Living Large In A Virtual World
After six years as a dedicated teleworker, Joe Roitz feels like he's been assimilated by the Internet.
AT&T's telework director works with colleagues and clients he's never met, holds conversations and meetings in a digital forum, and forges friendships without uttering a sound - save for the ping of an in-bound e-mail.
And Roitz wouldn't have it any other way.
"Virtual work is such a powerful way to run an enterprise," he says. "You don't have all these visual perceptions to get in the way. You remove that lens and bias and you're left with pure knowledge."
Teleworkers and home-based entrepreneurs live in solitude, often lacking the human touch - except maybe for their Internet connections. But is that enough? For many home-based workers, the answer is yes.
A decade ago, a blizzard in Atlanta made Roitz's commute impossible, and introduced him to telework. A few years later, he moved his office home full time when his wife took a job in Dallas. Since, he's earned his MBA online from the University of Phoenix, and shares digital images of his arrowhead collections with other enthusiasts on the Web.
These days, from his home in rural Roland, Ark., Roitz reports to home-based managers near AT&T offices in Atlanta and New Jersey, and works with 50 co-workers to manage the company's telework program. Moreover, he savors the free time he spends with his wife and 6-year old son.
A self-described e-mail junkie who considers instant messaging intrusive, Roitz says the Internet helps him increase performance and productivity. During Web casts, some AT&T staffers might lament the buffering's lag-time. But Roitz and others laud the chance to participate in the Web cast if it means they can skip a trip to the office.
"They don't need to walk away from their desks. People who are VO [virtually officed] can see the viewgraphs and hear the speaker, and they can do their e-mail or other things," he adds.
Such increased productivity translates into bottom line savings. AT&T's recent employee survey of 1,500 teleworkers showed that on telework days, employees produce 10% more work - resulting in $65 million in increased output from those workers alone.
Still, Roitz acknowledges the notion of "disappearing in the Web" leaves some uncomfortable. But not him. "People know about your kids and where you live like you sit next to them. That's not to say [telework] has to be full-time and consume our lives. But when it works well, sometimes you don't notice until you're assimilated."
GS!
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HOME OFFICE SUCCESS STORIES is a monthly electronic magazine distributed free for the asking, from Jeff Zbar's Goin' SOHO!
