Telecommuting 2.0 calls for the use of Remote Office Centers to provide workers with all of the facilities that are normally available in a corporate office – but from a location near where they live. Remote Office Centers lease out offices to individuals from multiple companies in a shared telecommuting center conveniently located around populations centers, so that commutes are never more than a mile or two each way. Remote Office Centers provide: professional grade internet access, a professional phone system, a mail stop, security, and a real office. Centers are owned and managed by commercial leasing companies that specialize in services needed by remote workers. Workers can search for and find remote office centers using a free search engine available at: http://www.remoteofficecenters.com

For some workers, there is no better work environment than a home office. Others have needs that can best be served by a remote office center. The main goal is to cut out long and wasteful commutes that drain bank accounts and put a strain on the economy.

Telecommuting and traditional office environments can be combined to form a compromise that draws from the best of both worlds – Telecommuting 2.0.

Take a look at this blog and tell me what you think. It has a lot of neat …

To be sure, telework’s growth has come in fits and starts; even this week, rumors circulated about AT&T’s respected and long-time telework program is being reeled in as the company goes through management changes. But as I’ve reported for years, and just read in Ms. Shellenbarger’s column, more are embracing telework – from local mom-and-pops who don’t want to lose a good worker, to major corporations like UnitedHealth Group, Safeco to Capgemini, IBM, American Express and Sun Microsystems. So I’ll keep chronicling on it, marvel at those – like myself – who’ve been able to work for the better part of 20 years from home, and watch as others discover this 30-year-old secret.