Have you ever wondered about the differences between Telecommuting, Teleworking, Remote Working, and Working From Home? We explain it all.
What Does Working Remotely Mean?
Working remotely means working in a different location from your head office or team. Because you are not in the same location, you must use technology to bridge the divide between you and your work colleagues, team, peers, and boss.
Telecommuting vs. Remote Working vs. Teleworking
There are many very serious web pages with definitions of telecommuting, remote working, teleworking, and working from home. They go on for pages defining the differences. But the fact is they are nearly all the same thing. It all means “not in the office.” Below, I will explain the differences.
Telecommuting Definition
Telecommuting is an old phrase coined in the 1970s by a rocket scientist who wanted not to drive to work one day and instead made a phone call and called it telecommuting. Read more about Telecommuting With Success.
Teleworking Definition
Teleworking is a more recent term encompassing all remote work forms, including telecommuting. It is often used in government and corporate settings to describe employees working from home or other locations outside the traditional office setting. Teleworking also includes using technology to collaborate and communicate remotely with colleagues.
Working From Home (WFH) Definition
The perception of working from home (WFH) is that a person went out on Thursday night and partied so hard they could not drive to work the next day. So on Friday, they are WFH, e.g., lying in bed watching T.V. and trying not to vomit.
But this is not the reality; working from home is a part of our modern working life. Working from home means that on a specific day, a person is located at their home. It indicated a temporary arrangement, but all these words are interchangeable.
Remote Working Definition
Someone who works remotely because their office space has been cut or the local office location has been shut down. Perhaps they used to be part of a local team, but that team was all outsourced to India, and they were the un/lucky survivors. They are still great employees, so they still have jobs; therefore, they need to work remotely because they have nowhere to go.
International Telecommuting
Instead of calling into work from another city or even home, you are calling into another country. It’s kind of in the name!
