| 7/6/2006 9:06:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Tell the boss, ‘I'm not coming to the office’
Local telecommuting co-op aims to attract more jobs to Chaffee County
by Ali Helgoth
Mail Staff Writer
Ray Gabriel stopped showing up at the office in 1997; he didn’t quit working, he just stopped showing up.
As a telecommuter, Gabriel, who lives in Salida, is part of a growing number of employees in the United States and he hopes to add more Chaffee County residents to the group soon through the telecommuters co-op, Telecommuters of Chaffee County.
Telecommuting is the process of using a telephone and Internet connection to perform job duties at home, rather than going to an office.
“It’s not that hard, (it’s) just thinking a new paradigm,” Gabriel said.
Telecommuting jobs include sales, representing manufacturers, data entry and file maintenance.
The only jobs that can’t be performed by telecommuting are those requiring employees and employers to meet daily face-to-face, Gabriel said.
He is as an area sales manager for Envirotex, an environmentally friendly road coating.
With other local telecommuters, such as Constance Besaw, chief executive officer and founder of InBoxOutsource, Gabriel helped create a telecommuting co-op to serve Chaffee County.
Besaw has been telecommuting for five years.
Telecommuters of Chaffee County, seeks to attract 20 new telecommuting jobs to Chaffee County by the end of the year, all paying at least $15 an hour.
“We want to bring new jobs to the area without (negatively) impacting the environment,” Gabriel said.
Gabriel and Besaw began discussing the possibility of a co-op two years ago, but they didn’t act on it because they were under the impression another local group was forming something similar, Gabriel said.
As time went by and nothing happened with the plan, the two decided to put the co-op together.
“I’ve met so many people in this area … who are being under employed in jobs that are not necessarily taking advantage of all their talents,” Gabriel said.
The telecommuting jobs would allow workers to remain in Chaffee County while giving them access to jobs not available in the area through traditional means, Gabriel said.
“With the Internet, we can attract a whole different type of employer to the area,” Besaw said.
Telecommuting is best suited for motivated self-starters, Gabriel said.
Those who are not able to motivate themselves to work generally don’t fare well under the system because there are no supervisors to make sure they are working, Besaw said,
Although the absence of supervisors and subsequent freedom can be a hindrance for some, Besaw and Gabriel said it is what makes them most happy about telecommuting.
The nature of the job allows schedule flexibility, but can also mean working nights and weekends.
Telecommuting provides full- and part-time positions, although most full-time positions do not provide benefits.
Requirements for telecommuting vary based upon employer, but general requirements include a computer with Internet access and a phone line.
A meeting for those interested in the co-op is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, in the Salida Regional Library meeting room.
The meeting is open to anyone who wants to telecommute and those who would like more information about the co-op. The co-op Web site is www.jobgrowers.org.
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