Ideal Traits:
“The ideal home-based telecommuter is a person who is strongly self-motivated and self-disciplined, who has all the required skills for his or her job, who has a home environment all set up for telecommuting and who is enthusiastic about the prospects.”

—Agreed.  However, one could argue that the above text describes the ideal worker in any environment – highly motivated and disciplined with requisite skills set – and that the only telecommuting-specific trait mentioned is the “home environment” component.  And even as the right home environment can be an advantage, some companies choose to supply all necessary home office equipment in order to standardize the working environment of their employees, or companies may offer “telecenters” or off-site offices where workers can access a full suite of office tools and resources.  It would seem that the ideal telecommuter is in fact the typical ideal employee.

Flexibility and Innovations:
“Telecommuting is a new way of working. Employees who generally have difficulty adjusting to new situations may also have difficulty in a telecommuting environment.  Employees who are innovative and flexible in their attitudes will likely have little or no difficulty adapting.”

—This book was first published in 1994.  Telecommuting in 2006 is not commonly thought of as a “new way” of working anymore, but may still be regarded as different or unusual in certain industries or local areas.  In my opinion, comparing adjusting to telecommuting to adjusting to other work changes – for example, change in management, project teams, or corporate identity – is comparing apples to oranges; if you expect an employee to adjust without difficulty to moving their desk from the first floor to the third, then you can expect that they will do just fine moving their desk off-site, provided that there are ample and adequate technical, professional, and social support systems in place.

Life Cycle Stage:
“In addition to characteristic personality traits, many successful home telecommuters are at stages of their lives when working from home has positive tradeoffs. As a counterexample, young singles who depend on peer contact to meet and form social relationships want to be on site around the coffee machine or in the hallways or cafeteria with access to a pool of potential leisure, as well as work friends.”

—The “positive tradeoffs” for some telecommuters at a certain “stage of their lives” are not presented; I will endeavor to list what benefits are implied: 1. more time with family; 2. less time spent commuting; 3. greater work schedule flexibility.  Now, it should be clear that these benefits are not desired solely by middle-age and senior employees.  Many “young singles” would strive to work from home in order to reap the same rewards, and in fact may be in a better position (in terms of work responsibility) to do so.  And while it is true that the office can be an excellent place to meet people and make friends, the growing trend toward making connections over the internet drives holes into the theory that if not for workplace socialization, casual interaction would cease to exist.

As a final thought, I would say that Mr. Niles gives thorough consideration and proper treatment to the topic “Is there a telecommuting personality?”.  But I would suggest that as we read his still-relevant guide to creating, implementing, and evaluating telecommuting programs we consider the possibility that anyone, given the right skills and opportunity, would make a suitable telecommuter.