The types of tasks and variety of industries in which ThirdAgers are adapting various work styles are all over the map. For it is the computer, or whatever information device that will bring the Internet into our lives, that is making all of this possible. The flow of real-time information, the trove of research on every topic, and the access to colleagues, clients, collaborators, virtual business partners, employers, and experts of all kinds are what will allow you not only to go on working as long as you want, but to find a work style that is just right for you. Some companies, such as Merrill Lynch, give all telecommuters formal training in working from home efficiently and carefully monitors their progress.
Some employees make telecommuting a permanent arrangement.
One high-level executive was assigned to her firm's New Jersey headquarters. But when her husband was transferred to Oregon, she relocated herself and her job 3,000 miles from her home base. She makes two or three week-long visits a year to her headquarters. While telecommuting is an attractive new job option, many ThirdAgers do not want to work full time, whether in an office park or in their dens. Employers report that prospective hires are putting time ahead of all other job considerations, including compensation.