by Sprint. 100% of mobile phone users felt they were courteous of other people: they moved away at least a couple of feet to take calls. But 80% felt that other people were "less courteous today than five years ago." Take a look at the imaginative ways people cope.

Speaking topics on the impacts of broadband on telework.

Research publications on "Telework Trends in the United States" and "Survey Instrument Design."