Band 5+: ‘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?

With the rapid development of the internet and all kinds of technology, specifically in telecommunication. In the global village that we are living in, the connectedness between communities around the world are enhanced in different activities such as entertaining, as well as working. Despite the reach of online communication in the working environment, we should be aware of their benefits and drawbacks.

To begin with, we should acknowledge that working from home can reduce the renting cost for offices, especially in mega cities where renting is extremely expensive, as well as the rivalry in land. To add on, traditional offices often release unnecessary energy waste due to the excessive use of AS, lights, elevators, and more equipment. Another point to consider is that depending on the working industry, virtual workspace can be more suitable compared to the old-schools, noticeably information technology (TC) and creative arts. From a comfortable and family-like working environment, employees are expected to work more productively and have more flexibility in their time management.

From another perspective, telecommuting is not the ultimate approach for every field, particularly in education and healthcare, where it is fundamentally in person communication and practical actions are required. Taking the example of COVID-19, studying from a screen was a convenient yet distracting and inefficient solution for all students. On the other hand, it is nearly impossible for doctors to have critical diagnoses for their patients just through a screen. Apart from this, working from home might blur out the distinction between resting and working, since the working space is not well managed like the office. Therefore, efficiency and productivity is not well ensured and this might cause a lack of working outcome.

To conclude, it is undeniable that telecommunication not only benefits us in connecting to another, fulfilling our need for entertainment and education, it also transforms the approaches to working. It is crucial to take in mind that employment in the future should have collective computer skills to work from home in order to improve their outcomes.