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In the
past Flexibility has not specialised in providing
resources for individuals working (or wanting to work) from
home.
And as there are numerous good
sites out there doing just this, our policy will remain to point
you in the right direction - see our FAQ
below.
But we will be building up
resources and links to help you gain insight into the issues.
Here are the articles:
Case study: Telework at Nortel Networks
We present a case study of teleworking at a company that has
some 12, 000 teleworkers and has been doing it for around a
decade. This includes a personal case history from someone who's
been doing from the start - and she still enjoys it.
Health
& Safety for teleworking
An outline of the issues every teleworker should know about health and
safety requirements.
Profile:
The Telework Association
Europe's largest telework-promoting organisation: we take a look at
what it does.
Teleworking
in the sun: the Crete Telework Network
Fancy getting away from it all - apart from the work, that is? How
tourism and telework combine in the sunshine.
Technologies
for working anywhere
Our guide to the various places you can work, and the options for kit
and communications.
Live-Work space
A report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation highlights the issues and
"grey areas" involved in working at home.
Turn it
off!
Or you may need a complete escape from the 24x7 world of work. US telework
prophet Gil Gordon urges you to do so
Bosses
go home - can we come too?
Many managers see working from home as being necessary and acceptable for
themselves - but are reluctant to authorise others to do so...
Working
anywhere
The DTI has updated its guide to working anywhere - god introductory advice
here. Nice pictures, too.
A
Statistical Portrait of Working from Home
Researchers from Leicester University tackle the
myths and reality of homeworking
Health
and Safety in the Home Office
Government advice on Homeworking, from the UK Health &
Safety Executive
Here
are our most
Frequently Asked Question about working from home - and
some attempt at an answer
Q. I would like to
work from home. Where can I find a teleworking job?
A.
We receive a lot of open-ended enquiries like this. The key
question is, "What do you do?" Teleworking usually
involves doing what you normally do, only from someplace else.
So teleworking is not a job so much as a way of doing a job.
With this kind of
enquiry we assume that the worker wants to be completely
home-based. But it is far more common for people to telework on
a part-time basis, so it can be a question of identifying work
within a job which is suitable to be undertaken at home. Say
your job involves meetings with clients. These will usually have
to be carried out at the normal venue. But much of the paperwork
could be done at home - if the employer allows.
We usually advise as
a first port of call our friends in the Teleworkers
Association. Their
magazine regularly carries ads from employers seeking people for
teleworking types of jobs, and gives the opportunity for members
to network with each other. There's
also www.homeworking.co.uk
which has links to jobsearch sites - it looks like an OK site,
but our disclaimer applies!
There are a number of
websites where freelancers (or e-lancers) can bid for work. These include:
We are of course not responsible for the
content of these sites, and you will need to rely on your own
judgement in assessing their worth and in deciding on any
follow-up actions you take.
Q. I've heard there are a lot of homeworking
scams - how can I tell?
A. The online world is much like the
off-line world. Basically there's no such thing as a free lunch. Each of us
here at Flexibility gets several emails a day promising instant
riches. Only one thing to do with them. Bin them.
The typical (email) scam offer
includes the following elements:
-
A promise of easy money - earning
thousands of $ in your spare time, or "just sit back and watch the
money roll in!"
-
An "I didn't believe it either,
until..." section, or "you wouldn't believe it, but it's
true".. Nah, I don't believe it at all!
-
Some kind of - fake - testimony.
Maybe a supposed
friend who showed the way: "Now I earn twice as much as Jerry!" Or
reference to an un-named TV show on a major network ("which gave over a
whole evening to this remarkable scheme").
-
No clear mention of what it is the work
involves
-
The sting - you have to part with $29.99
- maybe for a training CD, or Dr Fraud's Foolproof Moneymaking Manual
etc; or maybe it's $350 for some amazing software to do all that "email
marketing" which will start the money cascade.
-
Sometimes the sting is delayed
- you have to respond to get into the secret. This secret involves
shelling out the money. Now you've taken the bait, and the sharks have
got their hooks into you, and will reel you in.
Here's a rule of thumb:
Anything that asks you to part with money before you make any
money is a scam!
Further useful information and
advice on scams can be found at
About.com:
Jobsearch . I'd steer clear of their sponsored links,
though!
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