Virtually Yours: Work at Home Jobs for the 21st Century

Have you heard about the employment trend that is hitting critical mass? Set to triple its numbers by the year 2010? One of the names it goes by is "homeshoring". This name came about as being the opposite of "outsourcing" North America's customer service work to far-flung countries. How did THAT work out, by the way? Not too well.

Picky, picky! It seems customers of big business logged complaints with the companies. Why? They could not understand what the agents were saying! Now, most of these agents are highly educated. With doctorates, no less. But, if you don't understand their accents, you can't get the customer service help you are looking for.

The customers complained. Big business had no choice but to listen. Something about the shareholders getting their knickers in a knot. So what is a business to do? Bring the customer service jobs back to North America where they SHOULD have stayed in the first place. Now we understand. Businesses were told to save money. The backlash was justified.

Now they have a problem. They still have to save money. Traditional customer service or call centers were still too expensive. Then, someone came up with a brilliant idea. Why don't we outsource our customer service work to people who want to work at home? Yes! Now we're talking! An "a-ha!" moment, for sure!

Businesses save money on the real estate costs of call centers. The money they save can be put to better wages for the work at home agents. And so it came to pass. These companies decided to put out the call for customer service representatives who wanted to work at home. Now, who doesn't love THAT idea?

Most of us would give our proverbial eye-teeth to be able to earn our living from the comfort of our own homes. Think of the savings! No more gas guzzling automobiles. No expense for work clothes. No more stained ties and shaggy pantyhose. Never mind the day care expenditures or brown-bagging the left-overs.