“Lone Eagles” Change Landscape of American Workforce

A new national trend highlighted in Forbes Magazine discusses the increasing numbers of Americans gravitating towards working from home. The use of technology offers options to many employees and business owners. In addition, independent contractors and consultants may maintain flexibility in where they live due to the additional teleworking opportunities.

Phil Burgess, president of the Denver-based telecommuting think tank Center for the New West, terms these employees “lone eagles,” as they are able to operate without the traditional brick and mortar confines of a business. In the Forbes article, Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox note that the number of workers telecommuting has grown 1.5 times faster in the past decade. Not surprisingly, cities with high levels of technology-related companies have large populations of employees who work from home. Yet, even outside of those perimeters, this trend continues throughout the country.

A few points correlate directly to the Durango lifestyle. Primarily, this ability gives the opportunity for more people to consider living in Durango. Historically, many were unable to live in Durango if they did not work in or around the town, or if they were not retired. Now, however, the use of technology allows a person to consider living here, but working for a company located elsewhere. A person could also operate as an independent contractor or work on a part-time basis. Running a small business would work well with the use of technology.

The article also states, “Many of the areas with the fastest growth in the number of self-employed people, notes EMSI is in small, somewhat isolated communities”. In many ways, Durango fits this category, as we are not located right outside a large metropolis.

Furthermore, research indicates a growing number of Baby Boomers are embracing this technological lifestyle. As they look to live in desirable places, they desire to maintain the ability to work as well. We know many consider Durango a retirement location for at least part of the year, if not full time.

Overall, we expect this lifestyle to continue to increase in Durango. As the world continues to increase the centrality of technology, the flexibility will inherently follow that. With continued flexibility for working remotely, the appeal will continue for all stages of life. Young families have more options to pursue careers, Baby Boomers may slowly embrace retirement, and our Fort Lewis College graduates will be able to continue the lifestyle they enjoyed while in college.

See the Forbes article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2014/02/27/lone-eagle-cities-where-the-most-people-work-from-home/