Nine Shift

Profile of Average Teleworker

Teleworker, knowledge worker, job creator = all the same.  Here's a profile of the average teleworker.

The typical telecommuter is a 49-year-old, college educated, salaried, non-union employee in a management or professional role, earning $58,000 a year at a company with 100 or more employees.

Over 75% of employees who work from home earn over $65,000 per year, putting them in the upper 80 percentile relative to all employees.

‣ Larger companies are more likely to allow telecommuting than smaller ones.

‣ Non-union organizations are more likely to offer telecommuting than those with unions.

‣ In a quarter of the nation’s 20 largest metro areas, more people now telecommute than use public transportation.

Tom Harnish & Kate Lister, The State of Telework in the U.S. How Individuals, Business, and Government Benefit, Telework Research Network, June 2011, p.4, http://www.workshifting.com/downloads/

Photo: Another telework advantage.  No one has to see my cluttered desk.

Latest Data on Telework

Telework continues to be the "silent revolution" in the 21st Century. Here's the latest data on the growth in working from home.

Regular telecommuting grew by 61% between 2005 and 2009. During the same period, home-based selfemployment grew by 1.7%.

Based on current trends, with no growth acceleration, regular telecommuters will total 4.9 million by 2016, a 69% increase from the current level but well below other forecasts.

‣ Seventy-six percent of telecommuters work for private sector companies, down from 81% in 2005—the difference is largely attributable to increased Working At Home among state and federal workers.

Tom Harnish & Kate Lister, The State of Telework in the U.S. How Individuals, Business, and Government Benefit, Telework Research Network, June 2011, p.4, http://www.workshifting.com/downloads/

Photo: Another telework advantage. I had my home office window enlarged to give me a better view of the backyard.

Feel Good Story of the Year

Romee Day was flying with her husband from England to the U.S. to be at the LERN annual conference last month. They land in New York and take a taxi downtown.  It is snowing and it takes two hours, but the cab driver is not upset.  Then Romee asks the cab driver about Sandy, the terrible storm that also just hit NYC.  Again, the driver is not particularly upset about all the disruption and devastation.  Finally, she asks the cab driver why he is not upset about Sandy and the big snowstorm, and the driver says, "Everything will be o.k.  I got me my Obama."   

Romee Day, center, with her husband Peter, left, and me.

More Predictions for 2013

Nine Shift is predicting the same conflict in 2012 will continue in 2013.

Julie bought me my annual book purchase from 100 years. This year it is Jack London's 2013 novel on labor conflict - - just like we have today.

2013 will see:
-The corner was turned in 2012, with change now firmly on the agenda.
-The Tea Party will keep fighting for the last century.  The Tea Party now on the decline, but not dead yet.
-We have not yet resolved a lot of issues, so the fight goes on.
-Labor and wages, like 100 years ago, will continue to be a big issue for Gen Y in 2013.

Photo: My brother Robin cross country skiing around our lake up north this month. Working in the public school system, where there is much labor conflict, he says the problem is not public sector workers getting too many benefits, but private sector workers getting too few benefits.

Prediction: Cracks in the Edifice Complex

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Edifice Complex.

In 1913, the Woolworth Building was completed in New York City, then the highest building in the city. But more importantly, it was named after the Woolworth 5 and dime store company.  Thus the success status for business- - and later colleges and universities - - became the building, especially the building named for the company or donor.

The Edifice Complex is already dead in the private sector. Chrysler no longer owns the Chrysler Building. Sears no longer owns the Sears Tower. And you and I have no idea what the Amazon or Google buildings look like.  We do, of course, know what their web sites look like.

But the Edifice Complex is dying hard for colleges and universities, wsting and costing billions. We predict some education leaders this year finally recognize the building craze has to end.

Photo: Worker constructing the Woolworth Building in 1913.

Prediction: Top Story of 2013

Nine Shift is predicting the Top Story of 2013 will be that highway funding has no fix.

With driving declining among younger people, there’s no solution for funding highways. It’s our top story moving into 2013 for Nine Shift.
   Sign up for our free webinar, Nine Shift for 2013: The Great American Comeback, on Wed Jan 30 at 2 pm ET. Just click  here.

Nine Shift Celebrating 10th Anniversary!

Thanks to you all for making our 10th Anniversary possible!

Not many books are successful ten years later. In 2013:
* We make a publicity effort to promote the solution to STEM.
* We will publish a special report, "The End of the Auto Age."
* We have a special celebration at the Nine Shift presentation in San Francisco on November 23.

Thanks so much for your support!