An environmental request for teleworkers is embedded in this Silicon Valley weather report: Slight cooling forecast for coast By Yomi S. Wronge Mercury News

"The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has designated today its fourth ''Spare the Air'' day this summer. That means district meteorologists are predicting unhealthy concentrations of ozone, or smog, especially in the South Bay and eastern Contra Costa County.

"Smog is formed when gases in the environment combine in the presence of heat and sunlight. These gases are typically emitted from tailpipes, evaporating gasoline, paints and household products such as hair spray.

"District officials are asking that workers telecommute, take public transportation or carpool for the day. If you must drive, do so sparingly and strategically."

5:13:07 PM    
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If you were able to work from home on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, would it matter to you if you shared a desk with someone worked from home on Tuesday and Thursday? Desks that aren't your own - Sharing raises territory concerns By Diwata Fonte, Staff Writer, News and Observer, Raleigh, NC (July 27, 2003) takes the perspective that humans are territorial in nature, so desk sharing should be avoided. But since one of the telework benefits for employers is the potential real estate cost savings, desk sharing makes sense.

So what steps can be taken to minimize negative impacts? As an exercise, think about the last time you had to stay in a hotel: if we can tolerate time-sharing a bed, we should be able to handle time-sharing a desk. What things were done (or should have been!) that made you feel more comfortable? Was the room clean and orderly? Did it have some decorations, but nothing too unique or distracting? Did the sheets on the bed look "new"? Did the previous guest do these things? Of course not.

Businesses could provide a similar "cleaning" service for shared office spaces. Chairs could be popped back to "normal" height. Phones should be returned to their "starting positions". Personal momentos could be stashed in a personal storage space and brought out only when you're there. Sorry, I don't want to see a photo of someone else's spouse on my desk, much less their empty soda can. And as for "new" sheets, just make sure my computer's desktop doesn't have anyone else's files on it.

5:06:45 PM    
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Job Seekers By Laurie L. Dove, Newton Kansan investigates the reasons many senior citizens remain in the workforce. Telework is one option available, although no studies are cited to estimate the number of seniors embracing this option.

"... According to a recent Health and Retirement Study, seniors are taking advantage of technological advances to work at second careers. For some, that means using a computer and Internet access to telecommute."

One the other side of the coin are those who claim that seniors are reluctant to embrace technology. I've seen both sides of this coin. Heads up: one consultant for the Telework Consortium who works from his retirement home testing desktop videoconferencing software and writing technology research papers; Tails up: my mother, who after having a computer for the last 5 years(received as a gift), and becoming a great Freecell player, still rarely sends an email.  Yes, I think my mom is younger than our consultant. She can work the "thing"; she's just not interested despite the potential savings on her phone bill. Maybe if she could type faster? Maybe if it was video or audio instead of text?

I'd love to see some studies on technology and seniors. Know of any? Click the comment button below and let me know.

4:42:41 PM    
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