The introduction of the World Wide Web as a tool has created possibilities in the work place that will enable the workforce to change not only where and how people work, but who comprises the workforce. In today’s unemployment situation, it is necessary for business to take advantage of every opportunity to use existing talent to its fullest extent. No longer can the traditional office exist as in the past and ignore the available technology that would permit a part of our population that is educated to remain idle while human resource people search for workers.

How many people will this affect? Government census data, as of the 1990 census, shows that of working ages 16 to 64 there were 16.4 million disabled people in the United States. Of these people, 9 million were high school graduates and 1.4 million were college educated. In this group, 3.4 million are categorized as unable to work as shown by the census data. At a time when unemployment is at an all time low and business has moved to a service and technology driven mode, it seems unexplainable that this portion of our population is allowed to be removed form the workforce.

In one industry in particular this problem is exacerbated by the presence of many high technology companies. This area, particularly Massachusetts, has become known as Silicon Valley East. As growth occurs, it has been hindered by a lack of qualified people to fill various positions. In the disabled, there is a base of employable people, who want to work, but due to certain barriers created by traditional work environments and limits on income, cannot.

Marvin Cetron states, in his article “Jobs of the Future”, “ The computer will transform the social and economic fabric of the nation”. This statement can be taken to suggest that provisions can be put in place to create a more flexible work environment due to Web related technology. In this world, people are able to work where they live rather than traveling to and from an office setting.

What kind of work can be accomplished? The focus should be on the many clerical functions that are necessary in business. In any organization, there are tasks that are repetitive and fit the structure of the Web environment. An employee who wants to stay at a company normally does not want to be assigned these types of tasks for a long period of time. Tasks such as database creation, letters, spreadsheet creation and maintenance, and even presentations could be outsourced with the same result at lesser cost to the company. The ironic thing about the Web is that it has created jobs, such as Web management and maintenance, that did not exist twenty years ago, and very much fit the work at home situation.

The infrastructure is in place to accomplish this. Laws have been changing and will continue to change. The “ Americans with Disabilities Act” has forced businesses to make accommodations for disabled employees, many times at a great expense to the business. Accommodations such as elevators, eating facilities and restroom facilities must now meet certain standards that were not in place prior to this act. When the amount spent on these is considered, it would make sense to spend a much lesser amount to allow off-site work by utilizing the capabilities of the World Wide Web. •Any work where the source of the work can be transmitted over the Web or by overnight carrier should be outsourced with the finished product sent the same way. Payroll is also no longer a problem as virtually all banking can be done on-line. The Web also has enabled Human Resource people to test candidates for jobs, on-line. With today’s technology, credentials, education, and even skills may be checked over the Web. The cost savings alone would be tremendous, not even counting the cost saving of space. These monies could become bottom line profits to any company embracing the idea.

Many years ago a system was set up, the Social Security System, that fit the times and was a valid way to help provide for the disabled. Part of this law was enacted to provide funding while the recipient was rehabilitated in order to get back to the active workforce. This failed to recognize that certain disabilities couldn’t be rehabilitated. By using these standards the system actually discouraged many people receiving this support from working as they would be making less working than they did not working. By not allowing people who are disabled to make additional monies without penalty, the system defeats its purpose. There should be a way to differentiate types of disabilities so that a higher cap could be used when people can’t be cured as opposed to those who can receive treatment that would return them to their former condition.

In conclusion, it seems that in today’s technology laden world, there can be room to include another category of employee. There will never be a time where actual people are not needed to be in an office environment. We need to look at ways to expand the workforce by using available technology to enable anyone with the necessesary qualifications to work. This can be a benefit to all concerned. To accomplish this end we need the commitment of industry and government to create a system that does not now exist. If we live in the past, the future will pass us by. The World Wide Web was created as the brainchild of Tim Berners-Lee whose vision was that “ It was to be a very interactive medium”. Marguerite Holloway goes on say, “The Web can help people to understand the way that others live and love and are human”. By enabling the disabled, the Web would be fulfilling part of this vision.