I’ve run across yet another survey that claims to demonstrate “small businesses are rapidly cutting overhead costs to adjust to the new reality of a slowing economy.” Among other findings in this survey:
- 75% of small businesses negatively impacted by the current economy
- 72% are reducing overhead costs
- 50% are cutting back on business services
- 23% getting rid of physical office space
Overall it paints a picture of small businesses heading for the lifeboats - but how much can we tell about the reliability of this picture?
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At WWD, we’ve long recognized that there are many types of web workers: though the stereotypical web worker may be the always-on-the-go, device-laden, “digital bedouin,” there are millions of others in home offices and cubicles who couldn’t do their job without constant internet use. The latest survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, “Networked Workers,” shows just how pervasive web work has become. It’s becoming clear that web work, by our expansive definition, is business as usual for many in the workplace - and that, as its growth expands, many of the issues on our agenda are becoming increasingly important.
The bottom-line number from this particular survey is simple: 62% of all employed American adults can be considered “networked workers” (Pew’s term) who use the internet or email at work. In fact, 27% of employed adults report that they use the internet “constantly” at work, with the heaviest internet users being government, educational, and non-profit workers, as well as professionals, managers, and executives.
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The wave of adoption of telework as a routine work alternative continues to roll over mainstream businesses. That’s one of the messages of this year’s WorldatWork survey of its members - over 2500 human resources folks. The specific standout number for this particular survey is the proportion of organizations who say they offer their employees telework as an option. In the US, this number went from 30% last year to 42% this year; in Canada, the rise is from 25% to 40%.
Even given the factors that make those relatively soft numbers - the self-selected nature of the survey, the vagueness of what “offering telework” might mean to different people - that’s still a significant jump. From this and other surveys, it seems clear that we’re past the point where web work is something that is only the province of a few trendsetters; soon we may even be the majority. We can only hope that things like reasonable tax treatment come along with that growth.
I was looking at the latest telework survey numbers to cross my desk (this time from the Wainhouse Research WebMetrics program), when it suddenly struck me: even though pretty much everyone I know is on the web, and most of them work there, there are still plenty of working people who are not. That’s the flipside of some of the optimistic statistics we see. For example, this survey found that a record high 67% of their panel of companies used some sort of IM product - but that leaves 33% who do not. Similarly, though 39% have launched a green initiative in response to rising energy prices, and 26% have expanded their telework programs, 32% have made no changes at all.
Who are these people? Or, more to the point, who are their companies? If you’re working for a company that doesn’t let its people use the web, you’re probably not reading this - but perhaps you’re reading at home, on your own time. If so, I’d love to hear some stories about how your company locks down web access, and why they think this is a good thing.
When we looked at last year’s Telework Report from CDW, the federal government stood out as a leader in encouraging telecommuting. This year’s report, which should be available on the CDW site shortly, paints a different picture. Thanks to strong growth in support from corporate IT departments, as well as price pressure at the gas pump, private sector telework has surged.
The simplest bottom-line numbers: 17% of Federal employees telework on a regular basis, as do 14% of private-sector employees. There’s been a marked change in the reasons employees offer for being interested in telework as well. Compared to last year, the number of people who are motivated by lowered expenses - primarily commuting expenses - has jumped from 31% to 67%. (This data correlates well with an IBM study from earlier this year that found $4.50 per gallon gas would be the breaking point for many commuters).
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