Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the grand opening of the NetTech Center of Winchester, Virginia in its new location at 2281 Valley Ave. (mapquest)

The Center provides complete ready-for-business office space for teleworkers, among others. Linda Whitmer, Director of the Center, had reason to beam as she encouraged visitors to tour the beautiful new facility. According to Linda, the offices were nearly full already prior to any advertising. They house an even mix of federal clients including workers from DoD, Army, Navy, GSA, Treasury, and the Federal Highway Department; and private businesses, such as the Winchester Incubation Regional Enterprise (WIRE). Linda estimates that, on average, the federal teleworkers spend 3 days a week at the NetTech Center. Glenn Woodley from GSA, while pleased with the current utilization, hopes that state and local government will also take advantage of the facility and other GSA-supported telework centers across the area.

Read the full story...

12:22:51 PM    

Forbes Magazine round up of articles on telework, part 1:

The Dark Side of Telecommuting [Forbes, July 14, 2003] reports that the trend toward teleworking is growing, 'Last year 32 million people were telecommuters in the U.S., and it is estimated that 50 million employees--one-third of the U.S. workforce--will be telecommuting by 2006.' Tim Kane, president of ITAC, says telework benefits employees by enabling them to balance work/life issues, while businesses can save on real estate and technology costs.

Sounds great, right? So what's the downside?

"There are plenty of horror stories out there," says ITAC's Kane. "Most of the people it didn't work out for are those who were involved in a program that was not put together well by their employer."

10:22:13 AM    

Managers don't like to telework [Personal Computer World, Jul 17 2003] summarizes a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by AT&T. "Managers see the benefits of home working for their staff but are less willing to try it themselves or pay for it, according to a new report." They also found an increase in the use of virtual teams. Kevin Harvey, vice president and UK country manager for AT&T, claimed "We've saved over $150m. Two-thirds of that in increased productivity, $35m in facilities savings and $15m in staff retention."

9:38:30 AM