Virtually inspired

Well friends, here is the beginning of a project that I hope will be an encouragement to a new generation of workers...neither blue-collar or white-collar...a technology-assisted group called virtual workers.

Several months ago, I was unexpectedly hired by a real estate company in San Francisco, 2,500 miles away from the cozy little Tennessee town I currently call home. A lot of people wanted to know if I commuted every day - no thank you! Instead, I can usually be found sitting in my green wingback chair, my cat curled up in my lap, as I help sell houses on the opposite side of the country.

Alley the cat

As a management major in college, I'd studied virtual teams before and knew that virtual workers had increased by 80% from the early 2000s to the present day. Although I never expected to be one, there are quite a few benefits to being a virtual worker.

You don't have a commute.

You could move halfway across the world.

You can work in your pajamas.

Pretty great, isn't it? Dream come true for those wanna-be world travelers. Of course, there are drawbacks too. Depending on the setup of your virtual team, it can get pretty lonely. My husband is the most fabulous company in the evenings, but 9 hours without office camaraderie quickly gets dull. There other things to consider too.

You have to work hard at communicating with team members.

You might find it difficult to keep work and personal life separate.

You don't get free work lunches (then again, there is no such thing as a free lunch...).

All these odds and ends are a part of it. Over the past several months I've found myself wishing I had a source of encouragement and inspiration for daily life as a virtual worker, and so I've decided to start providing it for myself and others.

So here's to what inspiration strikes!