HR and Homeshoring

According to an article in the Baltimore Sun, research by the Dieringer Research Group shows the full-time telecommuting workforce has grown by 36% since 2003. This may suggest a strong growth trend for telecommuting.  However, the same researchers also concluded that the number of telecommuters remained unchanged from 2004 to 2005.

It will be interesting to see the growth this year.  I predict that there will be significant growth because of the effort towards fuel conservation and the newfound emphasis on COOP (Continuity of Operations Program) in case of terrorist attacks, pandemics, or other disasters.  Another contributing factor could be the growing cost of living (home prices and rents) in urban areas.
I also think that the growing familiarity with social interaction over the web (e.g. Web2.0) will be the strongest contributor to the growth in telecommuting.  The biggest obstacle to telecommutin, as demonstrated in the abovelinked article, is the lack of social interaction.  Surprisingly, some people think that younger workers are more concerned about this than older workers.  I wouldn’t have thought that, but upon reflection that does make sense.  However, the upside of this is that even tomorrow’s young workers (today’s college and high school students) are VERY familiar with online social interaction, indeed, they are pioneering it with their participation in sites such as Facebook and MySpace.  Overall, I think that telework will grow significantly, but rather slowly over the next 3-5 years, and then really start to explode to the point where it becomes a seriously considered standard option for employees at all levels, including entry-level.