By Raymond E. Glazier, Ph.D., Director of the Abt Associates Center for the Advancement of Rehabilitation and Disability Services and Member of the Work Without Limits Initiative, Disability.gov Career Connection Series, February 18, 2011
What’s a person to do who yearns for the self-respect, satisfaction and, yes, income that a job would provide? Telework often seems like a good solution, but there are several things to consider when thinking about beginning a career that involves working from home.
Beware of 'Work from Home' Scams
There are a lot of 'Work from Home' scams you may encounter in classified ads, on the Internet and in spam e-mail. Most of these 'business offers' promise great monthly income, but ask for cash up-front to bankroll a 'starter kit.' Don’t send money to any of these come-ons without verifying the legitimacy of the company with the Better Business Bureau and/or your vocational rehabilitation counselor. And before trying to start your own home business, get some good counseling (from a place like your local Small Business Development Center) on how to develop a sound, workable business plan and adequate financial backing. It’s important to realize that the failure rate for start-up businesses is more than 90 percent, so proper planning is essential.
The Difference between Telecommuting & Telework
Telecommuting is a growing phenomenon that benefits workers with and without disabilities, accommodating persons with disabilities ranging from agoraphobia to multiple sclerosis (MS) to quadriplegia. Progressive employers, in industries that can accommodate this practice, have harnessed new technology to enable employees on travel, or otherwise out of the office, to perform their usual job duties from a distance. In many service industry jobs, there is no reason for office confinement, given the ready availability of cell phones, fax machines, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and computers with Internet access. Don’t assume the job you want can’t be performed mostly from home; ask your employer or potential employer if telecommuting is a possibility as an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 'reasonable accommodation.'
Telework refers to jobs that are performed entirely from home using technological hookups – for example, call center positions in work like customer service, word processing, computer programming, accounting, billing, claims processing, data entry, dispatching, editing, order fulfillment, researching, report writing, scheduling, medical transcription, graphic design, auditing or record-keeping.
Below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking:
Different Telework Opportunities
Be aware that turnover in the call center industry is high (30 percent per year), partly because many call center agents cannot tolerate this type of work on a full-time basis and ‘burn out.’ This works to the advantage of job seekers with disabilities in two ways: 1) There are a goodly number of job openings at any given time, and 2) The industry standard is now part-time employment, which accommodates the limitations and the work intentions of many persons with disabilities. But these factors also mean that call center employers’ demands may be especially difficult to meet for workers with disabilities. A national survey by the MA Work Without Limits initiative (http://www.workwithoutlimits.org/) found that 70 percent of call center workers with disabilities were dissatisfied to some degree.
A fairly new business model is the education and training/job brokerage organization, typified by the nonprofit National Telecommuting Institute (NTI) of Boston. NTI most often places telework trainees with disabilities in one of its contractual call center operations for businesses and government agencies. For example, one may assist with booking reservations for a business or taking tax form orders for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). NTI, in most cases, functions as a virtual staffing agency to the hiring organization and is the consumer’s employer of record. NTI operates nationally as a Ticket to Work Employer Network (EN) and typically receives referrals from state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies that support consumers interested in telework from home or through direct applications from its website (www.nticentral.org).
NTI only accepts applicant trainees when it has job openings identified through its job development activities with employers. Applicants for training must have a good telephone voice, a pleasant conversational manner, enjoy working with people to solve problems and be able to reliably maintain an agreed-upon work schedule. The training that NTI and/or the employer provides assumes a basic level of computer literacy and working knowledge of standard business software and communications protocols.
If telework appeals to you, check out information resources on the Internet and discuss the options with your VR counselor or clubhouse peers. Again, beware of any work-from-home scheme that asks you to provide money up-front for training, equipment or materials.
Raymond E. Glazier, Ph.D., often telecommutes from his home, both out of necessity and as a convenience, in his position as Director of the Abt Associates Center for the Advancement of Rehabilitation and Disability Services in Cambridge, MA.
**This post answered the reader-submitted question, "I am disabled. I, like others, am on a quest to acquire a job. My disability will only allow me to work from home. Therefore, the big question is-iIs there a job(s) out there for me and how do I attempt to acquire this job? Thank you! Leanne W."
Posted by Stephanie B on Feb 18, 2011 7:00:00 AM in Career Connection Series, Employment, Guest Blogger
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