Experts point to anti-pollution laws and two-career families as the driving forces behind telecommuting’s resurgence. While the Clean Air Act may cause a small increase in telecommuting, most employees still believe that physical visibility is necessary for promotions, and this will keep telecommuting from catching on.
Predictor: Steinberg, Steve G.
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article listing tech items and issues that are currently being hyped, Steve Steinberg of Wired magazine writes: ”Since 1973, when the word was first coined, telecommuting has been alternately hyped and trashed. Initially embraced as part of the shiny new future predicted by [Alvin] Toffler and [Marshall] McLuhan, it was then knocked as unrealistic during the high-pressure 1980s. Now, experts point to anti-pollution laws and two-career families as the driving forces behind telecommuting’s resurgence. While the Clean Air Act may cause a small increase in telecommuting, most employees still believe that physical visibility is necessary for promotions, and this will keep telecommuting from catching on.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: Telecommuting
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Hype List: Telecommuting
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.05/hypelist.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney