Michael Erard and Misty McLaughlin suggests that the number of people working remotely for employers outside the state increased rapidly in Maine, but until now it was almost impossible to recognize who these people are, where they live and what they do.
The pair of South Portland who spent both of their careers for distant employers, they have to identify their mission and support and assistance for all so-called remote employees and companies that hire them.
In June Erard and McLaughlin formation of work on site announced, an initiative nonprofit Tele, teleworking (or telecommuting) and flexible work and work in shared workspaces, at home or elsewhere dedicated offsite.
His first goal is to organize a national summit on teleworkers in southern Maine instead. Bringing together the constituent summit work at the site would be researchers, pioneers and experts in the field of economic, technological and social innovation best practices, strategies exchange form and provide the resources to create programs strong remote employees, successful, they said. The Summit on the pure promoting teleworking concept must go, McLaughlin and Erard prefer to call "work". Instead, address the opportunities and challenges associated with these complex contracts related would.
"It's about the resources to provide the necessary to do well," McLaughlin said. The summit is planned for spring 2017th
Erard, said the idea really came first summit, which subsequently led to the establishment of a permanent organization.
"This organization is the national approach, but based in Maine," he said.
There are some indications that remote workers contribute to a larger share of the global economy of the state of Maine than in other states.
Maine has a much higher proportion of their net profit employers outside the state than the national average - 2.6 percent, compared with 0.04 percent for the United States as a whole, said Charles Lawton, Chief Economist of Planning Decisions Inc. and columnist for the Portland Press Herald.
However, these statistics do not distinguish between citizens of Maine who commute across state borders and the remote work in Maine to work for a company of State, Lawton said.
Another fact that a relatively high proportion of teleworkers per capita in Maine points has records Internal Revenue Service, said Ryan Wallace, project director of the Center for Maine of Economics and Economic Research at the University "School Muskie Southern Maine Public Service.
Over 20 Mainers with jobs work from home, almost 25 percent higher than the national average. But about half of the people who work from home are self-employed, to work instead of distance to another person.
The actual data to remote workers are hard to find, because the IRS does not recognize, where the workers of the company, based Wallace said. On the other hand, the US Census Bureau, many people still work at home, but not when they are working on the basis for a company elsewhere.
Wallace began his own research project a clearer picture of the remote workers in Maine to develop image. He developed an online survey of remote workers, and has already received hundreds of responses.
"There is much interest in the phenomenon, for many different reasons, not only in Maine," he said. "We're just trying to get an understanding of the phenomenon."
Wallace said he should write a research paper based on the survey results could be used as a basis to increase the decision-makers to implement changes economic Maine remote workers.
Erard and McLaughlin said that they help the research Wallace hope to strengthen the argument that economic development should efforts in Maine over the marketing of the state as ideal for people who have the ability and life, more focused work wherever they want.
Your own trip to Maine began in this way. The couple moved here from Austin, Texas, in 2007, as McLaughlin worked remotely for a technology company. It is not initially intend to permanently settle in Maine.
"We found that we loved and wanted to stay," McLaughlin said.
Later Erard also got a job at home in Maine of a research center based in Washington, DC The experience of Tele both the needs of remote employees and as organization and development may be able to help them, for example by a rating to develop system like Yelp that know potential employees well or badly let each company treats its remote workers.
Much of the challenge for the people who want to work remotely is to find an employer, these workers want to adjust, and the ability to effectively manage, they said.
Erard he said finally quit his job on the spot after "feeling that was not enough connected to the organization." Teach businesses better manage their remote workers and provide the resources employees need another object of the work on the spot is, the couple said.
McLaughlin and Erard said she expected a national organization, it will be easier for remote workers to one another in their respective communities combine issues and solutions exchange.
"There may be 15 people working remotely IBM in Maine do not even know each other," Erard said.
The preparation may also be a valuable resource in states like Maine, where the advantages of a high quality of life are often characterized by the relative lack of well-paying jobs in the shade.
"Telework is a way to may people in Maine or return to Maine to stay," McLaughlin said.
Jennifer Hutchins, former director of the nonprofit Portland creative organization, said that when Erard and McLaughlin approached the last years they use the potential for economic development of their idea realized.
Although Hutchins has developed since and now the Director of the Association of Maine is a non-profit, he said he will continue to help develop the job because she thinks their caregivers remotely could help bring a necessary influx of new talent in Maine.
"It seems that we as a state to win unique things about the population of remote employees to learn and the things they need to succeed," he said.
Hutchins and two Lawton noted that focused on employment opportunities in place in Maine could solve a common problem that highly skilled workers who want to move into the state face ". Behind spouse problem" the so-called
In a house with two highly skilled workers, we can find a good job in a place like The Jackson Laboratory or IDEXX Laboratories, but because Maine is relatively low, your spouse may not be able to find a good job, they said , with the job your spouse to help as telecommuter connected so they move to Maine.
"It is now easier to win and create two jobs instead of one," Lawton said.
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