“Telecommuting”
refers to workers doing their jobs from home for part of each week and
communicating with their office using computer technology. Telecommuting is
growing in many countries and is expected to be common for most office workers
in the coming decades. How do you think society will be affected by the growth
of telecommuting?
Telecommuting, as per many is being quoted as
the office work pattern of the future where the workers do not go to a
centralized office, but instead work from remote locations, like from their
homes. This trend is expected to be highly beneficial for the society though
some do have serious reservations.
Home sourced working pattern is expected to
be highly advantageous for those who have to really struggle balancing their
professional and personal lives – as they are spending most of their time in
the confinement of their cubicles and offices. Teleworking has, in fact, come a
respite for such people, as they are now able to devote and invest some quality
time with their families, which
otherwise was very difficult to come by.in the near past. Moreover, many
optimists feel, home-sourced work system has brought about a drastic
improvement in the moods in the society as a whole, as teleworkers feel happier
and content with their jobs – as work-at-home can be easily compared to
vacationing with work.
Furthermore, teleworking has also helped in
the bringing down unemployment across various geographical locations; qualified
people are now able to access broader employment opportunities anywhere in the
world through information technology; and are able to execute jobs for their
companies located in diverse regions, for instance people residing in India can
now be employed by a US based firm without actually needing to physically travel
over to the USA.
Nevertheless, teleworking is also fetching
some criticism from the conservatives. As per them, this trend is reducing
interaction between the people and hampering social lives of, especially, ones
working from their homes.
To conclude, the debate on this issue is
inconclusive as it is too early to judge the outcome and impact of
work-from-home on the society.