What does telecommute mean?
Telecommute is a verb meaning to work remotely rather than travel to a conventional workplace. A person who telecommutes might perform the same duties from home, while still attending the office occasionally or communicating with colleagues through telephone, email, and video-conferencing systems. The term became especially familiar during the widespread adoption of remote work in the early twenty-first century, but its origins go back to the 1970s, when telecommuting began to be presented as a possible alternative to regular commuting. In contemporary usage, telecommute is especially associated with employees who work from home, though it can technically refer to remote work from any location. It is generally neutral in tone and common in employment, business, news, and workplace-policy contexts. The related noun telecommuter describes a person who works this way, while telecommuting names the practice itself.
verbTo work for an employer from one's home or another location instead of travelling to a workplace. It also means to perform one's job remotely rather than commuting regularly.
- To work from one's home or another location rather than commuting to a workplace.
"She continues to telecommute three days a week, travelling to the office only on Wednesdays and Fridays."
"Our team is allowed to telecommute on Fridays."
"He used to telecommute from his home office, but now travels to the company several times a week."
Telecommute was coined in 1970s America, decades before video calls made remote work feel routine.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does telecommute come from?
Telecommute was coined in the United States during the 1970s as a term for working without making a conventional journey to the office. It combines the combining form tele-, derived from Greek tēle, meaning “far” or “at a distance,” with commute, which entered English from French and ultimately Latin commutare, meaning “to change” or “to exchange.” Related words built on the same Greek-derived element include telephone, telegraph, telepathy, and teleport.
Related word forms
How telecommute is actually used
The term is neutral and common in workplace, business, and employment contexts. It can describe working remotely from home or from another location, although it often carries a stronger implication of home-based work than the broader term remote work.
Easily confused with telecommute
To communicate is to exchange information, whereas to telecommute is to perform one's job remotely.