In your search for work-from-home jobs you are going to be faced with the above two designations. As an independent contractor you will be responsible for your own taxes, health care coverage costs, computer equipment, training, and other fees such as training and repairs, not to mention no vacation days or sick time.
As an employee you might not get all of those benefits but the most important one - taxes - will be covered. As an employee you also benefit from unemployment should your job end. As an indepdenent contractor you are on your own.
I came across this very interesting BusinessWeek Online article about "homeshoring," another term to describe the work from home momma. Offshoring is the practice of sending call center customer service and tech support jobs overseas. Homeshoring is bringing that back to the U.S. From the article:
Outsourced homeshoring jobs grew 20% last year, to 112,000 jobs, estimates tech-market researcher IDC, and will hit 330,000 by 2010. "Offshoring's underestimated sibling, homeshoring, is about to hit a growth spurt," says IDC analyst Stephen Loynd. Office Depot (ODP ), McKesson (MCK ), and J. Crew all use home agents. Homeshoring is less likely to risk the accent fatigue, cultural disconnection, and customer rage that offshoring can inspire. That's not to mention the mounting security fears (once your private data -- credit-card and Social Security numbers, medical and brokerage records -- go overseas, they're beyond the reach of U.S. law).
Another article in the Wall Stree Journal Online makes this point: Calls are closely monitored, so that some agents feel like Big Brother is watching. "No kids, no pets, zero tolerance," says Tim Houlne, CEO of Working Solutions. "If there's a dog barking, that's not just a red flag, that's probable cause for termination."
Just because you work from home won't mean you will be able to be totally free to do as you please. Set work schedules and careful monitoring of your work environment and performance won't be any different than a traditional job.
Besides the large companies that manage the calls of other large companies there are local businesses that are taking a closer look at this trend. In my area alone I was able to find four companies hiring for a work-at-home agent that were small, local businesses, just in a 30 minute search last night. All four of the jobs were for employees not independent contractors.
I also found other jobs that were so conducive to working from home that I am sure it wouldn't be too hard to convince the employer to consider a switch to a virtual employee.
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