Band 6+: Many companies are now allowing employees to work remotely. What are the benefits and drawbacks of this trend, for both the employee and the employer? Should governments incentivize companies to offer remote work options?

The significant increase of people working at home can affect the employees and employers in different ways.

The benefits of working from home for the employees and employers are that they have more time to spend at home with their family; if, let’s say, a mother has a newborn kid, it’s simpler for her to take care of it, unlike being at work. Also, you don’t need to rush; you are not going to be overwhelmed as if you were going into your office at work. So I believe that both sides, employers and employees, can benefit from working from home.

However, on the other hand, it can be a drawback because the offices will be empty. People who need help or people who are looking for you aren’t going to find you easily, so you will need to contact them by phone, which makes things harder than representing in person. Other drawbacks are that employees face isolation, blurred work-life boundaries leading to burnout, and increased home-based costs.

The conclusion is that both working from home and at the office have positive and negative sides; the most important thing is where they feel the safest and where they feel like working properly.