oDesk’s weekly column brings you the latest news on labor markets, innovation, and online work.

Week of 12/14/2012:

Bloomberg: Alternatives To Running Your Business From Home
When working from home, the line between personal and professional can quickly become blurred. If that sounds too familiar, check out Karen E. Klein‘s tips for finding flexible work options outside your home office. Beyond local coffee houses, Klein recommends venturing out to libraries, hotel lobbies, co-working spaces and even incubators for a refreshing change of scenery, some networking and collaboration opportunities, and often a great cup of coffee.

Forbes: Is Your Employment Model Too Stateful?
Is your workforce stateful or stateless? Rawn Shah discusses the concept of “Workforce-as-a-Service” or “talent in the cloud,” repurposing the IT descriptors ‘stateful’ and ‘stateless’ to describe allocation of human resources. Shah writes that a stateless workflow—one in which people can contribute to multiple projects at the same time instead of being stuck in one role or task—can help businesses be more flexible than with a stateful model. The benefits of going stateless include accessing the right employee expertise every time, while fostering greater business agility.

Business Insider: Mary Meeker’s Must-Read Presentation on the State of the Web
Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins shared her annual 2012 Internet Trends presentation this week. In it she discusses the state of the Internet, with analysis and forecasts on everything from mobile advertising to tablet adoption. She also discusses disruptive technologies and how they are transforming traditional industries, shifting the world away from a heavy dependence on fixed assets to one in which assets are lean and resources are on demand. This certainly applies to organizational structure and workforce models—check out one of her slides below!

Did we miss anything? Are there any insights you find particularly interesting? Let us know in the comments section below!

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oDesk’s weekly column brings you the latest news on labor markets, innovation, and online work.

Week of 12/7/2012:

Xconomy: Maximizing Value and Minimizing Risk With Remote Workers
A veteran in the world of remote work, Nathaniel Borenstein shares what he’s learned about ensuring that virtual work arrangements are successful for both the employer and the employee. Borenstein emphasizes the importance of trust as a building block for great remote work relationships, allowing teams to collaborate efficiently and work cohesively. While hardly a simple exercise, virtual work is a great way to attract new talent and reward employees for a job well done, he writes.

Deloitte: Making Virtual Work ‘Business As Usual’
The construct of ‘work as a place’ has been replaced by the recognition of work as an action—a thing you do as opposed to a place you go. In this Deloitte report, Julianne McInerney, Omosede Idehen and Leah Goodman write that, due to a multitude of pressures, the way we work is becoming increasingly virtual, diverse and dispersed—changes which present significant challenges for firms looking to compete in the global workplace. While infrastructure issues certainly must be addressed in the shift towards a remote workforce, the authors argue that the entrenched mindsets of managers and employees are the largest barriers to progress. Deloitte provides a useful roadmap for overcoming these barriers, concluding that making virtual work into ‘business as usual’ might be the best way to achieve your goals.

99U: Why You Should Treat Your Freelance Portfolio Like A Stock Portfolio
One of the main priorities of any freelancer is establishing a steady stream of work—and ensuring your skills stay relevant enough to keep that pipeline full. Sarah Horowitz, the founder of Freelancers Union, advocates for the use of a “freelance portfolio” to fine-tune your project mix, allowing you to stabilize your income flow and minimize risk. In addition, by establishing the right distribution of clients and projects, you can meet income goals and focus on fine-tuning your most in-demand skills.

Workbar: 5 Questions Good Managers Ask When Managing Remote Teams
With an astounding 61% of the Fortune 500 reporting they will broaden their telecommuting policies in the next few years, the ability to manage distributed teams is becoming an increasingly important skill in the workplace. Workbar shares five tips for maintaining company culture and improving efficiency when managing virtual teams. Their takeaways? Define goals, integrate communications, and make sure to show appreciation for the work they do.

Did we miss anything? Are there any insights you find particularly interesting? Let us know in the comments section below!

Jenna Weiner is the associate marketing manager at oDesk and the editor-in-chief of the oDesk blog. With a background in business and technology writing, she specializes in public relations, content strategy, branding and social media marketing. Before joining oDesk, Jenna was a writer and editor for Monitor Group’s marketing department and the Business & Technology Section Editor for Brafton Inc. Jenna graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University with a B.A. in English.

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