The new workforce

Working from home is something that suffered a stigma in past times. People that worked from home, or that claimed to do so, were often associated with pyramid schemes or dodgy things of the like. You couldn’t possible do a legitimate work from home, unless you ran a business from your home, and even then it would be a bit strange. But with the advent of the information age all of this has changed. A virtual office space is considered as or at times more effective than a normal, physical office space. More and more companies, although they retain their offices and make their employees travel to their working space on a regular basis, allow their workforce to do at least part of their work from home. I have personally worked with two companies that did so; they had reduced working hours but the employees were expected to turn in their work in specific deadlines and with the quality intensely monitored. The company just did not care whether they did so in their premises or at home. This led, for example, to an acquaintance of mine, who worked at IT, managing to solve a major crisis while on holiday without having to catch a plane back home – all of it was done in the virtual working space.

If this is good news for companies, since it increases the productivity of the workers, and for the workers themselves, who get to spend more time with their families, it’s also excellent news for people who want to do all of their work from home. It sets precedents where working from home is as serious and reliable as doing it in the workplace, and this opens doors to some people.

Stay at home parents are among the group of people that benefit from this the most. Taking care of the house and children is, we all know, as close to a full time job as it gets without actually making any money. And in these times, being able to make at least a little money to supplement the family income is paramount for families to live a trouble free life. Websites like WorkingMums.co.uk set out to bridge the gap between employers and stay at home employees by providing a space where one can meet the other. And in this modern workspace, it’s the consumer who has the most to gain, since working at home means flexible hours and reduced costs to the employer, which will reflect on the end price of items.