Idea of Progress: To what extent teleworking can improve work life balance and be a driver for social progress?

I am going to talk about the notion « idea of progress”.

To begin with, I’d like to give a definition of the notion. Progress is a steady evolution towards a better stage. It is thus the idea that the world can become a better place in terms of technology, politics or medicine. Progress is defined as any kind of improvement. In relation to this notion, the subject of my presentation is going to be the Teleworking.

We can wonder “To what extent teleworking can improve work life balance and be a driver for social progress”

First I’m going to talk about the Advantages of Teleworking and then the Disadventages.

1/- Advantages of Teleworking

The teleworking or telecommuting allows many advantages to the employee and the employer. 

First the telecommuting can save to the employee from minutes to hours every day, which he can spend doing things you enjoy, like sleeping, spending more time with his kids or spouse, going to the dog park, or any other activity you’d like to have more time for. Working from home puts the onus on you to complete your work without constant reminders, which some people absolutely love. No office politics, no boss breathing down your neck, no distracting coworkers, telecommuting permits to become more efficient.

Besides companies that embrace telecommuting may also save money on the purchase or leasing off office space, since they’ll need fewer cubicles for on-site workers. Work flexibility also tends to reduce employee absenteeism, and it can allow companies to more easily match their payrolls to seasonal or other shifts in employment, bringing additional cost benefits. Finally, when a company’s employees can work from home, that business doesn’t have to worry about losing productivity when a huge power outage hits the office, or a storm or other natural disaster prevents travel.

What’s more telecommuting can also help your company be part of reducing climate change. Eliminating or cutting back on daily commutes reduces pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Properly using videoconferencing and other remote communication tools can help companies reduce business travel, which also cuts pollution. People who work from home also use less electricity, fewer supplies, and less office equipment, reducing waste.

2/- Disadvantages of Teleworking

However teleworking depends on many conditions, it is not possible for all people on Earth, it postponed from the age and from the culture of people, from the country in which they live. In Brazil there are many teleworkers whereas in Japan it isn’t developed. And many jobs are incompatible with telecommuting.

Furthermore working from home can feel isolating. It’s possible to remedy this feeling with e-mail, phone calls, instant messaging, and video conferencing, but it’s no substitute for face-to-face interaction. This is the case in the document “Not commuting is driving me crazy” which is an article from a blog. So in this document a teleworker explain that he feels very lonely and he misses his colleagues.

Additionally when you work from home, you can’t always shut out your personal life while you’re working, or turn off your work life while you’re “off the clock.” Having a separate work space from the rest of your home can help, but some people find it difficult to stop working when they know it’s only a few feet away.

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