I’m a writer.
The urge to put pen to paper … er, fingers to keyboard … can strike at any given time. I’m rarely far from my laptop and, when I am, I have a wonderful little tablet to keep the words flowing.
And you know what that means.
I can do my job from anywhere. As long as I’m just writing, I don’t even need an internet connection … only when it’s time to post my work.
My office space can be my dining room table (most of the time, it is), the couch, the gym, Starbucks or the park.
What need for a daily commute to the office and home again?
What need for desk space, surrounded by co-workers just as annoyed by overhead fluorescent lights and the bustle of a communal area?
A manager towering over me, nagging for copy?
Writers and editors are on a list of occupations prime for telecommuting.
Compiled by The Conference Board last year, the list is grouped into three categories: travelling salesman, tech expert and “The Recluse.”
Those of us who need a quiet space to accomplish our tasks are classed as “recluses.”
“For individuals whose work is often independent and benefits from a quiet workspace, the solitude of one’s own home can be as, or even more, conducive to success than an office environment,” The Conference Board writes on its Human Capital Exchange blog.
Telecommuting and telework still belongs to “niche occupations, which share similar characteristics,” TCB says, but technology like web conferencing and conference calling allows for seamless communication between employee and employer, or client and business professional.
Is your profession on the list of occupations? Can you approach your manager or employer for the opportunity to work from home? Or anywhere?
