Teleworking and Telecommuting: Working online

Years ago, this seemed an impossible task. Where else could anyone live if not in a physical state. The only time we lived differently was in our minds.  Drowned in different kind of habits especially games, growing an avatar that did everything inhumanly possible that we wished we could do, the  escapist world has not really lived up to its name, ‘escape’ .  It has only fulfilled a temporary want, need and lust.
Today, people like me are gradually living the life we had dreamt about for so long.  Life as we know it today does not cut us as much slack as we would want especially for those of us who need and want to achieve much more that the 24-hour day offers. Teleworking and telecommuting have become, not just an escapist mode but the futures of the work-place as we presently know it, and you can work from home even.  They promise a new way of life and an interesting one indeed for everyone including extroverts, who need a ‘me time’ sometimes. 

 Definition

Telecommuting, remote work or teleworking[2] is a work arrangement that does not require an employee to commute to a central and physical place of work.  The employee could work from home or wherever he/she finds convenient armed with the indispensable mobile telecommunications tools such as the mobile phone, a laptop, anipad and of course, the internet.  This arrangement affords multi-tasked individuals such as mothers who have to juggle an aspiring career with looking after the home front, employees who are desirous of acquiring additional educational without jeopardising the security offered by their paid employment, business persons who are constantly on the go but still need to keep in touch with the business, the home front and social circles etc., immeasurable advantages in this fast-paced world of ours. It's a new and smart form of employment - search Telecommuting and Teleworking. 

                                                            pix credit: blog.smartbear.com

#Living and #working in Lagos

Let me take it a little further whilst bringing it home to our Lagosians, especially.  Imagine the typical day in the life of a working Lagosian; wakes up at 4 a.m. in order to beat the traffic and arrive at work before the 8 a.m. resumption time, closes at 5 p.m. but waits behind on the Island in order to once again avoid the traffic congestion on EkoBridge and 3rd Mainland Bridge, gets home on the Mainland at 11 p.m. just in time to catch only 5 hours of less than restful sleep and starts the routine all over again the next morning at 4 a.m.
Precious time needed to catch up, socialize and build on personal self, is wasted on something as inconsequential as the ‘traffic’ in Lagos.   The most dangerous aspect of this routine is that which is not immediately visible on the outside; the tremendous damage done to your health.  Is it therefore any wonder that the average life expectancy of a Nigerian is less than 50 years not to mention the myriad of heart diseases, hypertension, kidney and liver ailments plaguing our working population.  How do you think this translates to our floundering economic outlook. See how usefulTelecommuting and teleworking is to our environment?

Employment Advocate

I am therefore a strong  legislation that will compel upon employers of labour to introduce measures such as teleworking and telecommuting in order to help the populace achieve a healthy work/life balance.  Where this is not possible because mobile technological tools do not come cheap, hours of work could be staggered to enable employees resume before 9am, put in the required 8 hours work time a day or 40 hours a week. Teleworking and telecommuting not only improve the physical well being of people but also bring a lot of cost savings to the organisations in particular and the country in general.  They go a long way to minimising the stress associated with physical commuting especially for working mothers. It could also create employmentfor our ever innovative youths who are always enthusiastic at trying out their hands at anything that is associated with digital tools and as a way of channelling their energies away from the social media to more productive pastimes.

​Platforms: #teleworking and #telecommuting
There are lots of platforms that one can engage to learn/train about teleworking and telecommuting. Google Inc. in partnership with Livity Africa is one of such corporations offering  free training with the #DigifyBites program to learn digital marketing, a strong tool for #teleworking and #telecommuting. It’s interesting to know that the word ‘Google’ is now synonymous with the word ‘Search’, ‘Find’, get ‘Knowledge’ because when you go online to search for free platforms to learn, you will find a lot that will aid your growth. Also, there are platforms you can join as a freelancer to work anywhere in the world like World Writers and Copywriters Collective for copywriters, Upwork for advertising and content specialist, Oilpro for oil and gas specialists. So much more you can do online to build your finances and pave a career path without having to physically commute at all times.
It is the  best ‘other’ way to live.