GIL GORDON INTERVIEW   Gil Gordon, reverentially called Mr. Telecommuting, is a forerunner in that field. He started to disseminate the idea when the word telecommuting was virtually unknown. In an interview conducted at his home office, he talks about how telecommuting, now an accepted form of working, will develop from the present state. Why did you want to propagate the idea of telecommuting so early when personal computers were still not in wide use? GIL Well, the basic idea of telecommuting concerns not only technological aspects but also the decentralization of office. I wanted to emphasize that the office was just one of the many forms of workplaces. Telecommuting may be a misnomer, because "tele" means "distant." Teleworking may be a better word. How did you explain the ad-vantage of telecommuting? GIL I told them about three benefits of telecommuting. Firstly, it can attract and retain good employees. Secondly, it results in cost reduction. Thirdly, it can improve employee effectiveness. In short, I wanted to put people in an working environment where they could work most comfortably. The traditional office is a terrible place to work in. How did people respond to your proposal? GIL Oh, I had very positive responses from workers. But managers, although they could see some advantage, they seemed to think that visibility was important in supervising their inferiors. Telecommuting Is Now Past Experimental Stage. In what direction do you think telecommuting will go? GIL Basically the number of telecommuters will increase, but there will be a certain limit, probably up to 6 to 8 million, because not all types of work fit telecommuting. There will be more home-based free lances and more virtual workers in the field of sales and accounting. And there will be more people somewhere in the middle, neither pure office workers nor freelances. And in terms of technology, software is the key. If we have better softwares, we will have more new communication methods and consequently new businesses. Is Speed That Important? How did telecommuting chan- ge your workstyle? GIL Because I started my Web site in May, 1995, I've had more people interested in what I do. I offer consulting services through the Web. People used to be interested in what telecommuting was but now they want to know how to make it work, how to make the best use of e-mail and voice mail and how to separate work and home life. When you telecommute, it's very important not to work too much. What I said at the annual conference two years ago was "Turn it off. Take a breath. Get a life." In other words, make yourself away from technology. E-mail makes people less time-bound. Isn't that one of the advantages of technological ad-vance? GIL That's true. But the speed of communication doesn't match the speed of business. Even if you send a fax in ten seconds, the receiver may not start business action as quickly. You have to distinguish between urgent matters and non-urgent matters. When I train virtual workers, I always tell them when to use e-mail, voice mail and a pager, and when to use face-to-face communication. Give us some practical tips on the home office environment. GIL You should have a space dedicated to work, not necessarily an independent room. And you should select furniture from the point of view of safety and ergonomics. Another important thing is not to be too near to temptations such as a refrigerator or a TV. Physical setting is not the only factor to make telecommuting work. You should talk with your family members and set up certain ground rules. Learn From Tool Experts While Working At Office. Has there been any new business which supports telecommuters? GIL Yes. Suppose a salesperson has a trouble with his laptop computer. A company called Mobile Computing Solution will replace within 24 hours the malfunctioning computer with one which has the same softwares. Any advice to Japanese companies? GIL Generally speaking, individuals have much less specific job descriptions in Japan than in the States. There is more group work. So satellite offices rather than tele-commuting may be better suited to Japanese situation. Again, the basic idea of telecommuting is not working at home but to decentralize the office. It is often said that telecommuters don't have much chance of advancement. Is this true? GIL I've heard many managers say that telecommuters are independent and have a good task performance ability as well as a good decision making ability, and that they are the people the companies need and want to promote. On the part of the workers, on the other hand, they are now readier to take risks once they make a conscious decision that telecommuting is what they need. But if you are interested in advancement and invisibility at office concerns you, you should be cautious. Another thing we have to consider is something more serious than advancement. Because of the rapid advance of information technology, some of the jobs which were considered to be suited to telecommuting no longer exist. Probably much of clerical work will disappear in five or ten years, but knowledge work or professional work will remain. So you have to be aware that some of the jobs you do as telecommuters may disappear in the future. Some Jobs May Disappear In Five To Ten Years From Now. A program developer said that telecommuting a day or two would be the limit. Do you think it better to mix office work and home work rather than telecommute full time? GIL There aren't many full-time-tele-commuters. Particularly in knowledge work, one to three days per week is an average. I have never recommended full-time telecommuting. It's very valuable for even customer services people to come to the office. They can meet their colleagues and recognize that they belong to a large organization. I think the combination of telecommuting and non-territorial office is very effective. (an excerpt from ECIFFO 29, October 25, 1996)