The face of the workplace is changing as telecommunications becomes more adeptabile and flexible. As bandwidth increases and computers become more capable, more and more workplace duties can be done by people far away. Power plants can be monitored from miles away; network administrators can check in on servers and do aspects of their work from home, miles away from the actual location of the machines.

Projects are now regularly sent across the globe to be completed, and then returned. Some companies run back to back shifts on opposite sides of the globe, sending completed work to the other team as night falls for one part of the company. All these new adaptations are changing what the workplace means, and a growing number of people are now able to simply work at home. Not all can do so, however, and some jobs are simply not appropriate ? it depends on the nature of the specific job.

There are a number of benefits to doing your work from home, such as an increase in flexibility and of course, a shorter commute, so it is worth seeing if yours can be. If it is possible, even if your company doesn't currently have a history of allowing telecommuting, there may still be a way to sell your bosses on it. A couple of factors make it more likely that it's appropriate to do your work at home.

First, your job shouldn't be location specific. If its necessary that you always do your work in a certain place, perhaps because it requires expensive machinery or personal oversight, it will be harder to do your work from home. Problems like this can be mitigated somewhat, though, depending on what technology is available. For instance, if it is possible to monitor and control the machinery by logging into a computer, it may still be possible to do your work at home. If, however, your job requires that you be able to react to problems onsite within a few minutes, it's not as likely, at least unless you live at your office.

Second, you should consider the nature of your meetings with your coworkers. The degree of interaction necessary for your business is a vital part of the decision, and if that communication cannot take place when you do your work at home, then the office may be the only place for you. Never fear, though, software now allows an unprecedented degree of communication. People across the country can be on the same task force, communicating regularly through email, over the phone, and even video conferences, so the likelihood that someone doing their work from home wouldn't be able to communicate as well is remote, so to speak. Still, some types of work, such as more creative areas, as well as those that still insist on personal interaction, like legal advice, probably still require a personal presence.

Overall, though there are still some career areas that don't lend themselves well to doing work from home, that number is shrinking rapidly and it's likely that if you're left out now, you'll be able to join the millions who telecommute within a few years. If you're one of the lucky ones who can now give up the daily commute and do all of their work at home, congratulations.