Question

Due to the global pandemic, as you are no doubt aware, students of all ages around the world are learning online through various platforms and technology.
In the business world those employees who can work at home are as we continue to contain the spread of the virus.
Working at home or remotely is also called telecommuting or as your reading refers to it, flexible working arrangement (FWA).
In the first part of the module, we are looking at organizational structures. Traditional hierarchical structures would not be comfortable with such an arrangement; however, the trend today is to empower employees encouraging them to participate in decision making.
As advantages in technology progressed, telecommuting became popular several years ago. However, when the CEO of Yahoo brought all telecommuting employees back to the office, telecommuting seemed to lose its popularity with other companies. The Yahoo CEO felt that more brainstorming and collaboration would occur when employees were together in an actual physical location.
For Discussion: Here are some bullet points to be discussed. answer all questions.

Once the pandemic is over, do you think that working remotely will be popular again? Will employees want to continue?

Have you worked remotely? If so, share your thoughts?

What are advantages of telecommuting to the employee?

What are advantages of telecommuting to a company?

What are disadvantages to the employee?

What are disadvantages to the company?

What kind of manager would be comfortable with a telecommuting arrangement?

Any additional thoughts on the topic

Answer 1

Once the pandemic is over, do you think that working remotely will be popular again? Will employees want to continue?

· Yes, the current pandemic is likely to bring out long term changes in our working style. For example, the preference towards working remotely in certain industries is likely to increase

Have you worked remotely? If so, share your thoughts?

· Yes, I am working remotely and have done so previously. I have found that it offers significant benefits. My working efficiency and productivity has increased, while decreasing my commuting costs and time spent.

What are advantages of telecommuting to the employee?

· Some of the advantages include increased productivity and efficiency, able to spend more time with family, decreased environmental pollution, reduction in commuting costs, less stress, etc.

What are advantages of telecommuting to a company?

· Companies are benefitted by increased efficiency and productivity of its employees, improved employee morale, lower office overheads, potential rise in employee working hours, etc.

What are disadvantages to the employee?

· Some of the disadvantages are lack of focus, frequent disturbances, lack of social interaction, increased working hours, lower collaboration among employees, impact chances of promotion.

What are disadvantages to the company?

· Some of the disadvantages include lack of oversight and discipline, poor communication, some employees may not prefer working remotely, difficulties in monitoring productivity, etc.

What kind of manager would be comfortable with a telecommuting arrangement?

· A manager who is more focussed on employees achieving their target rather than the means used to achieve this target would be more comfortable with telecommuting. It would also depend on the type of industry. For example, telecommuting is easy to implement in the software sector, it will be difficult in manufacturing industries.