For example, ever heard of a results-only work environment? I haven’t, but it exists.  “Under this arrangement, employees can work where and whenever they wish, as long as projects are completed on time.”

I’m not sure how that works for the employee but for some employers the situation can be less than beneficial. Forbes recently wrote an article about a company in Maryland who has one telecommuter living/working in New Jersey. New Jersey legislature has stated that one employee in the state of Maryland is sufficient to claim that the company does business there. Now New Jersey is requiring the Maryland firm to file corporate taxes with the state.

It’s quite a disappointment. That law will only hurt efforts to increase telecommuting in the future.

• We all have children under the age of 5
• We are all within a few years age of each other (Gen X)
• We have all found ways to work that allow us to spend time with our kids

What is most remarkable is that everyone’s paid day job is something they want to be doing. One mom works three days per week in a science field, another works one day in the office and telecommutes a few other days as a journalist, another works some weekends as a coach, and another works part-time, splitting child care duties with his spouse who also works part time.

During my college days I recall being saddled with the label “Generation X: the slacker generation.” On the contrary, I think my generation has made great strides in creating a better balance between work and family. There’s nothing slacker about it. We’ve decided we want to spend time with our children as well as work, and we’ve been rewriting the rules to do so.

Rewriting these rules is exactly what Katty Kay and Claire Shipman have written about in their new book “Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success.”  The book talks about how women can influence the balance between work and family, and that we don’t have to climb the corporate ladder in the traditional sense to achieve success.

I send invoices and for the most part, I get paid within a couple weeks. But it is critical to track invoices and follow up. Recently I called a client after four weeks to inquire about the status and he insisted he had mailed payment. A week later I followed up again and he admitted the invoice had gotten stashed under a pile of papers. A week after that phone call I finally received payment. While this can be a detriment to being self-employed it is more just something to consider by those taking on 1099-contractor positions. I, as the self-employed individual, have to be my own payroll, accounting, human resources and IT departments. Just a little something to think about.

I consider myself to be a work-from-home mom, but when I began researching the term I started to change my mind! Google “work from home” and what appears are countless money-making opportunities that have pyramid scheme written all over them. Any job in which you have to pay fees to be exposed to opportunities is not legitimate.

But the difference between work-from-home and telecommute is not black and white. Strictly based on definitions work-from-homecan incorporate both independent consultants (from business to fashion and beauty) as well as full- and part-time corporate employees who work from home a couple days per week or month. Telecommuting on the other hand is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as “To work at home using a computer connected to the network of one’s employer.”

By that last definition I am not a telecommuter. I work as an independent contractor for various non-profit organizations using my home office, my own computer and my own network. Yet what I do, on a day-to-day basis, is the same as telecommuting (though I foot the bills for my internet and phone). I have conference calls, LOTS of email communication, and the same frustrations corporate employees have trying to accomplish a project within a group. I check-in with the president of each organization and they keep tabs on me. So, is work-from-home really different than telecommuting?