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How work-from-home options are redefining employment panorama?

The ability to generate income is hindered due for some women due to their domestic responsibilities. However, there are new initiatives that assist women to work from home and this is clearly redefining the job scene. ‘Office’ is not restricted to a physical space where employees regularly meet face to face.  The world is definitely shrinking due to advent of the internet and improved communication technologies and this had also impacted office spaces and job scenes. Companies are open to hiring workers who are able to work from remote locations. This means that the companies now have to invest less in office spaces and arranging for office supplies but this also implies that women are able to leverage their expertise and time to generate an income without forgoing their duties at home. There has also been an increase in the number of innovative business styles that are prevalent online. Some of these are:

·         Sheroes: It is an online portal that is specifically devoted to women professionals who are looking to balance their work and family life. Women can connect with companies such as Castrol and Royal Bank of Scotland that offer flexible work options. In addition, there are mentors who engage actively to help women attain career success.

·         Million Kitchen: The portal allows women to sell home cooked food from the comforts of their homes. The initiative has been very popular in India and it will soon be launched in Pakistan as well. 

Other than businesses, there are companies or rather portals that showcase hiring companies. These specifically hire remote candidates and are known for their virtual workplaces. Some of these are:

·         TNTP (The New Teacher Project): It is a partner for change in education and as such provides support to schools at various levels. TNTP has recruited and trained nearly 50,000 professionals since 1997! Aspiring teachers looking to work from home can expect to find a few openings.

·         Appen: It is a global speech and search technology company. It hires candidates to work on various language based projects. The Forbes Magazine in 2014 named it as one of the top 100 companies offering flexible job options. The headquarters are in Australia but the company maintains an international presence.

Other than these, a simple browse through internet and websites like indeed, upwork and FlexJobs reveals that there are numerous other options. For example, companies advertise for hiring virtual assistants and entrust them with the responsibilities such as answering emails, managing calendars, entering data, and assisting with social media. Such arrangements work well for the employers as they save on hiring costs for recruiting full time onsite employees. Women are increasingly turning to other fun options such as taking surveys in return for gift cards or payments made through PayPal. Then there are options such ‘transcription’ where one is required to listen to audio files and type out what they hear. The good news is that many reputed Universities advertise for vacancies like these on either the University website or on different job lists such as linguist.