The early 1990’s witnesses the explosion, at least hypothetically and academically, in the flexible working offer. The idea being that due to the advances in technology everyone could Work From Home. Over the last ten or fifteen years the technology and the commercial reality of Internet Business has improved to the point it is now, not only feasible to Work From Home but in some roles almost obligatory classified their business persona’s as nomadic (in general sales) or semi-nomadic (in general management, sales and team leader roles). These job descriptions found it feasible to exist between the capability to Work From Home and flexible workspace in the office or offices within which they still had a base. Higher up the management chain senior managers and executives found the ability to be effectual anywhere, particularly in the case of those handling National and International teams and time changes.

The mid 1990’s though, saw another sort of flexible worker beginning to immerge. The surge in Internet Business fashioned a different group. These staff are not part of a corporate machine running their jobs within the structure of touchdown and virtual meetings but instead what would have been a small business outlet on the high street. They are small service providers and sellers now making money because they can work from home without the high overhead of buildings.

On the back of this second wave comes another group, those occupied in online jobs. These employees and entrepreneurs in reality make their living by providing services to support the growing virtual market place. In doing so their communication with clients is mainly via the electronic work media. This new business model alters the idea of flexible working since not only can these companies be run by people who work from home they can also be staffed by people with the same working patterns.

Is this a chiefly new trend? Or a return to the pre – industrial revolution patterns of work. Are what we now see as new age Online Jobs merely a paradigm shift from the necessityrequirement to be co-located, brought about by the mechanisation of work and the process vital for high output, to the skilfulhighly skilled, craft based model of the cottage industries.