BradPace.com

Doing what I do (Internet marketing, web development and design) I have often though I could do my job from anywhere in the world (with a PC and an Internet connection). I know not everyone has a job like mine, but I think that more and more do purely “virtual jobs”. By that I mean that I never produce anything that is a physical product in the real world (other than back pain, headaches and bad posture I mean). If you think about it many people provide a service, training or something non-physical if you think about it. Even though I work with cutting edge technology, I still work in a traditional work environment. I don’t want to get into that too much but I want to focus on the benefits of the virtual worker.

Here are some benefits and problems that a virtual worker could fix:

1. Urban Sprawl – It is amazing to me how much Utah has changed in just the last 10 years. The Salt Lake Valley is all but filled up! Utah County, which used to be in the “country”, is all but filled up as well. In Spanish Fork it is amazing how many new homes, stores, and schools. This can only go on for so long.

The virtual worker could live anywhere they chose. They could live in a small town away from the city or in another country and still work for the company they chose. These types of workers could be a real asset to these remote locations and boost local economies. Personally I feel that the big city is a bad place to raise a family and I won’t go into that now. But just for environmental, economic, social and security reasons I think outside the big city is the better place to live.

1. Time and resources saved – I spend almost 2 hours a day commuting to Salt Lake every day. I know many people who just wish they had a 1-hour commute each way. Not only does that eat up 8 hours of my week, but it consumes resources like my car and fuel for my car. I do car pool 3-4 times a week but I still just imagine those toxic fumes pouring out of my Civic’s tail pipe every day.

It is not only the time on the road but a virtual worker gets that time back and can do productive things with it. They could work for 2 hours a day more, they could spend more time with the family (my top choice), or they could get more involved in their community (service, classes, politics for example).

1. More productivity – Personally I feel that when I work from home I am more productive. I have a secluded office and a great Internet connection (thanks SFPN!). With fewer distractions that at work. I admit it takes some getting used to and some self control. But with modern technology and tools it is easy to keep track of what virtual workers are doing. With cell phones, web browsers and PDAs it is easy to waste time at work as well so most people are learning to effectively manage these distractions.
2. Better communication – Some may say that communication is the weak point in the virtual worker. I would argue the contrary. I have been managing a web development team in Mumbai India for over a year and have never met a single one of them. With tools like instant messenger, email, voice over IP, cheap phone service, and video conferencing you can communicate more effectively than ever. And many of these tools have built in tracking of what was said and done. Many times here at work I end up having a 30-minute conversation with someone that could have been done in a 2-minute email and still been productive. People today are getting better and better at multi tasking and are getting used to communicating in many different ways and with many different tools.
3. Lower costs – The virtual worker saves the company money in expensive rental space and equipment. I just need a computer, headset, and cell phone and I am ready to go. I have a desk, chair, printer and Internet connection already at home. It doesn’t get any cheaper than that.

I understand that there are problems and concerns with the virtual worker that I have not addressed. Maybe I will do another blog posting about that. But in our world economy and ever increasingly technical society it is just a matter of time that it is a very common thing for millions of virtual workers to be plugging away at remote locations every day.