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Telework Centers: A telework center is an office facility, typically located in the suburban area of
a major metropolitan area, where workers can go to work instead of making the long commute into the city
center. Telework centers typically host workers from multiple employers; either from public agencies
(most common) or private companies. Occasionally, individuals may choose to work from a telework center
on their own.
Telework centers are typically set up just like the central office, with the same equipment
and connectivity. They often include facilities and equipment that teleworkers don't have at home, like
a conference rooms, copy machines, video conferencing capability, etc. These facilities are often rented
on an as-needed basis.
Telework centers are usually created by a public agency or through a public/private
partnership. In recent years there have been attempts by private companies to create telework
centers. These are primarily marketed as an alternative for teleworkers who don't want to work from
home or as small office space for entrepreneurs. Private centers may rent both cubicles and offices.
They usually have a wide menu of optional services and features that users pay for as needed. A center
may sell a membership, which provides access to all services.
The term "Telework Center" has gained favor in recent years, probably because it is the term used by the
Federal Government. The General Services Administration (GSA)has been the pioneer in setting up telework
centers and has numerous centers scattered around the suburbs of Washington DC.
A similar term is "Satellite Center", which is the same as a telework center but is built and
operated by an employer for use by their own employees.
Flextime: Flexible or varied work schedules. In some cases, employees particularly salaried employees)
are allowed under a flextime arrangement to work any hours they want, although there are often core hours
when they are expected to be available. Hourly employees have been offered flextime less often because
of overtime issues, but actually many tasks that are paid hourly (like data entry) are well suited to
flextime. Flextime may also mean varied work days, such as a 4/10 (4 days a week/10 hours a day),
schedule instead of the typical 5/8 (5 days a week/8 hours a day) one.
Hot Desking: This means that two or more employees can share the same workspace (desks & equipment)
because they don't work the same schedule. This often works well for teleworkers who work in the office
on different days. Unlike "Hoteling", hot desking means that workers have a permanent place in the
office to keep their work and materials.
Hoteling: With hoteling, there are undesignated workstations in the office that employees reserve
for the days or times when they need to be in the office, much the same as they would reserve a hotel room.
Nomads: Sometimes used as a synonym for teleworker, but more specifically, this is a person that
that moves around a lot and either does not have a permanent workplace, or if so, is seldom found there.
Nomads may work in client's offices, libraries, coffee shops, or anywhere else they can get an Internet
connection.
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