technology
Remote Job Trends
THANKS TO TODAY’S TECHNOLOGY AND POTENTIAL COST
SAVINGS, MORE EMPLOYEES ARE TELECOMMUTING
More North American companies are incorporating remote
job options – such as telecommuting – into their
business practices. Over the past decade alone in the
U.S., it has been estimated that telecommuting has
grown by more than 70 per cent across all sectors.
In Canada, statistics are a little more difficult to confirm, but
FlexJobs, a U.S.-based website for flexible jobs, calls Canada a leading
country in the telecommuting career revolution. Even before
many other countries were offering this form of work, Sara Sutton
Fell, CEO and founder of FlexJobs, says Canadian companies were
providing flexible job options. And she can’t tout the benefits enough.
“By having people work from home, companies can drastically
reduce their overhead and real estate costs,” she said. “But they
also reap the benefits of a more productive, more engaged and happier
workforce.”
Sutton Fell knows all of this from personal experience. She
formed FlexJobs in 2007 while pregnant with her first son, having
been just laid off from a C-level position.
“I was experiencing firsthand the frustrating search for professional
jobs that also offered flexible work options,” she said. “I
wanted to find a job that would allow me the flexibility I needed
to be there for my growing family while pursuing my career.
I was overwhelmed by the scams that existed in the work-fromhome
job market, but I knew flexible jobs existed, and I knew I
couldn’t possibly be the only professional searching for more work
flexibility.”
By Lisa Kopochinski
Bikeriderlondon/Shutterstock
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ MAY/JUNE 2015 ❚ 55