E-Work
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
E-Work is a term extensively used in Europe, an amplification of the original 1980s and '90s concepts of Telework or Telecommuting: working at a distance using information and communications technology.
The concept of ework extends the purely physical aspects of the old European telework and US telecommuting concepts to include social dynamics; for example, the influence on how we work of factors such as networks of excellence, flexible working practices, roles and relationships between managers, workers and clients when working using ICT (Information and Communications Technology) tools.
With the appearance of wireless networks, we are increasingly seeing e-work practices incorporated into "local" and hybrid environments, roaming workers in a large office complex for example working together at the same time connected to their colleagues in another timezone. The emphasis on ework only being something that joins people who are physically a long way away from each other is diminishing. "What is an eworker?" is nowadays a question that is defined more by what you do and how you do it rather than how far away you are from each other.
The ability to exchange information electronically between users is a major advantage of networking computers. This way of communicating (e-mail and e-workflow) is now standard. Rather than exchanging memos on paper, incurring printing costs and delays, networked users can instantly send messages to others and even check if they have been received and read. Work can be completed on an electronic form or soft copy and posted electronically. In this way, many people can review, approve and send information at the click of a button. Other related terms are eProfessional, Telework, Telecommuting (US English).
