eWORK 2000 - European Telework Week

New Ways to Work 2000European TeleworkAnnex 5: DEFINITIONS & GLOSSARY1. DefinitionsTeleworkThere are many definitions of telework. This causes difficulties when trying to compare the results of differenttelework surveys and research. The common element across all aspects of telework is“the use of computers and telecommunications tochange the accepted geography of work.”It origins can be traced to the introduction of the term "telecommuting" by Jack Nilles in the USA in his publicationThe telecommunications transportation trade-off (John Wiley & Sons, 1976), to denote this type of workingarrangement. It was popularised by futurist Francis Kinsman in his book The Telecommuters (John Wiley & Sons,1987). The term "telework" has been popularised in Europe through its use by the European Commission, which fromthe late 1980s and early 1990s has sponsored considerable research in this field, particularly into the use of teleworkas a means to develop economic activity and create work opportunities in rural areas or places with economicproblems. The most commonly encountered terms are explained below.TelecommuterGenerally interpreted to mean someone with an arrangement to avoid commuting by working at home, or closer tohome.Flexible WorkingAn employer-centred concept that encompasses a wide spectrum of new working practices, including flexible workinghours as well as flexibility of work location, flexible contracts of employment. It can also mean flexible use of officespace, such as ‘hot-desking’, where a group of people don’t have personal desks but share a smaller number of desks,and use whichever one is free.TelecentresThese are shared office facilities that provides a range of office services, often for employees of several companies, ordifferent departments of the same company. It means that employees can use the office that's most convenient to himor her, rather than specific office space owned by their company or department.TelecottagesA special class of telecentre, named because of its origins in rural villages. The telecottage movement started inScandinavia and has now spread to many other parts of Europe, such there are now estimated to be over 500telecottages across Europe. Telecottages perform multiple roles including offering training in teleworking technologyand relevant skills, attracting work that uses these skills and hence being a stimulus to local economic development.They also provide local organisations and businesses access to more expensive office and hi-tech equipment.Home-based Telework, Home TeleworkingIn this mode of telework, the home is the locus of work and the main work location or base of a teleworking employeeor self-employed teleworker. Part of the home is an ‘office’ workplace, with typical office facilities, such as filingcabinet, business phone, fax and a computer, plus of course, a modem or ISDN link into computer networks.Nomadic (peripatetic) TeleworkThese teleworkers have no obvious single location where more work takes place than any other. Armed with mobiletelephone and/or portable computer, their office is where the nearest phone plug is (or anywhere if they are on batterypower and radio communications). Their work is location independent (see LIW below).Remote Office TeleworkA location physically distant from the main office, where one or more workers work. Such work may be individualwork e.g. a member of a team who has not relocated to be physically close to the rest of their team, or a whole ‘backoffice’team. Such workers typically have ‘remote access’ to computer systems at the main office.- 199 -