"Employers still aren't doing enough to retain workers who want to ease their way into retirement," concludes human-resources consultancy Watson Wyatt Worldwide, who recently released a study that surveyed 1,000 people between the ages of 50 and 70 years old. (Baby Boomers Face Barriers To Phased Retirement -Study, Dow Jones news wire, March 22, 2004) 

Their recommendation? "Employers who want to accommodate an aging workforce need to institute alternative work options such as flexible hours, part-time work and telecommuting."

The study, Phased Retirement: Aligning Employer Programs with Worker Preferences - 2004 Survey Report, is available from their website for $45.

10:22:28 AM    
comment []  trackback []

According to the March 22, 2004 MarketWire press release Nation's First Wireless Community Broadband Service Deployed in Cerritos, CA, Cerritos, CA, a Southern California suburban community of more than 50,000 people, claims title as the world's largest hotspot with most of its 8.6 square mile area connected via wireless broadband. Additional transmitters can be added to allow individual neighborhoods to receive in-house wireless broadband.

See Aiirmesh's press page for a news clip on their work in Cerritos, and don't forget to look for the low-profile transmitters mounted on the city's light poles. Aiirmesh's arrangement with the city allowed them to mount transmitter on public buildings, light poles, and other structures around the city for free. The City of Cerritos will become one of Aiirmesh's largest customers, allowing 60 of its city workers to have free-roaming access to wireless broadband for a variety of public safety initiatives, at a cost of $34.95 a month each. In a separate press release from Tropos Networks, one of Aiirmesh's main equipment suppliers, Cerritos's unwired workers include city maintenance workers, code enforcement officers and building inspectors.

Aiirmesh's technologies can create hot zones of three-to-30 miles. Aiirmesh Communications is working closely with the Rural Broadband Coalition (RBC) to identify the broadband needs of Rural America, which has virtually no access to broadband at the present time. 

9:43:01 AM    
comment []  trackback []

Another terrific summary from Toni Kistner's Telework Beat "Two states, two incentive bills" (NetworkWorld, 3/22/2004), this time comparing proposed state legislation to encourage telework. While Georgia tries to pass an incentive where a business could secure over $40,000 in tax credits but must meet numerous requirements, Maryland offers at most $5,000 per employer and requires only a minimal application process to get the bucks. The first step for each state is to get these bills passed.

8:48:28 AM    
comment []  trackback []