Joanne Pratt has been called “exceptionally interesting and talented. Her work is innovative, leading edge, and intriguing. And she is making a significant impact in a number of different arenas.”

Her work and interests are focused on what will happen next in our rapidly changing environment. Therefore her title is Joanne Pratt, futurist. And she is the Founder and President of Joanne H. Pratt Associates.

With degrees from Oberlin College and Harvard University, and as an internationally known consultant, researcher, and speaker on business trends—she is widely cited in scholarly and trade publications. Early in her career, when laid off from the oil industry with a consulting contract, she became a home-based business. A status that was not very fashionable at the time---but one that would lead to her current career path and to the international reputation that she now enjoys.

She became curious about the numbers and characteristics of others that worked from their homes. As early as 1980, she surveyed home-based workers and found teleworking to be a developing trend. And, of course its growth was accelerated by the Internet and personal computers. She became fascinated with the IBM PC when it was introduced to the market and curious about what people would do with this new tool that would theoretically allow them to work in any place, at any time.

Subsequently, she became a leading authority on all aspects of home-based work--- including business impacts, transportation and air quality implications, family issues and impacts on corporate work patterns, neighborhood crime, and land use.

She assists organizations, corporations, and governments in training their employees to work from home offices. She wrote the first guide on telecommuting for CEO’s. She researches trends in the changing workplace, and her research ranges from technological to legal to psychosocial issues. She has even explored the role of telecommuting in earthquakes and other disasters.

Internationally recognized in her field, she is currently the only American participant in a major European Union project dealing with workplace issues. She says that as we evolve from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, we are reshaping ourselves into a more mobile, global workforce, linked by technology. And Joanne is interested in how that fact is changing our corporations, our families, and our lifestyles.

If you telecommute or even if you have ever thought about it---go to Teleworking Tips, and you’ll find some interesting tips, as well as some interesting facts about telecommuting.-----Ever wondered what people eat for lunch when they’re home-based? How messy their office is? Whether or not they wear shoes? It’s all there. ---along with her leading edge research and answers to frequently asked questions.