Band 9: Many employees can now do their work from home using modern technology. However, this change may only benefit workers, not the employers. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The proliferation of employees working from home has led to a belief that this trend may be only beneficial for employees, not the employers. I do not agree with this point of view since those carrying out their work at home tend to accomplish better results than those working at their workplace. This trend also allows employers to cut down expenses on infrastructure at the workplace to invest in other crucial aspects.

One of the most marked advantages of carrying out a work-from-home scheme is that employees may experience less stress from work as they will not be pushed by their managers or peers. This can significantly benefit their mental health; as a result, their productivity would be greatly improved. For example, many IT companies in Vietnam have partly switched from offline-working to online-working schemes after witnessing a considerable annual outcome growth during the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced everyone to maintain indoor 24/7. The workers are also reported to be satisfied with this scheme; as they have the freedom to manage their work schedule to match their preference.

In addition, employers can also benefit from lower maintenance expenses. In other words, working from home means that employees have to implement their tasks by using their own resources, including their pieces of equipment such as computers and other household appliances as well as electricity. By cutting down the budget for these elements in an office, employers may retain a lot of money for other purposes like expanding their businesses or providing their workers with financial incentives to boost their productivity. Take Mappa, an animation studio, as an example. Many of their animated products have been improved greatly in terms of visual effects and writing after allowing their animators to finish their sketches at home before turning them in to their managers. This is because the head of the studio has decided to invest more money in those sectors, motivating the animators and the directors to put out better products.

In conclusion, the belief that working from home can only benefit employees, while business owners do not receive any advantages is not convincing because employees can provide better productivity with better mental health and incentives coming from this scheme. And these benefits will eventually serve the owners.